Our missionTo inspire and support students to reach their academic and career goals, with a focus on first-generation and low-income community college students.
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Solving the problemToo many community college students are falling short of their education dreams. Half of students start their higher education at a community college. Nearly 70% drop out within 6 years.
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Our approachWe use technology, and the latest research on behavioral nudges, to turn smartphones into cutting edge community college completion tools.
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Founder & CEO
Catalina Ruiz-Healy Prior to founding GradGuru, Catalina was founder & CEO of Catalista LLC, named one of Forbes Magazine’s “Top 10 Apps to Change the World”, and listed as USA Today’s “Best Apps of 2009.” Catalista is a mobile platform that enables users to find local volunteer opportunities in real-time, rate their experience, and track and share their good deeds. Catalina earned a Master of International Affairs at Columbia University, and a B.A. from Pomona College. |
CTO
Kioma Valenzuela Aldecoa Before joining Gradguru in early 2017, Kioma spent eight years at [24]7 and Voxify where he managed an international software development team. Prior to this, Kioma held technical leadership positions including at NPC, which was involved in charitable giving; GeoSpot, which involved collaborative location services; and as a consultant for National Tribal Environmental Council, a nonprofit based in Albuquerque. He holds patents related to mobile application data exchange and conversational heuristics. |
Board of Directors
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Advisors
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What inspired usIn 2010, Catalina Ruiz-Healy, Founder & CEO of GradGuru, was spending a lot of time on community college campuses helping a foundation identify student grant recipients.
She was impressed by the students’ talent, capability, and most of all, their drive to complete their education despite some pretty challenging obstacles. The students’ personal stories, coupled with the alarming statistics of how few community college students reach completion and transfer to a four year institution, inspired her to do what she does best — figure out a technology solution to overcome the barriers. Catalina spent more than a year solely on user research, and understanding the problem, before launching GradGuru in 2012. |
Awards & Recognition
Our Supporters
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The Company |
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