About Us

Lauren Asher, President

Lauren Asher joined the Institute in 2005 and oversees the organization's programs and operations. Ms. Asher also leads the Institute's efforts to simplify the financial aid application process. An expert in policy analysis and issue-based communications, her background includes management roles in nonprofit, government, and philanthropic organizations. After serving in senior positions at the Kaiser Family Foundation, National Partnership for Women & Families, and U.S. Departmentof Labor, Ms. Asher founded and ran Asher Policy Consulting from 2002-2005. Her clients included national, state, and local nonprofits and foundations working to improve the lives of children, youth, and working families. She holds an M.P.A. from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from Brown University.

Kelly Solari, Chief Financial Officer

Kelly Solari oversees the management of the institute's finances, including all accounting functions, grants and contracts, and human resource policies. Before joining the Institute, she spent ten years honing her business management, financial, and human resources skills in the for-profit sector. Her pre-financial career included management in private post-secondary education and volunteer teaching in local and international settings. She earned her B.A. from UC Berkeley in English and Practice of Art.

Pauline Abernathy, Acting Director of Policy and Strategy 

Pauline Abernathy has joined the Institute's staff on a temporary basis to coordinate policy and advocacy strategy and assist with recruitment. She is on leave from her position as Senior Advisor to Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter. Ms. Abernathy previously served as Deputy Director of Health and Human Services Policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where she initiated, designed and managed national initiatives related to child welfare, underage drinking prevention, retirement savings and student debt policy. Prior to joining Pew, she served in senior positions at the U.S. Department of Education and the White House National Economic Council and Domestic Policy Council. She also worked in the U.S. Senate and at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Ms. Abernathy has a B.A. from Yale University and a M.P.P. from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. 

Edie Irons, Communications Director

Edie Irons manages the Institute's external communications, media relations, web sites, andpublications. Before joining the Institute in 2005, she worked as a researcher with the Alameda Central Labor Council, an assistant canvass director at Grassroots Campaigns, a volunteer fundraiser for the League of Young Voters, and as a ceramic artist. Ms. Irons has represented the Institute at conferences and events, and in newspapers, radio, and television. She has a B.A. in History from Barnard College.

Andrea Teodorini keeps the Institute's office running smoothly as receptionist, bookkeeper, scheduler, andevent-planner. She has an extensive and diverse professional background. Ms.Teodorini has worked in the banking and mortgage fields in customer service, accounting, and administrative capacities. She holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Rowan University in New Jersey (formerly Glassboro State College).

Hilda Hernández-Gravelle, MSW, Ed.D., Senior Research Analyst

Hilda Hernández-Gravelle has more than two decades of experience in higher education administration, and an extensive background in college counseling, student affairs and diversity programming. She directs the Institute's work in support of the Ford Foundation's Difficult Dialogues Initiaves. Dr. Hernández-Gravelle has served as Assistant Dean of Harvard College and founding director of its Office of Race Relations and Minority Affairs. She has also served in senior roles at Simmons College and Mills College and worked as a program officer at the James Irvine Foundation, Campus Diversity Initiative. She has taught at several universities in the Northeast. Dr. Hernández-Gravelle earned her B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, her masters from Simmons School of Social Work, and her doctorate in administration, planning and social policy in higher education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Deborah Frankle Cochrane, Program Director

Debbie Cochrane directs the Institute's Keeping California's Promise program and oversees work relating to community colleges, transfer students, and foster youth. She is a leading expert on financial aid issues in California. Before joining the Institute's staff, Ms. Cochrane worked as a policy analyst at the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, focusing primarily on community college affordability and finance policy issues. Prior to that she worked as a researcher with AFSCME Local 3299, which represents service and patient care technical workers at the University of California. Other experience includes direct service and management roles within a variety of nonprofit settings. She holds an MSW with a focus on social policy from San Francisco State University and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Matthew Reed, Program Director

Matt Reed directs our work on higher education data, institutional policy, and the clarity and accessibility of financial aid information, and is the author of the Project on Student Debt's annual state-by-state student debt report. He is an expert on higher education data and policy, and serves on several technical review panels for federal data sources. Prior to joining the Institute, Mr. Reed spent six years as a high school math teacher and technology coordinator in the Chicago Public Schools, and has worked on education projects in South Africa and Angola. Mr. Reed's policy analysis experience includes projects in education reform, housing, and labor policy. He holds an M.P.P. from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, an M.S.Ed. in Instructional Technology from Northern Illinois University, and a B.A. from Swarthmore College.

