Ascent teammates

Meet the Ascent Team

As current and former students, parents, and mentors, our mission is simple: help students achieve their goals.

Ascent Management Team

Ken Ruggiero

Ken Ruggiero

Chief Executive Officer

Ryan Gray

Ryan Gray

Co-President

Tristan Fleming

Tristan Fleming

Co-President

Allie Danziger

Allie Danziger

Chief Marketing Officer

Garrett Galley

Garrett Galley

Chief Technology Officer

Jeff Jackson

Jeff Jackson

Chief Capital Officer

Pam Lysaght

Pam Lysaght

Chief Compliance Officer

Philip Stegner

Philip Stegner

SVP, Credit & Analytics

Michael Middleton

Michael Middleton

SVP, Product

Jamie Jacobs

Jamie Jacobs

Human Resources

Board of Directors

Ken Ruggiero

Ken Ruggiero

Greg Mauro

Greg Mauro

Nicole West

Nicole West

Ryan Gray

Ryan Gray

Tristan Fleming

Tristan Fleming

Matt Myers

Matt Myers

Matthew Berry

Matthew Berry

Advisory Board

Anita Thomas

Anita Thomas

Neville Billimoria

Neville Billimoria

Debra Chromy

Debra Chromy

Hillary Mickell

Hillary Mickell

Jamie Jacobs

Jamie Jacobs

Steve Coggeshall

Steve Coggeshall

Kim Folsom

Kim Folsom

Our Core Values: WE ARE Ascent

  • Work as a team

    Ideas flow when we listen and learn from one another. We build the best solutions when we work together and co-create with customers.

  • Empower Success

    Learning and growth unlock limitless possibilities. When our customers, communities and coworkers succeed and prosper, we do too.

  • Act with integrity

    Honesty and candor build trust. Our clear, frequent, and transparent communications build confidence with our team and our customers.

  • Reimagine the frontier

    A curious and courageous mindset creates broader access, eliminates obstacles, inspires new solutions, and fuels action.

  • Embrace our diversity

    Diversity of background, experiences, and voices makes us stronger. We advocate for broad participation, champion diverse needs, and foster a sense of belonging.

Ascent

We help learners finance their education, provide tools for educational and financial success, and support career development for long-term financial stability.

Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Ken Ruggiero

Chief Executive Officer

Ken speaking

A loan is just the start

  • 168,000+*

    people have used an Ascent loan to pay for school

  • 82%

    of credit-based college loan borrowers increased their credit score1

  • 1.2 million+

    minutes of financial wellness education accessed

  • $355,000+

    scholarships awarded by Ascent since 2020

Award-Winning Workplace

Ascent is proud to be named a “Best Places to Work” by the San Diego Business Journal and American Banker, and be designated as one of San Diego’s Best and Brightest companies to work for.

View Awards
First Place of Best Places to Work SoCal 2025

Best Places to Work in
SoCal 2022-2025

San Diego Business Journal Best Places to Work 2024

San Diego Business Journal
Best Places to Work 2020-2025

American Banker Best Places to Work in Fintech 2025

American Banker Best Places
to Work in Fintech 2022-2025

Ready to fund your higher education journey?

Check your rates without impacting your credit score.

*Over 168,000 borrowers took out an Ascent loan for college or career training tuition or expenses between January 2018 and November 2025.

1Impact to score may vary. For some, scores may not improve. Results will depend on many factors, including on-time payment history, the status of non-Ascent accounts, and other financial history.