College Summit NY Regional Team

 

 

Mike Everett-Lane, New York Executive Director 
Mike brings over 18 years of nonprofit experience in executive leadership, digital and traditional fundraising, and communications. Prior to joining College Summit, Mike served as the Executive Director of the Northeast Region of DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that connects donors to public school classrooms in need. He also helped bring resources to public schools while at Computers for Youth, directed social enterprise ventures for Project Renewal, which serves single homeless adults in New York City, and worked to improve the East Harlem community while at the Union Settlement Association. Mike is the co-founder of ImprovEdge, a consulting company that provides corporate leadership training. He recently joined the board of Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyn. He received his BA from Yale University and his MBA from Harvard.

646-783-6161

 

Tasha Henry Wilson, NYC School Partnership Manager

Tasha Henry Wilson is a Brooklyn, New York native. She attended the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Business Administration. After receiving her B.A., Tasha went on to work with youth in various capacities, including directing an afterschool/summer camp program and creating and facilitating an Early Awareness program for middle school students. Tasha has attended Goddard Riverside’s College Access Professional Development Institute training, and has also worked as a College Counselor for College S.T.E.P.S., a college access program in Brooklyn, helping to get over 100 high school students enrolled in college. She also acted as the Coordinator for the Moving Towards Achievement program, which focused on enrolling out of school youth in college and maintaining retention. Tasha recently went back to school and received her M.S.W. from Fordham University. This past year she worked in a NYC Public High School as a  School Social Worker.

646-783-6153

 

Laura Larimer, Development Director

Laura Larimer is the Regional Director of Development for College Summit New York and oversees fundraising activities for the organization in New York and Connecticut. She joined College Summit from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), where she served in several capacities for the New York Metro region, including Director of Development and Acting Co-Regional Director. Over eight years, her accomplishments include tripling the region’s annual fundraising performance and implementing a strategic plan that resulted in 150% growth in students trained annually in New York. Previously, Laura managed communications campaigns for educational and nonprofit clients at Widmeyer Communications, a leading public relations firm in Washington, DC. 

646-783-6154

Gary Z. Linnen, Operations Program Manager
Gary Z. Linnen is the Operations Program Manager at College Summit with more than nine years experience in the educational and test preparation arena. He currently works with 10 high schools across New York City to increase college enrollment rates. Additionally, Mr. Linnen manages operations of New York and Connecticut’s summer workshops and various other major community events. Prior to joining College Summit, Gary worked with The Princeton Review to manage its test‐prep and tutoring programs for thousands of students from an array of communities. Mr. Linnen is a graduate of Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government.

646-783-6155

 

Christie Mitchell, New York Program Director
Christie manages the implementation of College Summit’s model with partner high schools; manages regional workshop execution; supervises a team of four School Partnership Managers; and is a part of the Educators’ Academy curriculum development working team. Previously, Christie developed programs for low-income patients and their families for social service agencies and was an elementary school special education teacher.  She holds an M.S.W. from Columbia University, an M.S. in Special Education from Bank Street College of Education, and a B.A. from Loyola University, New Orleans.

646-783-6157

 

Shannon Ortiz, School Partnership Manager
Shannon Ortiz shares her knowledge, skills and passion for college access with College Summit New York as a School Partnership Manager. Prior to working for College Summit, Shannon worked for New Visions for Public Schools in their EPO department, which supported the Turnaround Model in high schools. Formerly an English teacher in New Haven, Shannon designed Imaginate (a mentoring program) to address the low rate of college application among Puerto Rican males.  She is currently working on a Master’s degree at New York University focusing on residential and educational policies that impact Puerto Rican and African American families.

646-783-6152

 

Ali Ryan Scott, Office Logistics Coordinator
Ali Ryan Scott serves as the Coordinator of Office Logistics for College Summit New York. In this capacity Ali coordinates invoicing, and works on development and sales projects. Prior to joining the College Summit team, she served as the managing partner of The Scott Firm, P.C., a boutique law firm specializing in entertainment, corporate, and real estate law. Ali also worked as an event planner/producer, organizing events for companies such as Essence and Black Enterprise magazine and prominent non-profit organizations throughout New York City. Ali has also served Ali is a native of Los Angeles, California and a graduate of Howard University and Howard University School of Law.

646-783-6159

 

Juaquín Sims, Operations Associate

Juaquín supports the Director of Program Partnerships and the Program Manager, with a focus on events management, volunteer recruitment and logistical support.  Juaquín received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University, where he chaired the multicultural organization Umoja. 

646-783-6160

 

 

 

 

College Summit NY Advisory Board

College Summit New York’s Advisory Board consists of persons who reflect the social, cultural and spiritual diversity of the New York City metropolitan area. The combined passion and commitment of our Advisory Board Members allows us to develop and implement comprehensive services that are delivered with consistency and the highest level of integrity to the students we serve.

 
 
Paula Cleary (Board Chair)

Trenesa Stanford Danuser

Vice President, Origins and Ojon Global Communications and Strategic Alliances, The Estee Lauder Companies

Nicholas M. Florio
Principal, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP

Kathleen Kapnick