Mission
Springboard Collaborative closes the opportunity gap by closing the gap between home and school.
Mission and Vision
Vision
We envision a world where families and educators work together to help every child unlock their full potential.
Differentiator
Springboard activates families as essential teaching partners, helping accelerate literacy and math skills for the students who need it most.
Springboard works with districts to accelerate learning for the students who need it most. Every program is built around family-educator partnership: families are activated as members of the teaching team, not invited as observers. In literacy, that model produces an average of 5 months of learning gains in as few as seven weeks, with family participation exceeding 89% nationwide.
The Opportunity
Children spend 80% of their waking hours outside school. Across every community and background, families want to see their children succeed, know what to do to help them learn, and feel confident they are doing so.
The Solution
We work with district educators and families to build programs that accelerate learning in and out of school. Every program is built on a proven family-educator partnership model that gives families the tools, training, and structure to participate as active members of the teaching and learning team.
The Impact
Over nearly 15 years of partnerships, our data shows consistent positive outcomes when families and educators work together. Students in Springboard programs average 5 months of learning gains in as few as seven weeks. Family participation exceeds 89% in districts nationwide.
Families who participate also develop the language and confidence to advocate for their children's learning beyond the program. Springboard partners build that foundation in their communities: accelerated learning for a child today, and families who are better positioned to support and advocate for their children's education for years to come.
118,088
Students served
129
District & charter network partners
3,000+
Programs run
- 40% reading gap closed
- 5.0 months average after-school reading gains
- 4.4 average months summer reading gains
Leadership
Shelly Shires
President
Nnenna Akotaobi
Vice President, People Operations & Strategy
Alejandro Gibes de Gac
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
he/him/his
Alejandro Gibes de Gac is a 1st grade teacher turned entrepreneur. His passion for education—ignited when his family immigrated to the U.S. seeking educational opportunity—led him to the classroom. His frustration with a system disserving his students led him to found Springboard Collaborative in 2011.
Alejandro was since honored as ‘one of the world’s best emerging social innovators’ by Echoing Green, a leading impact investor that selected 20 startups from 3,500 global applicants. He was also named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 and recognized as one of two national recipients of the Claneil Emerging Leaders Fund. Alejandro is an alumnus of Teach for America and McKinsey & Company. He holds a BA with high honors from Harvard University and an MS in Urban Ed from the University of Pennsylvania. His favorite childhood book is The Little Prince—it continues to inspire him today.
Erin McGuire
Senior Advisor, Strategy and Change Management
she/her/hers
Erin McGuire joins Springboard as the Senior Advisor, Strategy and Change Management. Previously, Erin led various teams at Teach For America, including the Teacher Engagement team, 25th Anniversary Summit team and the Atlanta teacher training institute. Before that, she taught kindergarten and 3rd grade in Chicago. Erin attended Albion College in Michigan. Her favorite children’s book is If You Come to Earth, a book with gorgeous illustrations and a theme to take care of our Earth … and each other.
Board of Directors
Elizabeth (Liz) City
Chair
Elizabeth City is Senior Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where she is Executive Director of Reach Every Reader and previously served as Director of the Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program. Liz has served as a teacher, instructional coach, principal, and consultant, in each role focused on helping all children, and the educators who work with them, realize their full potential. She is currently focused on accelerating the development of equitable, learning-rich environments. She has authored and co-authored several books for educators, including: Meeting Wise; Strategy in Action; Instructional Rounds in Education; Data Wise; Resourceful Leadership; and The Teacher’s Guide to Leading Student-Centered Discussions.
Liz holds an A.B. in History and Literature from Harvard University, an M.A.T. in English from Brown University, and an Ed.D. in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
John Gomperts
Vice Chair
John Gomperts is a long-time leader in non-profits and government organizations devoted to civic engagement and to creating greater opportunity for children and youth. John is currently an Executive Fellow with the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, and is advising a wide range of organizations and leaders working in the children & youth space and in national service and civic engagement.
From 2012 – 2020, John served as President & CEO of America’s Promise Alliance, the nation’s largest coalition of organizations and communities working on issues related to young people. Prior to that, John served as the Director of AmeriCorps in the Obama Administration. Earlier, John led non-profits that work to enlist individuals and communities to provide young people with the resources and supports they need to thrive. In an earlier portion of his career, John worked in the US Senate (Sens. Wofford, Kerry, Daschle), practiced law and advocacy, and served as a judicial clerk.
John earned his JD from Georgetown University Law Center and his AB in History from University of California, Berkeley. John has served on a wide range of boards including FoodCorps (Chair), Points of Light, Presidio Institute, News Literacy Project, and others.
Laurie Sztejnberg
Treasurer
she/her/hers
Laura Sztejnberg is a seasoned education and talent-development leader with deep experience spanning K–12 systems, philanthropy, and management consulting. Most recently, she advised organizations on talent development, performance management, and conflict resolution, drawing on her work across McKinsey’s education practice to support school systems, EdTech providers, and private-sector partners at scale.
Laura previously held roles at Overdeck Family Foundation, TNTP, and MDRC, where she led large-scale teacher effectiveness initiatives and rigorous evaluations of U.S. education interventions. She has co-authored publications on early reading instruction and high school improvement.
She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Duke University and dual master’s degrees—a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Philosophy in Education Policy—from NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Curt Ellis
Secretary
he/him/his
Curt Ellis is an entrepreneur, filmmaker and parent working to reimagine food as a daily source of health, joy, and agency in the lives of kids. Curt is the co-founder and CEO of FoodCorps, a $27M nonprofit that reaches more than 500,000 students a year with its food education and school nutrition programs. Prior to starting FoodCorps, Curt helped reframe public debate around the Farm Bill with his Peabody-winning documentary, King Corn. A graduate of Yale and a frequent public speaker and source to journalists, Curt has been recognized as a DRK Fellow, a Claneil Emerging Leader, a Kellogg Food and Community Fellow, a New Profit Social Entrepreneur, and an Emerson Collective Dial Fellow. He is a recipient of the Heinz Award, Pearl Award, and GQ Leader Award, and serves on the steering committee of Voices for National Service and the boards of Springboard Collaborative and GreenWave. Curt and his family live on a farm in rural Vermont.
Ken Trujillo
Ken Trujillo is a distinguished attorney specializing in complex litigation and government relations, with expertise in securities, education, gaming, and white-collar criminal defense. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School for over 15 years and previously served as City Solicitor of Philadelphia, Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (2009-2012).
Nationally recognized for his civic and business leadership, Ken has served on President-Elect Barack Obama’s SEC agency review team and Governor Ed Rendell’s transition team, holding key roles with the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and Delaware River Port Authority. A former Co-Chair of the 2016 Democratic National Convention Host Committee, he is also a venture capital and real estate investor and has owned radio stations serving the Latino community.
Ken has held numerous board leadership roles, including Chair of Congreso de Latinos Unidos, the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Health Partners’ Audit Committee. He serves as Vice Chair of Philadelphia250 and on the boards of the Strategic Investment Fund for La Raza, Inc., Raza Development Fund, and WHYY. His commitment to advancing Latino communities is underscored by his leadership with the National Council of La Raza and its affiliated organizations.
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