Executive Team


Biographies

J.B. Schramm
Founder and CEO
J.B. founded College Summit in 1993 while directing a teen center in the basement of a low-income housing project in Washington, D.C. Since that time, in partnership with school districts around the country, College Summit has built partnerships with school districts in 12 states. This year, the organization will work with 150 high schools with 17,000 seniors and 80,000 total students. In recognition of the organization’s impact, College Summit was recognized at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as the United States Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation.

For its impact in helping communities raise college enrollment rates for low-income students, College Summit has twice been featured in an annual report on initiatives to diversify higher education by the U.S. Department of Education, received the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s highest award for improving college access, and was profiled in David Bornstein’s 2004 book How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas. The organization has also received awards in social enterprise from Ashoka, Fast Company Magazine, The Manhattan Institute, and The Skoll Foundation.

J.B. is a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Regis University, the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award and the Harvard Divinity School First Decade Award. He is a graduate of Denver Public Schools, Yale University and Harvard Divinity School. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Lauren, and three children.

Dean Furbush
President
Dean joined College Summit as President in July 2007, after spending six months working with the organization to redesign certain business systems. Hardly a newcomer to College Summit, Dean was the organization’s Founding Board Chair, and has served on College Summit’s Board of Directors since 1995.

Previously, Dean served as Chief Executive Officer of FreshDirect, after being hired as Chief Operating Officer in 2003. He served at the NASDAQ Stock Market, as Chief Economist and then Executive Vice President of NASDAQ Transaction Services. Before this, Dean was Senior Economist at Economists Incorporated, a position he held from October 1990 to June 1995. Dean served as Economic Advisor to the Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, from October 1989 to August 1990, and Financial Economist at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Economic Analysis, from June 1987 to October 1989. Dean has held teaching positions at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and at the University of Maryland.

From June 1985 to September 1986, and again in January 1987, he was a consultant and junior staff economist in the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Council of Economic Advisers. Dean was a research associate at the Center for Naval Analyses, Marine Corps Operations & Analysis Group, from October 1982 to June 1985.

He received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland

Derek Canty
Co-Founder and Vice President of Alumni and Diversity
Derek has been an integral part of the College Summit family since its inception—as a youth motivator, organizational facilitator, and the force behind the Rap training program. Upon graduating from Columbia, Derek worked with several Fortune 500 companies, including Xerox, Procter & Gamble, and New York Life Financial. He then followed his passion for working with young people and launched Winning Edge, a company empowering thousands of youth and the nonprofit organizations that serve them, of which he served as Founder and CEO for more than a decade. Derek joined College Summit full-time in early 2006, bringing a specific interest and expertise in developing and sustaining the organization’s culture. Derek is a graduate of Columbia University (B.A., 1985).

Keith Frome
Chief Academic Officer and Vice President of Program
A graduate of the University of Connecticut (M.A., analytic philosophy), Harvard Divinity School (M.A., Theological Studies), and Columbia University's Teacher's College (Ph.D., philosophy and education), Keith has provided his blend of philosophy, education theory, and knowledge of writing process to College Summit since 1994, when he and J.B. created and ran a weekend college admissions workshop that served as a prototype for College Summit's summer workshop. Between 1994 and 1995, he led the development of the writing curriculum that has served as a pillar of College Summit's approach to navigating the college application. He served as Assistant Headmaster and Head of Upper School of the Browning School in New York City for three years, and Headmaster of the Elmwood Franklin School, a coeducational Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade independent school in Buffalo, New York for ten years. During his tenure at the latter, he founded Achieve: The Elmwood Franklin Center for Tutoring and Enrichment, an off-campus tutoring center open to all students from all schools. Achieve has been nationally recognized for its innovative, entrepreneurial approach to independent school financing.

He is the co-editor of the award-winning Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry (one of the texts selected for the national “Remembering Slavery” curriculum and is included in the American Library Association's top ten recommended reference books for school libraries) and the author of two books, What Not to Expect: a Meditation on the Spirituality of Parenting (2005) and the forthcoming How’s My Kid Doing? and Other Frequently Asked Questions about Schools and Education (Spring 2008).

Brian Gaines
Vice President of Partnerships, Marketing and Regional Operations
Brian Gaines is the Vice President of Site Management. Brian joined the staff of College Summit in April 2006 after spending most of his professional career working for and creating several entrepreneurial endeavors at the intersection of the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds.

Before joining College Summit he was the Founding Executive Director of the Joshua Venture, a venture philanthropy fund working support innovative projects serving the Jewish community. Previously he was the CEO and Managing Partner of a chain of Ben & Jerry’s retail outlets in the San Francisco Bay Area and served as the Western Regional Business Manager for Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc. He has also help to found several other nonprofit organizations including Ice Cream on Wheels (ICOW) and served as the President of the San Francisco Human Services Commission.

A graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, he now lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and two children, Jaden and Casey.

Sean Murray
Vice President of Program Operations
As a Director of Service Delivery for the European Division of MCI Telecommunications prior to joining College Summit, Sean managed technology, project management, training, and finance teams in support of global operations. Over a 10-year career at MCI, he also led numerous other teams in the specific areas of business development and sales. Eager to apply his developed expertise in business operations to a social change effort, Sean served as a strategic consultant to College Summit throughout 2004, and volunteered as a summer workshop Writing Coach. Deeply convinced that the organization could make a lasting impact, he joined full-time as Chief of Staff & VP of Service Operations in January 2005. Sean is a graduate of the College of William & Mary (B.S., 1989) and the Darden Business School at the University of Virginia (M.B.A., 1993).

Steve Scheier
Vice President of Human Assets and Training
Steve Scheier joined College Summit in January 2007 after spending the last fifteen years, among other things, leading the human resource departments of three different technology companies. From 1982 to 1991, he worked for Apple Computer in various roles, including Director of K-12 Marketing and Manager of Creative Services. As Macintosh Product Introduction Manager he oversaw product launch of the iconic Macintosh computer. Steve brings to College Summit his expertise in leadership development, organizational analysis, employee communication, performance management, recruiting and employee relations. He received a B.A. in Russian History and a M.A. in Educational Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mora Segal
Chief Strategy Officer
After working with refugees in Boston through AmeriCorps, and serving as a Coro Foundation fellow in St. Louis, Mora co-founded an Internet publishing company, SchoolSports, where she helped grow the company to eighty people over four years, led marketing and new business development efforts, and launched operations in offices nationwide. Mora joined College Summit in 2004, and is responsible for the growth of the organization, including strengthening partnerships with school districts and colleges across the country, expanding to new sites, and ensuring the organization achieves its annual revenue goals. She is a graduate of Yale University (B.A., 1995) and Harvard Business School (MBA, 2003).

Jackie Thomas-Suggs
Vice President Development
As Vice President of Development, Jackie is responsible for managing the Development department and for raising philanthropic revenue for College Summit.
Previously, Jackie was Vice President and Chief Development Officer for the Points of Light Foundation. Prior to the Points of Light, Jackie was the chief development officer for the NAACP national headquarters in Baltimore, MD. She has more than 29 years of fundraising experience, primarily working for institutions of higher education, including Howard, Gallaudet, Fisk, Vanderbilt and James Madison universities. She has also served as executive director for the United Service Organizations (USO) for six years in Germany, Spain and Italy.  Jackie has been responsible for two successful capital campaigns that produced more than $300 million resulting in the enhancement of both the annual fund and endowment funds. Additionally, a portion of the funds raised went towards the building of two major libraries and three college buildings on university campuses. 

Jackie was married for 28 years to the late Dan Suggs, Jr. and is the mother of Stasie and Leah Suggs. She currently resides in Elkridge, Md. In her spare time, Jackie enjoys reading, working in her garden, collecting African art and traveling.

David Seabrook
Chief Financial Officer
Dave joined the staff of College Summit in February 2008. He spent the last three years as the CFO of the Community Preservation and Development Corporation, which creates and preserves financially sound, affordable housing for low-income individuals and families in Washington, DC. Before that, he was a Finance Director in charge of accounting and compliance at Amtrak. He has worked as an Audit Manager for Ernst and Young in New York City for five years, and held executive financial positions at a bio-technology firm, Mutual of New York and a federal housing agency. In addition, Dave provided his financial expertise as a consultant to small minority firms for a number of years in Richmond, Virginia.

At College Summit, Dave is now responsible for financial accounting and controls, operations and analysis to guide financial resources to areas where they will have the biggest impact. He is also an active partner in strategic planning and annual budgeting.

Dave is a CPA and a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany with a degree in Business Administration. He is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certified Cash Manager (CCM).

Michelle Tafel
Chief of Staff
Michelle joined College Summit’s executive team in March 2008 as Chief of Staff. In this role, she works with the president, CEO, executive team, and board of directors to drive the achievement of College Summit’s mission. She assists the president in meeting organizational goals through successful day-to-day activities, with a focus on planning, process improvement, and stakeholder relationships. Michelle coordinates the work of the executive team, and manages the administrative and facilities teams.

Since October 2004, Michelle has held various positions at College Summit related to board development, fundraising, and CEO Initiatives. Prior to her work at College Summit, she worked for Facilitating Leadership in Youth as a mentor, tutor, teacher and founder of their young women’s program. Michelle is a graduate of American University (B.A.).

 

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