Built by Educators
for Education
Expertise & Commitment
that Spans Decades
We’ve spent a long time learning about the challenges you face. Improving education is all we do. We can help you solve the big challenges and get to better outcomes.
A HISTORY OF STUDENT SUCCESS
Our founders have led and taught in colleges and universities, built successful ed-tech companies, and championed education innovation in all of their work. They have been leaders in the movement for student access and success. They came together in 2011 to bring their expertise to bear on creating a new model for student success – one founded on data, insights, action and continuous learning. The team they built represents top-tier talent in education and data science.
MEET OUR FOUNDERS
EDUCATION’S RIPPLE EFFECT
Listen to this inspiring podcast interview “Force Multiplier: How to Exponentially Expand your Efforts” to learn how one unique woman in the 1900s inspired generations to follow, including her great grandson, our CEO Charles Thornburgh.
OUR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM
April Downing
Chief Operations Officer
April Downing is a seasoned financial and operational executive with over 20 years of experience for both publicly and privately held companies and appreciates the complexity of managing technology and services companies at various stages.
Bruce Jones
Chief Revenue Officer
Bruce Jones brings over 20 years of leadership experience from technology companies with proven expertise in sales management, implementation, and organizational design to grow revenue by leading and developing the sales team.
Robert Strazzarino
Founder/Managing Director College Scheduler
Leaning into his web app developer skills and entrepreneurial tenacity, Strazz solved the problems with schedule planning he saw as a student by founding College Scheduler.
Dave Kil
Chief Data Scientist
Dave is the Chief Data Scientist at Civitas Learning overseeing the development of insight and action analytics, leveraging salient concepts from multiple disciplines.
Eric Grunden
Senior VP Partner Success
Eric brings two decades of experience in delivery and support of integrated technologies and advanced analytics across complex systems.
Shawn Gaide
VP Corporate Development & Strategy
Shawn leads the development and execution of our growth strategy to reach more students and help improve their outcomes.
Lisa Roberts
VP Marketing
Lisa has deep experience developing products, growing brands, and driving marketing and media programs for technology innovators.
Zain Nemazie
VP of Engineering
Zain is responsible for the engineering team that powers the Civitas Learning solutions. He has over 13 years of experience as a software engineering executive at early stage and public companies.
Jenny Fuller
VP of People Operations
Jenny brings 17 years of leadership and talent development experience at start-up and high growth companies aligning people, processes and culture to increase employee engagement and drive business results.
Join the Movement
We believe together we can help millions of additional students graduate if we can only manage to understand what’s working best, and why. Our growing community of practice is proving we can make this reality.
Our Advisory Board
Meet the luminaries from across higher education that share their expertise, insight, and advice.
Transforming Advising
Austin Community College implemented Degree Map to transform advising and improve student completion. Read how adoption improved the advisor/student conversation, and gave students ownership of their degree pathways.
“Our Degree Map project shows that when students have more clarity and control of their degree path, they’re significantly more likely to make progress on their learning path and, best of all, cross the finish line and complete a certificate or degree. These are the kinds of outcomes all of our student success innovations are shooting for!”
Richard Rhodes
President and CEO
Austin Community College
Investors
Thank you to the innovative funders who share our vision and commitment to creating a new model for student success where each institution and every student is unique.
