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.
1st Place
Best Places to Work in SoCal 2023
San Diego Business Journal
Best Places to Work 2022
San Diego’s Best and Brightest
Companies to Work For Winner 2022
American Banker
Best Places to Work in Fintech 2023
Meet the Ascent Team
As current and former students, parents, and mentors, our mission is simple: help students achieve their goals. We want to empower students from all economic backgrounds and disciplines to maximize the return on that investment. Supporting students on their journey through school is important to us, which is why we’re proud to partner and co-create with college students.
By staying true to our mission, values, culture, and service to our community, we have been named “Best Places to Work” and named Best Private Student Loan for 2021 by Forbes Advisor and NerdWallet.
Board of Directors
Ken Ruggiero
Chairman
Greg Mauro
Board Member
Evan Baehr
Board Member
Nicole West
Board Member
Ryan Gray
Board Member
Tristan Fleming
Board Member
Matt Myers
Board Member
Advisory Board
Anita Thomas
Advisory Board Member
Debra Chromy
Advisory Board Member
Hillary Mickell
Advisory Board Member
Jamie Jacobs
Advisory Board Member
Neville Billimoria
Advisory Board Member
Steve Coggeshall
Advisory Board Member
Team Members
Abby Liu
Marketing Specialist
Adam Vaughan
Principal Software Engineer
Alan Ward
Senior Marketing Data Analyst
Albert Olivares
Senior Software Engineer
Alex Acosta
Senior Data Engineer
Alex Stultz
Underwriter
Allie Danziger
SVP and GM, AscentUP
Allison Thompson
Loan Processor
Andrea Jenkins
Sr. Director, Customer Success & Solutions
Ann Richards
Senior Technical Project Manager
Arin Nahapatian
Corporate and Compliance Counsel
Art Kang
VP, Technology
Audrey Eucker
Social Media and Digital Marketing Coordinator
Avery Ryder
Senior Software Engineer
Becky White
Loan Processor
Bella Schroeder
Marketing Manager, Ascent UP
Ben Farmer
Director, Loan Servicing
Bill Dusha
Senior Software Engineer
Brandon Smith
Senior Financial Reporting Analyst
Carlos Morales
Senior Financial Analyst
Casey Stenger
Project Manager
Chad Augood
Partner Development Manager
Chandler Smith
Senior Software Engineer
Chantelle Isaacs
School Support Coordinator
Chelsea Lacy
Customer Service Representative (Seasonal)
Chloe King
Human Resources Generalist
Chuck Dotson
Underwriter
Courtney Roth
Executive Assistant
Crista Wray
Director, Product and School Quality
Danny Lopez
Loan Processor
Danny Witt
Senior Business Data Analyst
Dave Malmrose
Outbound Engagement Specialist
Dawn Cope
Compliance Analyst
Emily Skoubo
Senior Human Resources Manager
Erin Annis
School Support Coordinator
Felicia Wetzel
Lead Coach & Program Producer
Gracie Cordes
Treasury Operations Specialist
Ian Meade
Senior Accounting Manager
Jacob Lin
VP, Finance, Treasury & Accounting
Jake Terrell
Manager, Treasury & Capital Markets
Jamie Kautzman
Fulfillment Manager
Janet Bringa
Customer Service Representative
JD Ephraim
Loan Processor
Jeff Fritz
Director, Business Development
Jen Davies
Marketing Manager, Brand & Content
Jennifer Aguilar
Certification Specialist
Joanna Widmier
Director, Engagement Marketing
John Gross
Sr. Business Data Analyst
Jon Michalik
VP, Operations
Josh Deason
Quality Assurance Engineer
Josh Kim
IT Help Desk
Karol Raymond
Quality Coordinator
Ken Ruggiero
Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer
Kevin Boldin
Quality Manager
Kim McNealy
SVP and GM, Student Funding
Kumba McGill
Relationship Manager
Kylie Gard
Senior Loan Processor
Lauren Garner
VP, Demand Generation and Partnerships
Lindsay Thompson
Administrative Assistant
Lorenza Gil-Kabande
Marketing Manager
MacKenzie Lahren
Recruitment Coordinator, AscentUP
Mars Cheung
Senior Software Engineer
Mary Aguimatang
Senior Accountant
Meredith Connelly
Customer Experience Manager
Michael Middleton
SVP and GM, College Funding
Michele Shank
VP Impact & Senior Counsel
Mike Prosper
Chief Technology Officer
Naomi Rodriguez
Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable Specialist
Nicholas Dunn
Staff Software Engineer
Nicole Shannon
Account Manager, School Partnerships
Olaf Kunkel
Staff Software Engineer
Olivia Arneson
Growth Marketing Specialist
Pam Hughes
Senior Director, Technical Product Management
Paul Bartlett
Software Engineer
Paul Siemieniuk
Manager, Analytics
Payam Karbalai
Partnerships Marketing Manager
Rafael Brambila Bedoya
Analytics Engineer
Ralph Linares
Senior IT Manager
Reese Billington
Customer Service Representative (Seasonal)
Ryan Aditya
Director, Business Analysis
Ryan Gray
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer
Ryan Pearson
Software Engineer
Ryan Valenzuela
Loan Processor
Santhoshi Chandramouly
Staff Data Engineer
Scott Greenberg
Senior Learning Designer
Seth Formal
SVP and GM, Career Funding
Sid Huerta
Senior Originations Manager
Susan Bussolari
Executive Assistant
Sylvia Chen
Senior Analyst
Tatum Drinnenberg
Senior Executive Assistant
Tristan Fleming
Chief Impact Officer and General Counsel
Xing Li
VP, Capital Markets
Our Core Values: WE ARE Ascent
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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.
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Empower Success
Learning and growth unlock limitless possibilities. When our customers, communities and coworkers succeed and prosper, we do too.
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Act with integrity
Honesty and candor build trust. Our clear, frequent, and transparent communications build confidence with our team and our customers.
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Reimagine the frontier
A curious and courageous mindset creates broader access, eliminates obstacles, inspires new solutions, and fuels action.
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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.
Stay Connected!
Follow us on social media to get the latest updates on giveaways, scholarships, announcements, and our benefits.
We share tips and resources to help them make better financial decisions that last beyond school. Follow Ascent to see for yourself!
What are others saying about Ascent?
It was the only decent loan provider that would accept a non-cosigned loan. My loan manager helped a lot.
The best thing about Ascent is the fact that they make the process easy. I was able to do everything online and the money was sent directly to my school.
Ascent stands out for its range of payment reduction and postponement options, rare among private lenders. Borrowers can choose a graduated repayment plan, which provides a lower monthly payment to start that increases over time. Read more
Being young I don’t have a strong credit history. Ascent made it possible for me to have my own loan without the help of others – I’m thankful I found them.
