About Us

Lauren Asher, President

A nationally recognized expert on student loans and financial aid, Lauren Asher is president of the Institute for College Access & Success, an independent, nonprofit organization working to make higher education more available and affordable for people of all backgrounds. The Institute is home to the Project on Student Debt, which Ms. Asher co-founded in 2005. After serving in senior positions at the Kaiser Family Foundation, National Partnership for Women & Families, and U.S. Department of Labor, she led Asher Policy Consulting from 2002 to 2005. Her clients included foundations and national, state, and local nonprofits 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.

Pauline Abernathy, Vice President 

Pauline Abernathy oversees national policy and advocacy strategy for the Institute. She previously served as Senior Advisor to Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, and as Deputy Director of Health and Human Services Policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where she initiated, designed and managed national initiatives related to student debt, retirement savings, child welfare, and public health policies. 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. 

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.

Andrea Teodorini keeps the Institute's office running smoothly as receptionist, bookkeeper, scheduler, and event-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).

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.

Adam Parker, Senior Research Analyst

Adam Parker focuses on California higher education policy for the Institute, with a particular emphasis on community college issues. An expert in college access and educational diversity, Mr. Parker worked for over 10 years at the University of California, where his research led to changes in campus and UC system-wide admissions practices. He also served as the Assistant Director of Government Affairs at the Berkeley campus. Most recently, he directed planning, analysis, and business operations for the Center for Educational Partnerships, UC Berkeley's primary organization charged with helping students overcome educational and financial barriers to college. He holds an M.P.P. from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, an M.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a B.A. from UC Berkeley.

Diane Cheng, Research Analyst

Diane Cheng applies her expertise in higher education data and analysis to explore a range of federal, state, and college-level policy issues from the student perspective. She is a national expert on net price calculators and also focuses her analyses on financial aid communications, need-based grant aid, and student borrowing. Ms. Cheng graduated from Stanford University with an M.A. and B.A. in Sociology, specializing in social stratification and inequality. At Stanford, Ms. Cheng worked as a research assistant and head peer advisor in the Sociology Department. Ms. Cheng also worked as a Public Interest Law Fellow at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, conducting research on the educational experience of African-American school-aged youth in San Francisco.

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.

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.