Different by design

Mallory Dwinal-Palisch, co-founder of Reach University, currently serves as senior advisor to the president. Mallory began her career as a teacher with Teach for America and later co-founded an experiential learning high school, Oxford Day Academy, a charter school in East Palo Alto, CA.  Watching her students thrive in these real-world learning environments inspired Mallory to co-found Reach University as a way to address the urgent teacher shortages in America's K12 classrooms while at the same time providing a new avenue to higher education for workers in underserved communities.  By focusing on low-income and rural regions, offering online tutorials and classes, and rendering academic credit for on-the-job experience, Reach has in only three years become a nationwide model for eliminating barriers to entry in the teaching profession and building local talent pipelines. 

Mallory founded Craft Education System (acquired by Western Governors University), a software tool that helps other universities replicate Reach's apprenticeship-based degrees.  She is also a founder of the Coalition Network, which partners with venture capital funds to connect senior leaders with startups where their expertise is uniquely valuable.

Mallory holds a Ph.D. in Education from Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes Scholar.  Her dissertation explored the labor shortage in the rural South and the role of Teach for America as a supplementary source of educators.  She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was recognized as a Social Enterprise Fellow, a Harvard Presidential Scholar, and a Goldsmith Fellow.  Mallory received her B.A. from Northwestern University, summa cum laude, with a triple major in Spanish, Economics, and International Studies.

Darin Lim Yankowitz is the Senior Vice President of Recruitment at Teach For America, where he leads TFA's work to find talented and diverse leaders who will devote their lives to the pursuit of racial and educational equity.

Darin is a graduate of UC San Diego (BA), Teachers College at Columbia University (MA), and Vanderbilt University (EdD) where he researched how people analytics can be used to advance inclusion and equity for historically marginalized students. He is a Pahara fellow, Schusterman senior fellow, and serves as the board chair of Reach University. 

Outside of education, Darin co-leads Tzedek Circle, a monthly gathering of Jewish people dedicated to the pursuit of social justice.

Marissa Ring serves as the Vice President of Strategy and Operations for Teach For America's Recruitment Team.  

She graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in English and minors in Sociology and African-American studies. After graduation, Marissa joined Teach For America in Los Angeles, where she taught secondary English. While teaching, she earned a master’s degree in Education Policy and Administration from Loyola Marymount University and was named Urban Researcher of the Year for her work on strategies to increase graduation rates for students who had been involved in the criminal justice system.  Marissa then joined Teach For America staff, working in campus recruitment, staff recruitment, strategy, and team management.  She lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Afam Onyema is a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford Law School.  While at Stanford, Afam co-founded the GEANCO Foundation, which he has led full-time since 2007.
 
GEANCO saves and transforms lives in Nigeria. It leads complex surgical missions to Nigeria. It builds modern, solar-powered maternal and family clinics. Through its leadership scholarship for girls, it provides tuition, medical care, and social and psychological support to young female victims of terrorism and gender inequality.

Afam has been named one of the Top Ten Most Influential Africans in the Diaspora.

Kimberly Merritt is an educational architect, committed to creating high-quality, innovative learning design connecting career, community, and technology. She currently serves as Vice President and Deputy for the newly launched Arizona State University, Learning Enterprise. 

She most recently served as founding Executive Director of ASU Local, a hybrid college program, as a teacher and leader in designing and launching
many of the Da Vinci Schools award-winning innovative school models and the Transforming Learning Collaborative’s National School Design Incubator. She has collaborated with leading industries, colleges, and community organizations to re-imagine how school, work, and life intertwine in scalable, sustainable models. These models consistently reflect the need to ensure inclusivity, innovative structural design, and success for all learners.

Kimberly earned her bachelor’s degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and her teaching credential and her MEd in Organizational Leadership from
Pepperdine University.

Jonathan Johnson is the founder and CEO of Rooted School Foundation. Rooted School is a non-profit network of four schools across four states and other projects focused on increasing upward mobility for youth faster than local projections. 

Jonathan also manages "The $50 Study" in partnership with the University of Tennessee–Knoxville, the Center for Guaranteed Income, and school partners which is the largest and most extensive randomized control trial in the world exploring the impact of direct cash transfers to youth using schools as the disbursement vehicle. 

Ari is currently Head of Social Impact and Philanthropy at Pinterest. Previously, Ari was Vice President and Chief Program and Strategy Officer at The Kresge Foundation.

