Team & Board

Blessing Chirimbani

Associate Development Manager

Alongside the CEO, Blessing fuels the design and implementation of Moneythink’s fundraising efforts. She began her career in nonprofit development and social impact with CAIR-SFBA. As an immigrant and graduate of the American higher education system, Blessing experienced many of the barriers faced by first-gen students. She’s motivated by Moneythink’s mission to increase access to higher education and provide resources that alleviate pressure and give students a fighting chance over their own futures. Blessing extends her leadership and passion for educational access as the co-founder of Kuvakana, a study abroad mentorship program for Southern African high school students. She graduated with two degrees from the University of Oklahoma in International Relations and Public and NonProfit Administration with a minor in International Development. blessing@moneythink.org

Shevrin Jones

VP of Development & External Relations

Shevrin Jones leads all development and fundraising activities at Moneythink. He brings diverse experience in development, fundraising, and organizational leadership to our organization, having served as Executive Director of Florida Reading Corps, Director of Major Gifts and Strategic Partnerships for City Year Miami, and VP of National Advancement at Entrepreneurship For All. He was also the first gay and LGBTQ Black person elected to the Florida legislature, serving as a State Representative beginning in 2012 and a State Senator since 2021. Shevrin graduated from Florida A&M (an HBCU) with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and is currently completing his PhD in Educational Leadership with a focus on Black and Brown student post-secondary retention.
sjones@moneythink.org

Joshua Lachs

Chief Executive Officer

As a former first-generation student struggling with college financing, Josh has a deep passion for the work at Moneythink. As CEO, Josh sets the strategic vision, bringing with him a 20+ year leadership career within social enterprise, workforce development, and education sectors. Prior to joining, he served as CBO at Net Impact, CEO at Breakthrough Collaborative, and Chief Officer of Workforce Development for Goodwill Industries. In his spare time, he provides executive coaching and mentorship to aspiring leaders. Josh earned his BA at UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) and graduate degrees from Columbia University.
jlachs@moneythink.org

Ben May

Product Manager — API

Ben joined Moneythink in college as a volunteer mentor where he developed a passion for education and nonprofit work. Since graduating from the University of Mississippi in 2014, Ben’s contributions span multiple roles. He currently supports Moneythink’s approach to data-driven decision-making through data analysis and product management and is excited by a future where there are fewer barriers to higher education.
bmay@moneythink.org

Sara O’Hearn

VP of Product

Sara is the Director of Product at Moneythink. Over a nearly 20-year career in educational technology, she has developed a wide variety of products for companies such as Nearpod, Cengage, Pearson, LeapFrog and Scholastic. Committed to providing all students with access to quality education, Sara also volunteers her time with several education nonprofits in the Bay Area, including First Graduate and FacesSF. She is thrilled to help Moneythink empower students to explore opportunities and fund their own education. Sara graduated with a BA in Russian Studies from Dalhousie University.
sara@moneythink.org

Oksana Oliinyk

Product Manager — Web Apps

Oksana is passionate about Moneythink’s work empowering students to advance their education while making more conscious financial decisions. As the co-founder of Kinoscript, a nonprofit providing screenwriting contests and free educational workshops in film career development, she has been serving Moneythink’s mission of making education more accessible for many years. She’s excited to be able to contribute further to the field of education and access through the DecidED student and advisor web apps. Oksana has a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Kyiv National University of Trade & Economics, Master’s degree in Screenwriting from Karpenko-Kary National University of theatre, cinema and television and Master of Science in IT Management from Campbellsville University.
oksana@moneythink.org

Ixamar Peralta

Operations Coordinator

Ixamar supports Moneythink on all things related to operations, finance, and human resources. She brings 6 years of experience ranging from clinics helping patients access mental health services in New York City to advocacy nonprofits for marginalized communities in San Francisco. Ixamar is committed to building inclusive environments, both through her work and throughout her organizations: driving operational effectiveness and DEI initiatives. She is passionate about helping others and works to see a world where everyone feels included, is treated fairly, and has a pathway for financial stability. As a first generation college graduate, Ixamar knows first-hand the hardship of college debt and parent loans. She is driven to work at Moneythink so that coming generations can increasingly graduate college without financial burden and no student ever has to make the choice between paying for college or paying for basic resources. Ixamar holds an Associates Degree in Medical Administration & Medical Assisting from The Wood-Tobe Coburn School in New York City, and a certification in Data Analytics. In her spare time, she enjoys teaching virtual HIIT classes, connecting with her local Atlanta wellness community, reading books about psychology and the mind, spending time with her family, and running in the backyard with her kids.
iperalta@moneythink.org

Alexandra Shiluk

VP of Operations

Alex heads the operational side of all things Moneythink. She began her career in neuropsychiatry research, running clinical trials in hospitals across San Diego. Dissatisfied with the space between the cutting-edge treatments her team worked on and those offered she shifted her focus to business, co-founding a neurotechnology startup standardizing brain imaging analysis. Alex passionately believes in the equalizing power of healthcare and education and looks forward to a world where access is not determined by income. After hours you can find her flying her drone, backpacking, and building things. She holds a BA from UC San Diego.
ashiluk@moneythink.org

Hannah Smith

VP of Partnerships

Hannah leads the partnership development strategy for Moneythink. Throughout her career, she has supported organizations aiming to reduce systemic barriers for students, bringing with her a deep commitment to equity and a strong belief in the value of high quality student support systems. She holds a BA in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley and a M.Ed from the Harvard Ed School. Prior to joining Moneythink, Hannah led the partnership and implementation strategy for the nonprofit managing California’s official college and career platform, CCGI, and provided coaching to educator and workforce teams as they developed intersegmental career pathways. Hannah also spent time in K-12 schools working as a counselor and college advisor. She loves yoga, hanging with her kids and walking in the woods.
hannah@moneythink.org

