MEET OUR TEAM

Propel America’s staff and board members, while spread out across the country, are unified in a commitment to educational equity. We are building a jobs-first higher education model for young people, together. We are making work work, together. We all live the Propel values of courage, innovation, impact, joy, team, and equity. And we’d love to connect!

OUR staff

  • Chad Rountree

    Chief Executive Officer

  • patty diaz-andrade

    Chief Program Officer

  • Claire Dennison

    Chief External Affairs Officer

  • Debra Kurshan

    Chief Operations Officer

  • Andrea Wolfe

    Chief Talent Officer

  • Khadeja Bailey

    Career Navigator

  • Alexa Bonilla

    Senior Director of Admissions

  • Sydney Canfield

    Coach

  • John Childers

    VP of Technology

  • Erica Collins

    Interim Senior Director of Program Implementation

  • Nathaniel Cooke

    Partnerships and Recruitment Manager, Newark

  • Jesse Diaz

    Recruitment Manager, Los Angeles

  • Julia Horn

    Senior Director of Sourcing & Growth Strategy

  • Denali Lander

    Senior Director of Development

  • Jamie McClung

    Director of Growth Strategy & Recruitment, Louisiana

  • Heidi Mendez

    Coach

  • nancy moreno

    Admissions Specialist

  • Kelly Boucher Morris

    VP of Client Services

  • Hassan Munford

    Coach

  • AVERY NEWTON

    Senior Director, Learning & Evaluation

  • Tierra Rich

    Coach

  • KRISHONDA RUSSELL

    Admissions Specialist

  • Albion Sumrell

    Director of Program Operations

  • Joe Tollefson

    Senior Director of Client Services

  • Jermica Wallace

    Salesforce Administrator

  • Micaela Whalen

    Director of Marketing and Communications

  • Maurice White

    Recruitment Manager, Camden and Philadelphia

  • Ashanti Young

    Manager of Grants and Finance

OUR board of directors

  • John Cozzi

    Founding Board Member

    Partner, AEA Investors LP

  • Casey Leonetti

    Board Member

    Managing Director, Bain Capital Private Equity, Healthcare

  • Jeff Nelson

    Board Member

    Entrepreneur-in-Residence, New Profit

  • Lisette Nieves

    Board Member

    President, Fund for the City of New York

  • Paymon Rouhanifard

    Co-founder and Founding CEO, Chair of the Board

    Co-founder and CEO, Timely

  • John White

    Co-founder and Board Member

    Chief Success Officer, Great Minds

There needs to be a paradigm shift on the relationship between workforce development and education. Education-to-career pathways are not meeting the needs of all young adults, particularly our demographic of learners, nor the needs of the labor market. The model that our team is building — what we call “jobs-first higher education” — addresses that.