Ari joined Kresge after five years with McKinsey & Company, where he focused on social innovation, economic development, and public health. Prior to that, he was a writer and editor, served as a volunteer on ambulances in the Middle East, and worked for the Innocence Project while in law school.

Ari earned a bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, a master’s degree at Oxford University, and a law degree at Stanford University.

Roberto is an entrepreneur with previous experience in HR tech, education technology, AI and online marketplaces. 

He is currently president of Good Chefs, a platform that enables chefs to become culinary entrepreneurs. Previously, he was CEO and co-founder of Recruitology, an HR technology company that was acquired in 2022. Before that, he co-founded AfterCollege as well as initiatives such as US2020 and YouthJobs+ in collaboration with the White House. 

He holds a B.A in Economics from Stanford University.

Dan Tindall is a seasoned technology executive with extensive experience in strategy, M&A, and transformation roles.  He brings to Reach over two decades of success in building and leading global teams to manage large-scale transformation and to deliver sales and profit growth targets.

Dan's career is marked by over 15 years in leadership at HP, where he served as SVP and Global Head of Corporate Development and Integration, leading key M&A activities including the acquisition of Samsung's Printer business, the acquisition of Poly, and the separation of Hewlett-Packard Company into HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.

Prior to his tenure at HP, Dan was with Deloitte for seven years, spent ten years working in Germany and the United Kingdon, received an MBA from INSEAD, and earned his BBA in Marketing and International Business from the University of Texas at Austin.

Christopher Williams is a global executive with over 25 years of experience driving transformational change at leading consumer companies including adidas, Nike, VF Corporation and Gap. His areas of expertise include strategy, brand management, international business, and education management. 

He is currently the President of Custament Partners, and a Professor at Emory & Henry College School of Business. Previously, he was the President and a Board Trustee of African Leadership University in Mauritius and an Executive-in-Residence at European School of Management and Technology Berlin.
 
Christopher earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and BA in Economics from Morehouse College.

Joseph Edelheit (Joe) Ross began his service as the first president of Reach University on January 18, 2021 and is also the Chief Executive Officer of the university. In his first two years, Reach launched two groundbreaking apprenticeship-based bachelor degrees, saw undergraduate enrollment grow by over 900%, secured over $30 million in private and public grant commitments, and established the university as the nation’s leader in advancing the Apprenticeship Degree as a new model for higher education and workforce development. Along with founder Mallory Dwinal-Palisch, President Ross developed and coined the Reach Method, the university’s approach to ensuring Apprenticeship Degree quality and access, and enshrined the university’s commitment to affordability without student debt. President Ross and his academic team also established the university’s distinctive single-subject semester model and uniquely frictionless transfer policies.  

The son of a U.S. Postal Service labor custodian, President Ross received his BA in political science from Yale College, where he was awarded a Truman Scholarship, and earned his JD from Stanford Law School, where he was both Managing Editor of the Stanford Law & Policy Review and the 59th President of the Stanford Law Review. Before building Reach University, he led a statewide education advocacy association, California County Boards of Education, and served for over ten years as a countywide elected trustee of the San Mateo County Board of Education. He previously served as General Counsel to a venture studio and several technology startups, and as a Deputy District Attorney, he acted as sole counsel in numerous hearings and jury trials. Earlier in his career, he served eight years on active duty in the U.S. Navy. 

President Ross is host of the Apprenticeship 2.0 podcast and he has written for Inside Higher Education, the San Jose Mercury News, the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and Forbes. He lives in Columbus, Ohio. His spouse, Adriana Diaz-Ross, is a former teacher pursuing a master’s degree in nurse-midwifery. They have three adult children.

Dion Taylor is the U.S. Air Force SkillBridge Fellow in the Office of the President.  He joined Reach following a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force where he rose to Chief Master Sergeant, the highest enlisted rank.  

While in the Air Force, Dion served as Director of Operations with a Top Secret Security Clearance.  In this capacity, he had a track record of success in overseeing large and diverse projects, managing over 300 people, supporting more than  134,000 medical appointments, and implementing training programs valued at $60M.  With several certifications, including Resilience-Building Leadership Professional Trainer, Dion brings to Reach expertise in organizational development, hands-on management, strategic planning and operational excellence. 

Dion holds a MBA from Columbia Southern University, a B.A. from Southern Illinois University, and a degree in Human Resource Management from the Community College of the Air Force.

Salma Nabi joined the Teach For America corps after graduating from the University of Virginia with a double major B.S. in Biology and International Studies.

