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.
Get to know us
Abby Liu
Marketing Coordinator I
Adam Vaughan
Principal Software Engineer
Alan Ward
Marketing Data Analyst
Albert Olivares
Software Engineer III
Alex Acosta
Data Engineer III
Alex Stultz
Underwriter
Alicia Chavez
Director, Brand & Content Marketing
Allie Danziger
SVP and GM, AscentUP
Allison Thompson
Loan Processor
Andrea Jenkins
Director, Student Success
Arin Nahapatian
Corporate and Compliance Counsel
Art Kang
VP, Technology
Ausleen Acosta
Social Media & Digital Marketing Specialist
Avery Ryder
Software Engineer III
Becky White
Customer Service Representative
Bill Dusha
Software Engineer III
Bre Knight
Content Writer
Carlos Morales
Senior Financial Analyst
Casey Stenger
Project Manager
Chad Augood
Partner Development Manager
Chandler Smith
Senior Backend Engineer
Courtney Roth
Executive Assistant
Crista Wray
Director, Product and School Quality
Danny Lopez
Loan Processor
Danny Witt
Senior Business Data Analyst
Dawn Cope
Account Manager, School Partnerships
Emily Skoubo
Senior Human Resources Manager
Erica Arvanitis
Email Marketing Manager
Erin Annis
School Channel Support Coordinator
Felicia Wetzel
Lead Coach & Program Producer
Hamid Behnam
Senior Frontend Engineer
Ian Meade
Senior Accounting Manager
Jacob Lin
VP, Finance, Treasury & Accounting
Jake Terrell
Manager, Treasury & Capital Markets
Jamie Kautzman
Certification Specialist
JD Ephraim
Loan Processor
Jeremy Chavez
Senior IT Specialist
Jessica Deyglun
Treasury Operations Associate
Joan Altoveros
Marketing Coordinator
Joanna Widmier
Director, Engagement Marketing
John Gross
Sr. Business Data Analyst
Jon Michalik
VP, Operations
Josh Deason
Quality Assurance Engineer
Julian Caravantes
Senior Analyst, Corporate Strategy
Karol Raymond
Quality Coordinator
Kat Applebaum
Director of Operations, AscentUP
Ken Ruggiero
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Kevin Boldin
Quality Manager
Kim McNealy
SVP and GM, Student Funding
Kylie Gard
Senior Loan Processor
Lauren Garner
VP, Demand Generation and Partnerships
Lorenza Gil-Kabande
Engagement Marketing Specialist
Mars Cheung
Senior Software Engineer
Marty Herrick
VP, Business & School Development
Meredith Connelly
Customer Experience Manager
Michael Middleton
SVP and GM, College Funding
Mike Prosper
Chief Technology Officer
Naomi Rodriguez
Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable Specialist
Olaf Kunkel
Software Engineer IV
Olivia Arneson
Growth Marketing Specialist
Pam Hughes
Senior Director, Technical Product Management
Paul Bartlett
Software Engineer I
Paul Siemieniuk
Manager, Analytics
Ralph Linares
Senior IT Manager
Ryan Aditya
Director, Business Analysis
Ryan Gray
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer
Ryan Pearson
Senior Web Developer
Ryan Valenzuela
Loan Processor
Santhoshi Chandramouly
Staff Data Engineer
Seth Formal
SVP and GM, Career Funding
Sid Huerta
Senior Originations Manager
Susan Bussolari
Executive Assistant
Suzanne Sgroi
HR Generalist/Talent Acquisition Partner
Sylvia Chen
Senior Analyst
Tatum Drinnenberg
Senior Executive Assistant
Tayler Grieco
Customer Experience Manager
Tristan Fleming
Chief Impact Officer and General Counsel
Victor Guerra
VP, Compliance & Vendor Management
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.
