Our Team
Working in a social enterprise, serving in the Teach For America corps, recruiting in the private sector – this is just a sampling of the backgrounds and interests our team brings to the table. Many of us have worked in mission-driven organizations, so we know firsthand the type of talent and infrastructure required to make them thrive. Through our experiences, we bring multiple networks that we leverage to source new candidates and make connections.
Before joining On-Ramps, Heather worked at Capital One, where she managed and carried out qualitative research, content strategy, and information architecture initiatives for employee and customer experiences. In between her roles at Capital One, she joined Bonfire, a custom apparel crowdfunding platform, as Director of Marketing where she led her team through a companywide rebrand to release a new website, product marketing campaigns, and customer messaging solutions during a technology overhaul. Heather spent her early career working in creative production as a copywriter and then as a digital campaign manager.
Heather is a graduate of Clemson University and resides in Richmond, Virginia with her husband. In her spare time, you can find her working on her craft business, preparing their house for its centennial celebration, or enjoying the company of good friends and community.
Prior to her work at TNTP, Michele spent six years in school leadership coaching hundreds of novice and veteran teachers improve their practice and increase their students’ academic achievement in traditional and charter school systems. She directed initiatives in literacy, Response to Intervention (RTI), Black History Month curricula and program, family engagement, and Special Education reform.
Her work experience rests on a foundation of 9 years as a classroom teacher where she earned National Board Teacher Certification and was voted Teacher of the Year twice.
She holds a B.A. in French Literature from Knox College and a M.Ed in Reading from the University of Texas – Pan American. She lives in Richmond, VA with her wife, Tracy, and daughter, Camilla.
Isabella has been with On-Ramps since 2018. She works on searches across industry and function, conducting candidate assessment and outreach, as well as partnering with clients. She also participates in the firm's culture building and business development work, planning skill-building, social, and wellness engagements for the On-Ramps team.
Prior to joining the firm, Isabella worked for several years in the food social impact space, most recently as the Local Initiative Manager for Blount Fine Foods, strengthening the company's impact on the local community. Before this work, she was the Director of Food Initiatives at Social Enterprise Greenhouse in Providence, RI, orchestrating their food business programming. Isabella also coordinated RI Food Day, planning and executing events around food justice and policy.
Isabella graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Psychology. In 2016, Isabella graduated as a New Leaders Council Institute Fellow. Originally from Massachusetts, Isabella now happily resides in Brooklyn. When not working, you can find Isabella exploring Prospect Park, meandering through New York's museums, and bouncing between yoga and dance classes.
Suzette graduated with a dual B.A. in Psychology and Women and Gender Studies from Rutgers University. A native of Newark, NJ, Suzette still calls it her home. In her free time, you can find her in a virtual salsa class or roller skating in her local rink.
Emily brings a background in higher education, educational publishing, creative writing, and administration to the On-Ramps team. Prior to joining On-Ramps, Emily wrote and edited educational video games and training module scripts for NogginLabs. Before her time at NogginLabs, Emily was the program coordinator for the University of Chicago's Center for Teaching and Learning, where she helped organize and plan seminars and workshops for faculty and graduate student teachers to help improve their teaching.
Emily graduated from Boston College with a B.A. in English and Theatre. An award-winning playwright, Emily recently completed her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa's Playwright's Workshop. Although she grew up in Virginia, Emily is now happy to call Brooklyn home.
Kevin joined On-Ramps as a Search Analyst in 2019. In his role, he currently provides active project support for several searches.
Prior to On-Ramps, Kevin spent a year serving as an AmeriCorps Member with City Year Boston. During his service year, he taught Math, English Language Arts and Social-Emotional Learning in an elementary school. With his peers at City Year, Kevin launched an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Affinity Group: a space for AAPI employees to build community and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the organization.
Kevin graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Anthropology. At Brown, he supported several programs run by the Swearer Center for Public Service and practiced Taekwondo with the University’s Taekwondo club. Originally from Sacramento, California, Kevin is happy to call New York City his new home. In his spare time, he can be found watching cooking videos, playing board games, or traveling.
