Staff

Photo: Breakthrough Collaborative
National Leadership
Elissa Vanaver, Chief Executive Officer

Rachel Martinez de Canada, Chief People & Program Officer

Jeremy Gough, Chief Development Officer

Ieesha McKinzie Collins, Managing Director of External Relations
Ieesha values being a lifelong learner and has participated in several leadership programs including The Broad Residency in Urban Education (TBR ’17-19), Management Leadership for Tomorrow, and Teach For America (Atlanta ’06). Ieesha was introduced to Breakthrough during her sophomore year of college as a teaching fellow with Breakthrough Atlanta. This sparked her commitment to educational equity. She went on to work for the Breakthrough National Office and later served on the boards of Breakthrough Twin Cities and Breakthrough Houston. Ieesha is a proud first-generation college graduate who earned a BA in journalism from Hampton University and an MS in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University. Outside of the office, Ieesha enjoys spending time with family and friends and hosting social events and group gatherings for fun.

Nicole Noga, Managing Director of Operations

National Staff
Jonathan Appleby, Director of Recruitment
Kyle Bobrick, National Communications Manager
Claire Contonente, Administrative Associate
Jee Deogracias, Director of Research & Evaluation
Leah Ehinger, Development Associate

Phyllis Elick, Senior Director of High School and College Bound Programming

Natalie Jacobs, Recruitment Associate

Kirra Mesches, Junior Salesforce Administrator

Nicholas Wilson, Program Manager

Meredith Zackey, Senior Director of Programs
