Board of Directors
Chelsea Hicks, board president
Chelsea is a staff attorney with Northwest Justice Project’s Foreclosure Consequences Advocacy Team. She graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2008. While pursuing her law degree, Chelsea interned with nonprofit organizations serving low-income clients at Seattle Community Law Center and Alaska’s Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Additionally, Chelsea volunteered weekly as a drop-in center volunteer at Lambert House, King County’s LGBTQ teen center. After graduating, Chelsea worked for over three years at Alaska Legal Services Corporation, a nonprofit legal aid organization, where she represented low-income clients in a variety of areas including home foreclosure defense, public benefits, landlord/tenant, consumer protection, property, and family law.
Jessica Norouzi, vice-president
Jessica has been a leading advocate for education equity and opportunity access throughout her career. She is currently the Assistant Dean for Advancement at the UW College of Education where she works to further educational justice from cradle to career. Previously, Jessica served six years at Seattle Central College, most recently as the Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships, where she developed critical partnerships that increased postsecondary student success and closed opportunity gaps. Jessica is the proud daughter of immigrants. It is their story of marginalization, struggle and achievement that inspired her career in education access, equity and social justice. In her free time, Jessica enjoys yoga and eating great food with friends!
Bradley Lane, board treasurer
Dr. Bradley Lane currently serves as interim president of Seattle Central College. Dr. Lane has held a variety of faculty and administrative appointments at the Seattle Colleges, Santa Monica College, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Indiana University, and Vanderbilt University.
As a first-generation college student, Dr. Lane feels inspired to work for organizations that transform lives through the power of education. In his career, he has led many efforts to increase flexible teaching and learning approaches online that meet the needs of students. Among his many accomplishments, he has also launched large-scale faculty development programs around increasing equity, developed affinity groups and mentoring programs for faculty of color, and implemented guided pathways equitably through the inclusion of student voices and initiatives that center the experiences of historically under-represented college students.
In his spare time, he enjoys photography, cooking, and traveling, reading, and dabbling in astrology. Fun fact: He is sun and moon in Cancer with Libra rising, and he thinks that sums him up pretty well!
Clarissa Lunday, board secratary
Clarissa is currently a Contact Center Agent at JND Legal Administration, which specializes in class action settlement distribution. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2021 with a Bachelor’s in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. During her time at UW, she interned with Senator Patty Murray as a legislative intern in 2020. Her goal is to complete her master’s degrees in public administration, public policy, and gender, women, and sexuality studies as she is applying for these master’s programs to start fall 2024. She is a mom to a service dog, Manchester, who is a corgi. In her free time, she reads, snuggles with Manchester, and drinks coffee.
Ashok Misra
Ashok is an ecommerce professional with more than 15 years experience in ecommerce architecture and operations. Currently, Ashok is responsible for the security of the Microsoft.com store, including designing new models of security for upcoming new products and cloud integration. He possesses a deep knowledge on cryptographic currencies and blockchain technologies and has led product development of several companies in this area including the first currency exchange for Second Life.
Gloria Diberet
Gloria is a former student and member of the Student Advisory Board with Northwest Education Access. Gloria has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Washington and works as a patient care coordinator at the Pacific Northwest Fertility Clinic. As part of the NW Education Access team, Gloria serves on the Engagement Committee and is the liaison between the Board of Directors and the Student Advisory Board. In her downtime, Gloria loves spending time with family and reading magazines about home décor.
Gracia Diberet
Gracia is a student alum of NW Education Access. Gracia has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Seattle Pacific University. As a student, Gracia served as a Student Advisory Board Member. Today, Gracia is on the Governance Committee. Gracia loves fun community building events for students and assisting with the development of the organization. She’s passionate about sharing her journey to encourage students that are still trying to find their way.
Isi Ogwude
Isi is the Associate Director for Equity and Inclusion in the Advancement department of University of Washington. Originally from North Florida, Isi moved to Seattle in 2019 and has a background in student affairs and teaching. She has been in Higher Education for over ten years. Her passions are in education and social justice and she believes herself to be a disruptor of racist and exclusionary systems. Isi has a Bachelors degree from Florida International University and a Masters degree in Global Studies and International Relations from Northeastern University. In her free time, she loves traveling, cooking, watching sports, and reading.
James Ambrose
James is a finance director at Microsoft, where he works in the Investor Relations team. In this role, he is responsible for managing relationships with investors and analysts and ensuring that the company’s financial performance is communicated accurately and clearly to stakeholders. James joined Microsoft more than 15 years ago after graduating from William & Mary, with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a double major in psychology, and spending a year with a nonprofit organization. James is passionate about education, particularly higher education, and believes that it is critical to empowering people to pursue their dreams. He remains active with his alma mater, serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the William & Mary Alumni Association. Prior to joining the Board, James served on the Finance Committee for several years.
Jessica Safley
Jessica is a first-generation college graduate, who started her postsecondary work at Seattle Central College earning an associate’s in applied social and human services. Jessica went on to obtain her bachelor’s in social work from the University of North Carolina Pembroke and a master’s in social work from the University of Washington. Jessica’s work experience is primarily in mental health and housing advocacy. She is currently the Housing Director at Mary’s Place. Helping young people reach their goals is her passion. Jessica is married and has two small “fur kids” who often accompany her and her husband on hikes and on road trip adventures.
Matthew Norman
Matthew is the Executive Director of Healthcare, Higher Education, & Nonprofit Banking at J.P. Morgan. Matthew has volunteered with NW Education Access since moving to Seattle in 2007, serving in different board positions over the last decade. His ongoing commitment to NW Education Access is rooted in the organization’s innovative approach, resulting in exceptional achievement outcomes for students. Matthew graduated from Chapman University in 2005. He also holds the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) credential from the Association of Financial Professionals. He was born and raised in Southeast Alaska, and now lives in Madison Valley with his partner.
Pooja Srinivas
Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Pooja attended the University of Virginia for her bachelor’s in Spanish and economics. She then worked in finance and consulting for five years prior to pursuing her MBA at University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor. In 2016, Pooja moved to Seattle to join Amazon where she has had the opportunity to work in multiple roles and organizations. She's currently serving as Head of Operations and Supply Chain for Luxury Stores at Amazon.
Rathi Sudhakara
Rathi is an Associate Director on the Strategy & Partnerships team at the Washington Student Achievement Council, a cabinet level agency dedicated to increasing postsecondary attainment for Washingtonians. Rathi focuses on increasing postsecondary enrollment for students across Washington by engaging and collaborating with stakeholders including K-12 schools, community-based organizations, higher education institutions and the legislature. She is also a Henry M Jackson fellow. Prior to this, she has held a variety of roles in engineering, advertising and early childhood education. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from India and a Master’s in Education Policy from the University of Washington. In her free time, she loves to cook, dance and go on hikes with her two sons and her husband.
Simmone Misra
As Director of Licensing and a three times recipient of the Sr. Leadership Bench Program nomination at Microsoft, Simmone Misra works for the Global Partner Sales Group. Simmone leads the team that creates and manages all the licensing programs supporting various Microsoft products and services, including Windows, M365, Office, Windows IOT, Windows Server etc. sold with and through partners. Simmone incorporates more than 20 years of strategic planning and negotiations experience in the high tech sector.