Imani has been with On-Ramps since 2018. As a Search Associate, Imani currently supports searches across industry and function through building relationships with clients, managing time-sensitive logistics and conducting candidate assessments and outreach. She is also involved in building the firm's culture and marketing strategies, increasing team engagement and expanding our audience base.
Before joining On-Ramps, Imani worked in e-commerce at Jet.com, where she was managed multiple accounts and was responsible for driving revenue growth and creating the optimal online customer experience. Prior to Jet, Imani was an African-American Studies major at Yale University, finding the right balance across a rigorous course load, extracurricular activities, and volunteer work.
A born and bred New Yorker, Imani is a proud resident of Brooklyn, NY. In her free time, you can find her curating music playlists, identifying the coziest cafes, and engaging in discussions across lines of difference.
Lee holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dillard University and a Master’s in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University. He serves as an Executive Board Member for Side by Side, a non-profit dedicated to providing safe spaces and services to LGBTQ youth of Richmond. Lee also serves as a board member to Diversity Richmond, a non-profit that advocates for the equity of LGBTQIA+ individuals. He is a proud member of Alpha Omega Kappa Fraternity Incorporated, a fraternal organization for transmen, and serves as the organization’s national treasurer.
Lee strives to create opportunities to enrich the lives of marginalized and underrepresented identities. He enjoys spending time with his wife and family and visiting his hometown of New Orleans.
Additionally, her past role as Personal Assistant and Office Manager at Rocky Mountain Productions prepped her to anticipate the needs of her employer, while encouraging an environment of collaboration and instant feedback. Other administrative tasks included: developing daily schedules, arranging travel for Artist and Band, liaising with record labels and press agents, all while maintaining a calm, professional, and growth-mindset attitude.
She holds a B.A. in Communication from Brooklyn College and currently resides in Richmond, VA with her husband and pup.
Alice is a Partner and has been with On-Ramps since 2012. With a background in K12 education, she’s helped lead On-Ramps’ education practice while also serving clients across broader issue areas including philanthropy, civic engagement, and animal welfare (just to name a few). When Alice isn’t busy serving clients, she helps lead On-Ramps’ efforts around process optimization, data analytics, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Prior to joining On-Ramps, Alice worked on staff at Teach For America where she helped launch TFA’s initiative to recruit outside talent to staff and oversaw broader talent strategy work for regional teams. Alice started her career in education working for the Community Education Alliance of West Philadelphia where she served as the Executive Director of two charter schools.
Alice is a graduate of the University of Georgia and resides in the suburbs of Philadelphia with her husband, son, and daughter. Outside of work you can find Alice doing pretty much any type of group fitness class, practicing yoga, and binge watching Bravo.
Sarah, a Founding Partner, brings over twenty years of experience in human capital consulting and people management to On-Ramps. With experience both as a strategy consultant and Head of HR, Sarah brings deep HR experience and a focus on client impact. Sarah has successfully served a wide-variety of clients, leading large change efforts and designing and implementing a range of talent development programs.
Prior to On-Ramps, Sarah was an Engagement Manager at Katzenbach Partners, LLC, where she led projects focused on human capital issues and where her work was profiled in the Wall Street Journal. Prior to working at Katzenbach, Sarah was Director of Organization Development at Skinklinic, a start-up skin care company, where she designed and led the recruiting, training, and performance management programs. Having helped build an organization from the ground up, Sarah understands the importance of not only attracting but also retaining great people.
Sarah is a graduate of Brown University where she received a B.A. in History. Sarah resides in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
Emani attended New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study where his concentration focused on Social & Cultural Analysis, Trauma and Urbanism. Born in New York City and raised in Miami, Emani now resides in Brooklyn. Outside of work Emani enjoys watching movies and 90’s/2000’s tv shows, working on creative projects and being the cool uncle to his niece.
Prior to joining On-Ramps, Les worked for several years in a variety of project management, instructional design, and client support capacities for academic technology services in higher education. Her other work experience includes teaching English as a Foreign Language classes for kindergarten through middle school students in South Korea. She has also done long-term, disaster relief volunteer work in Mississippi, Iowa, and Indonesia.