John Tamrat

Partner Success Manager

Prior to joining Moneythink, John supported students and families in education and workforce development as a Case Manager for Fresh Lifelines for Youth, Bay Area (CA) and Program Coordinator for Genesys Works, Twin Cities (MN). As a first-generation immigrant to the United States, he understands how difficult it can be to navigate the US education system with limited resources and support and believes educational opportunity shouldn’t come at the cost of financial security. John earned his BA from Goshen College and holds a MS from the University of Leed’s Business School (UK).
jtamrat@moneythink.org

Austin Wiebe

Director of Marketing

Austin Wiebe oversees all marketing and communications for Moneythink. He has more than a decade of experience leading and advancing mission-driven communications and marketing for nonprofits. He has worked with a variety of organizations committed to fostering equity and justice through diverse program areas, including Healthy Building Network, Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio, the National MS Society, and Xperitas. Austin studied journalism, Spanish, and design at the University of Minnesota and lives in Minneapolis with his partner, two cats, and too many plants to count.
austin@moneythink.org

Alex Zoltowski

Graphic Designer

Alex is the graphic designer at Moneythink. Their drive to design comes from lived experience as a first-generation student that struggled to pay their way through college. Alex’s goals are to listen and learn from the shared experiences of others in order to help create solutions that inform and inspire change. Prior to joining Moneythink they worked with other non-profits and companies that focused on equality and inclusivity, such as Mothering Justice and Prosperity Michigan. They hold a BFA from Siena Heights University. In their free time, Alex loves to go on walks, make art, bake, and cuddle with their cat.
azoltowski@moneythink.org

Lauren Asher

Strategic Advisor

A nationally recognized expert on college affordability and outcomes, Lauren Asher is the former president of The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) and co-founder of its Project on Student Debt. Focused on lowering barriers to equity and opportunity, her experience spans the nonprofit, philanthropic, and public sectors. Lauren partners with Moneythink to provide critical insights and guidance around public policy and advocacy areas that align with our mission.

Justin Kok

Marketing & Communications Intern

Surrounded by peers who had to stop-out from pursuing their post-secondary education for financial reasons, Justin resonates strongly with Moneythink’s mission and goals. Having gone through this himself, Justin aims to reach and support other peers with similar experiences. As a Communications and Marketing Intern at Moneythink, Justin brings his previous experiences in change management, company blogging, developing training materials, events coordination, social media management, and more. Justin is currently a Business Administration student at SNHU with aspirations to be a part of companies/organizations that strive for change. During his free time, Justin can be found with a good book in his hands; he particularly appreciates the dramatic and the mysterious. He also enjoys cooking, knitting, writing, and more.
jkok@moneythink.org

Louissandra Managan

Marketing & Communications Intern

Louissandra is a third-year student at UC Berkeley studying Cognitive Science. As a first-generation student and immigrant, she understands how difficult it can be to navigate through higher education, especially with little to no access to resources or support. Louissandra believes that creating resources that focus on the needs and experiences of underrepresented students within the education system can be crucial to overcoming barriers to higher education. As a Communications intern, Louissandra supports the organization in creating student-centered media content to increase awareness of the organization’s resources and tools, such as DecidEd. Overall, she’s interested in advancing equity in education and hope to help students of similar backgrounds throughout their undergraduate journey. Previously, Louissandra served as an Education Intern for the Bulosan Center of Filipino Studies at UC Davis —working with a team of students and educators to develop an educational curriculum reflective of the diverse population and history within the state of California. In her free time, Louissandra enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with friends and family.
lmanagan@moneythink.org

In Memoriam:
Tino Nyandoro

Greg Nance

Board Chair & Moneythink Co-Founder

Greg loves to build things, tell stories, support others, and revel in nature. He brings vision, strategy, and education technology expertise to the organization.

Patrice Berry

Board Secretary

Patrice is a FUSE Executive Fellow in the Office of Mayor Libby Schaaf in Oakland, CA, and the former Director of College Track East Palo Alto. She is a Ph.D candidate at Temple University, and a board member of the Prison University Project and Moneythink. Patrice likes to say, “When tech is student-inspired and data-driven, it looks like Moneythink.”

Meera Iyer

Board Member

Meera currently leads marketing for Lending at SoFi and previously led product strategy for credit
cards and loyalty at Discover Financial Services. She is excited to use her expertise in consumer
financial services to drive adoption of Moneythink’s tools to empower students to pursue an
affordable college education.

Jerry Nemorin

Board Member

Jerry is the Founder & CEO of the financial health platform, LendStreet, and is excited to apply his expertise in consumer and corporate finance to help close the education equity gap. He knows, firsthand, the disadvantages immigrant students face when considering how to finance their education and sees Moneythink’s tools as an innovative and scalable solution empowering students to make the best decision for their futures.

Leigh Phillips

Board Member

Leigh is the President & CEO of SaverLife, a national nonprofit helping working families achieve prosperity through savings, and was critical in leading SaverLife’s transformation from a local direct service organization to a leading financial technology nonprofit. She believes that getting more young people to and through college is one of the most important issues to solve as a society, saying “this is as much a financial challenge as an education challenge.”

Matt Taylor

Board Member

Matt joins Moneythink with an extensive background in nonprofits and social change. Before joining human-centered design firm IDEO.org, Matt was on the portfolio team at New Profit, where he helped social entrepreneurial organizations overcome barriers to scaling impact.