Cedrick Andrews, Policy Associate

Cedrick Andrews works on a range of issues including consumer protections for private student loan borrowers, institutional policy, and the clarity and accessibility of financial aid information. Prior to working at the Institute he was Director of Programs at the Center for Student Opportunity in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting higher education opportunities for first-generation and other historically underserved college-bound students. Mr. Andrews is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he interned in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions with responsibilities and exposure in student recruitment, multicultural programming, and institutional marketing. In the summer of 2003, he served as a Finance and Legislative Affairs Intern in the Office of Governor Bob Riley (Alabama) during an historic constitutional reform effort to improve public education. Mr. Andrews has a B.A. in Philosophy, and his academic background includes a focus on the challenges to civic life resulting from the confluence of social, economic, and political considerations, especially in education.

Diane Cheng, Research Associate

Diane Cheng is working to increase the quality and accessibility of higher education data for researchers and the public. She graduated from Stanford University with an M.A. and B.A. in Sociology, specializing in social stratification and inequality. Using surveys and interviews, her thesis explored parent opinions on the importance of diversity in K-12 public schooling in San Francisco, particularly surrounding the issues of resegregation and race-conscious student assignment. As a Public Interest Law Fellow at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, Ms. Cheng conducted research on the educational experience of African-American school-aged youth in San Francisco. At Stanford, Ms. Cheng worked as a research assistant in the Sociology Department, primarily investigating the predictors of collective action in Chicago. She also worked directly with students as a head peer adviser of the Stanford Sociology Department.

Shannon Gallegos, Communications Associate

Shannon Gallegos monitors and analyzes media coverage of college access issues and provides graphic design, web site maintenance, and publication coordination. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Ethnic Studies. As an undergraduate, Ms. Gallegos worked for educational equality for students from underrepresented backgrounds as a peer mentor with UCSD's Office of Academic Support & Instructional Services. Before coming to the Institute, she worked for Rescue Social Change Group, a San Diego social marketing firm, and in various positions within San Diego area Upward Bound programs.

Denise Sauerteig, Research Associate 

Denise Sauerteig works on assessment and evaluation in support of the Ford Foundation's Difficult Dialogues Initiatives. She has worked in the education and nonprofit fields for several years, specializing in program evaluation and communications. Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Sauerteig directed the English-language marketing and communications program at Escuela Nueva, an organization based in Colombia that focuses on improving the quality of education for marginalized and underserved children. Ms. Sauerteig's earlier work and research focused on improving the delivery and quality of early childhood care and education, both domestically and abroad. Ms. Sauerteig brings a strong understanding of diversity issues in the United States to the Institute and the Difficult Dialogues Initiative, as she comes from an international and culturally diverse family. She holds a B.A. in psychology with highest honors from Emory University, and an M.A. in International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University.

Laura Szabo-Kubitz, Policy Associate

Laura Szabo-Kubitz works on our Keeping California's Promise program on issues involving foster youth, community colleges, and student engagement and activism. In the past, Ms. Szabo-Kubitz has worked as an educator and in the non-profit sector, most recently as the recruiting coordinator for American Student Assistance (ASA), a student loan guarantor with a mission to make student loans more manageable and affordable. Before ASA, Ms. Szabo-Kubitz worked at Aim High, a nonprofit that creates empowering environments for the educational and personal growth of middle school students. She also has experience with nonprofit direct service and finance, having worked as the Parent Voices Project Associate and Assistant to the CFO at the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network. She received her M.A. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her B.A. in English from Oberlin College.

Melissa Tooley, Policy Associate

Melissa Tooley's work at the Institute focuses on federal legislative and regulatory initiatives, federal loan repayment policy, and FAFSA simplification. Ms. Tooley has considerable research and analysis experience, including seven years conducting market research projects for BASES, a serviceof The Nielsen Company, and one year evaluating and performing research on nonprofits' online communication programs at Donordigital. She has worked in the nonprofit sector as both Director of Programs & Education, and Director of Government Relations at the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater New York, where she developed and grew the Foundation's advocacy program. Before moving to the Bay Area, Ms. Tooley volunteered her research skills at Centro Andino Accion Popular, an NGO in Quito, Ecuador that conducts policy research to improve the economic situation of underserved communities in that country. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Drew University.