Les has an MA in individualized studies from Goddard College, an MA in learning sciences from Northwestern University, and a BS in biology from Mary Baldwin University. Originally from the Chicago metropolitan area, she now lives in Henrico, VA. In her spare time, she enjoys writing and creating artwork, spending time with family, and being in nature.
Nakia has spent her career in leadership positions at organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, driving the development of their people and cultures. At On-Ramps, Nakia works with social sector organizations focused on changing the world, leading searches and advising leaders on best practices in recruitment and hiring. In addition to her work with clients, Nakia supports On-Ramps' internal talent work, as well as its work on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Prior to joining On-Ramps, Nakia was Vice President, People & Culture at Girls Who Code. In this role, she was responsible for establishing its people and culture philosophy by revamping recruitment strategies, developing initiatives to support both inclusion and diversity, and providing in-house leadership coaching.
Before joining Girls Who Code, Nakia worked at KIPP NYC as its Managing Director, People. By working closely with senior leaders and becoming the internal Human Resources consultant for the thirteen school and program leaders and regional directors, she transformed the Human Resources function from one managing only transactional interactions to one focused on strategic partnerships.
Prior to joining KIPP NYC, Nakia was the Director of Operations and Human Resources for the Manhattan Borough President's Office – Scott M. Stringer. Under her leadership, the operational and human resources functions of the two borough president's office locations and the twelve (12) Manhattan Community board offices were streamlined and strategically enhanced.
Nakia holds an M.P.A. from CUNY Baruch College, Marxe School of Public, and International Affairs, an M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Mercy College and a B.S. in Organizational Management from Nyack College. Nakia sits on the Board of Directors of STEM From Dance, a nonprofit organization focused on preparing Black and Latina girls for STEM education and careers through dance. Originally from Harlem, NY, Nakia lives in Montclair, NJ with her husband and two sons.
As a Partner at On-Ramps, Sarah leads strategic planning and internal operations, including talent, data analysis, and the firm's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She also leads client engagements, partnering with organizations across a range of issue areas, with an emphasis on education and philanthropy.
Sarah spent the first ten years of her career focused on K-12 education. At Carnegie Corporation of New York, she helped implement the Corporation's grantmaking strategy related to talent management in urban education. She previously worked for the CUNY Early College Initiative, which provides students who are historically underrepresented in higher education with a rigorous college-prep curriculum and early access to college-credit courses. In her early career, Sarah worked as a Data Analyst at the New York City Department of Education and as a Research Assistant at Jobs for the Future.
Sarah holds a B.A. in Education Studies from Brown University and an M.Ed. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey with her husband and daughter.
As Founding Partner, Michelle has been with On-Ramps since 2006. She currently supports the firm’s strategy development, external relations and finance. She also leads client engagements, working with organizations across a range of issue areas, with an emphasis on impact investing, education, advocacy, and philanthropy.
Before co-founding On-Ramps, Michelle worked in finance at Time, Inc., where she was responsible for both revenue growth initiatives and strategic cost containment. Prior to that, she worked at Deutsche Bank as an equity research associate. Michelle spent her early career working in elementary education, first as a teaching assistant and then as a classroom teacher.
Michelle holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, and an M.Ed. from Columbia University, Teachers College. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of California, Los Angeles. Originally from Long Island, Michelle is now a proud resident of Brooklyn, NY. In her spare time, you can find her admiring her cat and dog, riding her bicycle, or working as a volunteer political organizer.
Robert has been with On-Ramps since 2010. As a Partner, he leads client engagements across a broad range of issue areas including policy and advocacy, education, and philanthropy. He also supports the firm's external relations and talent development initiatives.
Prior to joining On-Ramps, Robert served as the Director of Young People For, a youth leadership development program housed in People For the American Way Foundation. There Robert built programs and staffed departments designed to support historically marginalized college students begin long-term careers in the Social Sector.
Robert started his career at The White House Project where he supported the development of a civic engagement program aimed at increasing women’s political participation. There, Robert helped recruit, hire and support staff for the opening of four regional offices that have trained over 10,000 women to run for office.
