CHAIR (she/her)

Rana’s professional experience spans more than 20 years of operations, policy, program, and systems development in the education and nonprofit sectors. Rana has spent her career in education leading high-performing teams to increase postsecondary access and success for low-income, first-generation students and students of color. She brings a commitment to equity and a strong belief in the impact of strategic collaboration and student-centered design to her work and volunteering with Hands to the Future. Rana is currently the COO of The Attainment Network and has also worked for the Denver Scholarship Foundation, CollegeInvest, and the Colorado Department of Higher Education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Theatre from Trinity University and her master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Harvard University.

VICE CHAIR (he/his)

Christian is an education professional who believes that education has the power to provide equity of opportunity. He made Colorado home after moving to the United States from Zambia over a decade ago. Since then, he has devoted his professional career to advocating for and striving to inspire others to develop self-efficacy in education and ultimately in life. Christian received a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Colorado State University- Fort Collins. Christin is the College Success Officer at The Daniel’s Fund. He also worked as the Program Director for the Westminster Public Schools Foundation and Mentorship Program at Goodwill.

TREASURER (he/his)

Trent brings over 20 years of leadership, project delivery, and financial management experience to the board. He has experience as a Senior Manager at a Fortune 200 company in the Healthcare sector, where he directly oversees annual project budgets of over $48 Million. Trent is a passionate advocate for Education as the single best tool to lift individuals, communities, and our world. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and philosophy, a Master’s degree in Engineering Management, and holds numerous professional certifications in Project Management, Leadership, and Financial Management. Trent grew up in Colorado, and after working in several states and traveling the world, he returned to Colorado to build a life with his wife and two dogs.

BOARD MEMBER (she/her)

Chevy Lowe is the director of The College Place-Colorado. She has 10 years of experience helping students pursue higher education. In her work at The College Place, she enjoys watching students' faces light up once they realize a postsecondary education can be affordable. She holds a BA from State University of West Georgia and an MBA from Webster University.

SECRETARY (he/his)

For the past ten years I have worked for the city of Aurora as a supervisor of recreation centers. We were able to use the ABCD principles to get the community engaged and push the city to build a new recreation center in North Aurora. The area had a bad reputation of poverty, low-income residents, huge immigrant population, gangs, crime and youth in trouble. We started many partnerships in the community, tackled many issues around poverty, jobs, gangs, police issues, etc. The center became the hub in the community. One of our most successful projects was to get the Moorhead Community Center remodeled.

More recently, I have done consulting on community engagement for the Denver Foundation’ work in Africa. I have left the city just a few months ago to pursue community engagement work full time. I sit as a trustee of the Denver Foundation, and on 25 different committees from Basic Human Needs, Education, Inclusion, Strengthening Neighborhoods, Stapleton Foundation, etc.​

BOARD MEMBER( she/her)

As a board member, I am “Futureproofing the organization.” The Board of Directors is a working, community-driven, fundraising group of strong individuals.

The world is growing and changing all the time, with new capabilities, possibilities, and risks entering our consciousness. Regular training, discussions, evaluations, and strategic planning help you avoid treading water and keep you competitive by ensuring you are on top of new technology and current best practices.

BOARD MEMBER (She/her)

Sylvi’s passion for equitable educational attainment has steered her professional journey. Her career began 17 years ago as a teacher in diverse secondary & post-secondary classrooms. As Senior Director of Research for Nuro Retention, Sylvi analyzed non-cognitive factors related to student success and engagement in Higher Education. As Senior Research Analyst at the University of Chicago’s Center for the Economics of Human Development, Sylvi supported CEHD’s mission to reduce economic inequality and promote human flourishing by contributing to impact evaluations of Infant and Early Childhood programming that demonstrate a 10-13% return on investment.

She earned a master’s degree in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of Illinois, and a teaching certificate through National Louis University.