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THE EARLY YEARS

Board Members
EARLY 2000’s

WHEN POSSIBILITY WAS ONLY A PLAN

One Million Degrees began as the Illinois Education Foundation, formed around a shared recognition among its early leaders.

01

2000’s

Beyond the Moment

Board Members
EARLY 2000’s

WHEN POSSIBILITY WAS ONLY A PLAN

One Million Degrees began as the Illinois Education Foundation, formed around a shared recognition among its early leaders.

02

2000’s

COMMUNITY & CARE

STAFF & ALUMNI
Jessica Atieno-Walker
and Jonathan Talley

HOW CARE BECOMES COMMUNITY

Community does not happen on its own. It is built through attention, consistency, and the decision to keep showing up, even when things feel quiet or uncertain.

03

2010’s

STUDENTS AT THE CENTER

SCHOLAR
Tiara Davis

WHEN SUPPORT MEETS YOU WHERE YOU ARE

For Tiara Davis, returning to school was not a straight line forward. It was a decision shaped by time, life, and experience.

04

2020’s

IMPACT OVER TIME

ALUMNI
Christopher Sackett

WHAT STAYS WITH YOU, YEARS LATER

When Chris looks back on his time with One Million Degrees, the moments that matter most are not the ones he could have named at the time.

05

2020’s

Growth with Purpose

SCHOLAR
Tiara Davis

CARRYING IT FORWARD, TOGETHER

 

Twenty years ago, One Million Degrees began with a simple belief: that community college students deserved support that recognized the full reality of their lives and stayed with them over time.

06

2020’s
David Scherer

David Scherer, Treasurer

One Million Degrees Co-founder 

David is principal of Origin, co-chairs the Investment Committee, and oversees investment analysis, acquisition and asset management. He has more than 20 years of experience in real estate investing, finance, and asset management. In 2006, he co-founded One Million Degrees, which has raised $20 million to help low-income community college students graduate and successfully enter the workforce. David has served as the organization’s Board Chair for the past 12 years, as the organization has grown from 30 to 1,000 students served per year. He also serves as the President of the Harvard Club of Chicago and is on the Advisory Board of Invest for Kids.  

Rose Lizarraga

Rose Lizarraga

OMD CO-Founder & President & CEO, Lysa LLC

An award-winning documentary filmmaker and freelance writer, Rose’s career also includes 10 years spent developing new product and brand strategies as well as marketing and advertising campaigns at Leo Burnett, Foote, Cone & Belding, M&M/Mars and other small businesses.  More recently, she worked as a writer/editor for Modern Luxury Inc., publishers of magazines such as CS and Angeleno.  Rose graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with dual degrees in English and Political Science.  She is a founding member of the Daniel M. Kerrane, Jr. Foundation, former Board Vice President of the Fairy Godmother Foundation, and currently serves on the Chicago committee for Human Rights Watch.

Michael B Golden

Michael B. Golden

One Million Degrees Co-Founder 

A former national award-winning broadcast journalist, Michael Golden has also served as a political campaign manager and communications strategist for U.S. Presidential, Senate and Congressional races. Michael is a fellow at the British-American Project and the Open Society Institute. In 1999, Michael’s investigative and public affairs reporting for NBC earned him honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, the AP, and the Edward R. Murrow Awards. In 2011, Michael co-founded Newsbound, Inc., a media and software company based in San Francisco, CA. He is also a co-founder of the Complete the Degree back-to-college initiative in Chicago, Illinois. Michael serves on the board of the ADL and on the governing board of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, as well as the Illinois Commission to Eliminate Poverty. He received his B.A. from Indiana University, and his M.S. in Public Services Management from DePaul University.