Robert holds a B.A. in Philosophy and French from the University of Richmond. A lifelong New Yorker, Robert lives in Hell’s Kitchen with his family. When he's not in the office, you can find him practicing yoga, spinning, or testing a new recipe.
Cindy brings nearly 20 years' experience in the non-profit sector to her work at On-Ramps.
Previously, Cindy was the New York Executive Director at LIFT, a national nonprofit that works to break the cycle of poverty for families. In this role, she was responsible for strategy, fundraising and program development for the NYC site. She played a key role in helping the organization evolve its mission to focus on families with young kids, built and grew the local board and oversaw a relocation of the NYC office to the South Bronx.
Prior to joining LIFT, Cindy spent nearly 6 years at CFY (now called PowerMyLearning) with the last two years as the Executive Director of the New York City office. She oversaw significant expansion of CFY's programmatic work partnering with the NYC Department of Education in 100 public middle and high schools and hiring and managing over 40 full-time and 100 part-time staff.
In her early career, Cindy held various roles with a service learning organization in Washington D.C., Chicago and New York City. She also worked in a fundraising capacity with the Seattle and NYC AIDS Walks.
Cindy holds a M.A. in Community Development from North Park University, is a Coro Leadership-NY alum and served as an interim School Board Member in Richmond, VA where she resides with her husband and two daughters.
Prior to moving to Richmond, Michael worked with GrowNYC, where he managed the Wholesale Greenmarket in Hunts Point, Bronx, and served as daily market manager for a number of neighborhood Greenmarkets throughout the city. While in school, he worked at the New York City Department of City Planning where he conducted research and assisted in the City’s preparation for the 2010 U.S. Census.
Michael graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.S. in Urban Studies and earned his Master’s in Urban Planning from Hunter College in New York City. When not working, you can find him exploring Richmond with his wife and daughter.
At On-Ramps, Diana manages the search process to ensure that mission-driven organizations are matched with talent that will bring the highest impact to their work.
Prior to joining On-Ramps, Diana spent four years in education management working for the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE). Most recently, Diana worked as the Director of Strategic Projects for the Office of School Quality. Her responsibilities included managing data analytics and reporting as well as policy communications to internal and external stakeholders. During her time at the NYCDOE, Diana also worked as a data specialist for the Office of Assessment and data analyst for the Pre-K for All team.
Before joining the NYCDOE, Diana started her career at New York University as a project manager for several research studies that focused on child learning and development in urban settings. As the project manager, Diana's main responsibilities included the planning and execution of the studies, hiring and training of data collectors, representing the research lab at conferences, and holding presentations for potential research partners.
Diana holds an M.P.A in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy from New York University, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a B.A. in Psychology from New York University. Born and raised in Queens, Diana now resides in Brooklyn with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs. In her spare time, Diana is working with a group of recently arrived teenage students as they navigate life in New York City.
Mary is an Administrative Coordinator at On-Ramps and has been supporting our team remotely since 2008.
Before joining On-Ramps, Mary spent 17 years as a Travel Consultant working with corporate and leisure clients across the country where she would plan and organize every aspect of travel, including corporate events.
Mary enjoys volunteering at local schools, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Mary grew up in Chicago, has also lived and worked in San Francisco, CA and Albany, NY. She now resides near Raleigh, NC with her husband and son.
Kristen joined On-Ramps in 2015 and brings a unique background in immigration law and non-profit education management to the On-Ramps team. Prior to joining On-Ramps, Kristen worked for an immigration law firm managing complex visa processes and working with global mobility teams to acquire international talent.
She began her career as a City Year New York corps member, implementing after-school programming. From there, she shifted into a project management role where she founded a successful student leadership program and trained first-year corps members to increase their students' attendance and promote positive behavior through the implementation of events.
Kristen graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University with a dual B.A. in English and Communication. She currently lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Laura holds a master's in Applied Anthropology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and B.A. in Psychology from Eastern Mennonite University. After graduate school, she was part of an interdisciplinary research team studying faith-based organizations. This research involved conducting ethnography on two evangelical organizations in the DC area.
