Core Team

Leadership and Vision

The Core Team, led and supported by CEO, Lisandra Gonzales, is at the forefront of advancing collective impact infrastructure development. They are positioned as one of the pioneering StriveTogether Networks in the U.S., creating an ambitious plan to contribute to the national goal of helping 4 million more children and young adults up to age 35 achieve crucial cradle to career outcomes by 2030. The Core Team is a strategically assembled group of skilled strategists, data and project managers, and facilitators essential to driving this work forward.

The Core Team is the heartbeat of our organization, providing the critical support and infrastructure needed to implement our strategic plan and achieve our shared vision. Their strength and dedication are the foundation of our success. As we grow this team, we’ll be able to expand our impact even further, driving more significant and widespread change.


Lisandra Gonzales Chief Executive Officer	Jody Nowicki Senior Director of Stakeholder Engagement	Ashley Edinger Senior Director of Institute & Strategic Supports

Emily Sanders Senior Director of Collaborative Action	Kendra Simpson Senior Director of Business Operations	Joe Baker Senior Quantitative Data Analyst

Kate Gitchell Events & Logistics Specialist	Ben Nash Information Insights Manager

The Core Team’s Support to Drive the Work Looks Like:

To empower young people towards upward mobility, the RMP Core Team brings together and supports a network of decision-makers, community members, and partners.

Our approach is multi-faceted, involving the following key actions:

		CONVENE KEY STAKEHOLDERS- Convene partners towards shared vision and targets

		AMPLIFY COMMUNITY VOICES- Engage those most impacted

		DRIVE AND MEASURE RESULTS- Facilitate data driven decision making

		MANAGE DATA HUB- Operate a centralized knowledge base

		COACH AND SUPPORT PARTNERS- Provide technical assistance to partners

		ADVOCATE FOR POLICY- Improve policies at the organizational, local, state and national levels

		ALIGN CRITICAL FUNDING- Align funding to what works

“Creating and managing collective impact requires a separate organization and staff with a very specific set of skills to serve as the backbone for the entire initiative. Coordination takes time, and none of the participating organizations has any to spare. The expectation that collaboration can occur without a supporting infrastructure is one of the most frequent reasons why it fails.”

“Collective Impact”, Kania & Kramer (2011)