As a TFA corps member, Salma was selected to teach high school science in the D.C. region, where she dedicated five years to her placement school. During this time, she taught 9-12th grade science courses, including Physical Science, Biology, Honors Biology, and the AP Biology program she piloted. In addition to her time in the classroom, Salma was completing her M.S.Ed at Johns Hopkins University, a leaders fellowship at Stanford University, as well as coaching the newly-founded and growing girls' varsity lacrosse team as their head coach, leading them to the number one seed in the district for multiple years. After her time in the classroom, Salma joined TFA's national team, and as the top performer, she was selected to lead the organization's first iteration of innovation work. Salma then founded and led the organization's Innovation Impact Team.

Salma is continuing to expand her impact toward the mission of excellence and equity in education as Chief of Staff and Interim Associate Dean at Reach University.

Hollis Salway is proud to serve as the Vice President of Development for Reach University. She is passionate about making powerful ideas for change a reality by aligning resources and champions with visionary leaders and their teams. Hollis has spent her career working in the spaces between sectors, bridging gaps to opportunity in our systems and society. With 20 years of experience contributing to, growing and leading organizations in the talent development, nonprofit capacity-building, youth development, out-of-school time, and youth apprenticeship spaces, she has helped to raise millions of dollars for some of the most important work taking place in our communities every day.

Hollis also has deep experience in measurement, evaluation and learning for social sector organizations; she believes wholeheartedly in the power of combining compelling new narratives with transparent and digestible data points to drive much needed change and innovation.

Hollis holds a BA in English from Harvard University. She is the daughter of two educators and lives in Denver, CO where she enjoys skiing and camping with her husband and children, reading and writing short stories, and vintage furniture shopping. 

Anastasia joined Reach from a tenured faculty position in the English Department of the University of Central Oklahoma, where she was the coordinator of the English Education Program.

At Reach, in addition to serving on the faculty, she has served as inaugural dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and as vice provost, leading partnership development with community colleges. Previously, Anastasia was president of the Oklahoma Council for Teachers of English, the NCTE state affiliate. Her numerous peer-reviewed publications focus on teacher training and care, pedagogy for language learners, and the intersections of literature and popular culture.

She began her career teaching K12 English, Spanish, and ELL, as well as serving as a reading specialist.

Kiko joins Reach from Huntington Junior College in West Virginia, where he served as provost and chief academic officer.

Previously, Kiko served for nearly a decade as a senior leader at the Lumina Foundation, the leading philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing access to postsecondary degree attainment.

Kiko has also served in global leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies such as DuPont and Cemex, and nonprofit organizations such as the United Way of Central Indiana. 

Paul came to Reach with over 20 years of experience modeling and evaluating education initiatives, designing and implementing data management systems, and coaching administrative leaders in the use of organizational data. He also brings expertise in evaluation research, organizational learning, leadership development, and business intelligence.

At Reach, Paul has built the university’s data infrastructure from the ground up, enabling our continuous improvement cycle and reporting capabilities. 

Seth joined Reach with over 30 years experience as an executive and consultant for leading enterprises both in the private and public sector. His work with technology and media companies, public-sector entities, and nonprofits has focused on enhancing financial infrastructure, building long-term strategic and financial plans, and developing business development and marketing strategies.

Seth also served on the boards of the San Carlos School District and the San Mateo County School Boards Association, where he served as president for two years. He also sat on multiple commissions and task forces related to public education, and was a columnist for EdSource.

Seth received a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Gene Lee began his career in education with the Boston Teacher Residency program and continued to teach high school science for the next 11 years before joining Reach University as its first-ever chief of staff. In that role he established Reach as a participant in the federal financial aid system, a critical milestone in the history of the university. Subsequently, as vice president of operations and finance, and then as SVP of Candidate Affairs, Gene led and integrated multiple functions at Reach to ensure operational excellence and candidate success.  

Gene brings a diverse range of experiences teaching in public and charter schools across the country and teacher coaching and development.

Eric joined Reach from Arapahoe Community College in Colorado, where he served as the vice president for Workforce and Economic Development for over five years. There he led the launch of two new campuses, cultivated $30 million in philanthropy and grants, co-created innovative apprenticeships in health care, technology, and business, and co-created responsive career-ready programs for displaced workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Prior, Eric served as regional director for Oregon State University. Eric currently serves on the Colorado State Apprenticeship Board.

At Reach, he co-founded and launched NCAD, the university’s center dedicated to technical assistance and collective impact advancing the adoption of the apprenticeship degree across the United States.