Laura has lived abroad in Ghana and Guatemala, and taught English in Honduras. A Nutella enthusiast, Laura lives in Richmond, Va and you can find her at a bookstore, museum, coffee shop or simply outside people-watching.
Before On-Ramps, Deonté worked as a Program Associate at My Brother’s Keeper Newark, which was established in 2014 when Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s office accepted the Call to Action from the National My Brother’s Keeper Alliance. In that role, he organized and coordinated events that focused on community education, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement, and led programming that focused on closing opportunity gaps for boys and young men of color, specifically in the city of Newark, NJ.
Deonté holds a B.A. in Business Management from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. Upon graduating undergrad, Deonté moved back to Newark, NJ, where he was born and raised, following a passion for non-profit work and a deep love for his city. Outside of the office, Deonté is a singer/songwriter and will often be found in the studio creating music, consuming the broad context of music from music’s past to music’s present, or singing at his home church.
As a Search Consultant, Madeline leads client engagements across a range of issue and functional areas, as well as supports the firm’s internal talent and business development work. Before joining On-Ramps, she was a founding member of New Bridges Elementary School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and the head of the Arts Department. At New Bridges, she created new curriculum and developed and supervised innovative school-wide programs. Madeline also coordinated every aspect of New Bridges' search and hiring process for teaching and administrative positions. She believes that one of the best ways to serve students in high needs areas is to recruit and retain great talent.
Prior to New Bridges, Madeline taught in the Uncommon Charter School Network in Brooklyn, as a Teach for America corps member, and then with KIPP in the Bronx. At KIPP, Madeline nurtured her passion for talent recruitment as a member of the Hiring Committee, and led her students to achieve more than a year's worth of growth in reading and math.
Madeline graduated from Northwestern University with a B.S. in Theater and earned her M.S.Ed. from Hunter's RELAY Graduate School of Education. Having grown up in the New York metro area, she is happy to now call Brooklyn home.
Elle resides in Virginia and in her free time enjoys reading contemporary mystery novels.
Jess is finishing her PhD in Public Policy with a concentration in Criminal Justice at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs at VCU. Her research focuses on school safety and threat assessment. Jess also holds an M.S in Criminal Justice from VCU and a B.A. in Political Science from N.C. State University.
When not working, Jess enjoys exploring new eats in Richmond, Virginia and binge-watching shows with her two pups and cat at her side.
Tracy lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her wife, Nicole, and two children, Gus and Meret.
Harry, a Founding Partner, has over twenty years of experience in executive search and leads engagements across the social sector. He also oversees much of the firm's infrastructure (operations, technology, facilities, legal), and supports our continuous efforts to improve our search process.
Prior to co-founding On-Ramps, Harry worked for eight years at one of the nation's largest alternative asset recruiting firms, Glocap, where he was a Partner and Managing Director. As its first employee, Harry built and ran the company's Accounting and Operations division, and personally placed COOs and CFOs into many of the world's largest alternative investment funds and their portfolio companies.
Harry earned an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business and a B.A. in Paleobiology from the University of Pennsylvania. Originally from York, Pennsylvania, he now resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife, daughter and son. Before moving to New York, Harry traveled for sixteen months throughout Africa and the Middle East, eight months of which were spent atop a 1970s off-road motorcycle that he semi-successfully rode from Cape Town to Tel Aviv! Upon his return to the States, Harry co-founded and remains a Director of the Kalai Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that raises money for education in Africa. These days, outside of work, he can usually be found on the soccer fields cheering on his kids, in the kitchen cooking (and cleaning) for family and friends, or wandering around the streets and parks of New York in search of the perfect photo opp.
As a Principal at On-Ramps, Will leads client engagements, partnering with organizations across the country to advance a range of missions. In addition to client-facing work, Will also supports the firm's internal talent and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Prior to joining On-Ramps, Will worked in education, beginning as a Teach For America corps member in Philadelphia, and then working in college access, transition and success.
Will graduated from Kenyon College with a B.A. in Sociology and received his M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. Originally from Portland, OR, Will now resides in Brooklyn where he enjoys eating pizza on his roof and going for runs in Prospect Park.
