Marta Urquilla
President
Marta Urquilla is the founding president of Centri Tech Foundation. She brings over twenty-five years of experience leading solutions to strengthen the lives of low-income people and communities of color. Previously, she was chief program officer at Education Design Lab, directing new models to connect education to the future of work. As deputy director at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University, she co-led the center’s establishment as a vehicle for driving impact at scale. Marta served in the administration of President Barack Obama as Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation and as Senior Advisor for Innovation at AmeriCorps. She launched the first Social Innovation Fund in the U.S. government, a model adopted across federal agencies, as well as initiatives on Pay for Success and Opportunity Youth.
An Echoing Green Fellow, Marta is a social entrepreneur who has worked nationally and locally to design human-centered solutions. She created One Economy’s Digital Connectors, a national program to connect low-income youth and communities to the digital economy, and founded Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana, an organization to build the leadership capacity of girls and young women of color in Washington, DC. Other community development models have focused on improving public health outcomes through community organizing and policy change, facilitating youth-led solutions to neighborhood safety, and advocating for equity in housing and education on behalf of children, youth and families. She serves on the board of Urban Alliance and is a founding member of nFormation, a professional membership community created by women of color for women of color.
John Horrigan
Senior Fellow
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Our Team
Board of Directors
Kat Trujillo
Program Director, Social Innovation Initiatives
Kat has spent her career designing and leading collaborative solutions that support strong, equitable, and diverse communities. She brings over a decade of experience creating programs and promoting policies in education, digital inclusion, and community development. As deputy director and director of education at Libraries Without Borders, Kat launched and scaled over 20 projects across ten states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, including the organization’s first broadband deployment and adoption program. She has launched and directed leadership programs, including the Humanity in Action summer fellowship for emerging social justice leaders and the inaugural Diplomacy and Diversity Fellowship. Kat served in the Obama White House, where she helped organize the first-ever National Convening on Immigrant and Refugee Integration. At the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the National Head Start Association, Kat advanced early childhood and higher education policy at the local, state, and federal levels.
Kat holds a Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley, a Master of Arts from The Fletcher School, and an LL.M. degree from the Transitional Justice Institute, where she studied as a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow and George Mitchell Scholar. She was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles.
Rey Ramsey
Chairman
Clyde Edwards
Member
District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development
Wendell Brown
Member
Averon
Marc McAleavey, MSW
Program Director, Digital Advancement Initiatives
Marc brings over two decades’ experience establishing and leading place-based organizations dedicated to sustainable community development. Collaboration and a commitment to equity has driven his work as a community and organizational leader at the state and local level.
Most recently, Marc was the executive director of Serve Indiana, the state’s commission on volunteerism and service. He created and launched The Empathy Sector, a statewide initiative to bring together community and corporate leaders in pursuit of equity and increased quality of life in historically underrepresented communities. He served as founding executive director of Playworks Indiana and Public Allies Indianapolis, where he supported 150 Public Ally apprentices in resident-led quality of life organizing and planning in over 20 neighborhoods. Marc led evaluation and documentation at the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center and founded The Zawadi Exchange, an Asset Based Community Development organization.
Marc holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Master of Social Work from Indiana University, where he enjoys teaching graduate-level policy, program design, and community development courses as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work. He was awarded the 2018 Journey Executive Fellowship, a prestigious program for professional development and renewal supported by the Lilly Endowment, and Indiana University’s 2019 Career Achievement Award. Marc serves on the boards of the Indiana Afterschool Network, Indiana University School of Liberal Arts Alumni Board, Uplands PEAK Animal Sanctuary, and the Central Indiana Community Foundation’s Racial Equity Advisory Council.
Join Our Team
Elia Rangel
Analyst
Kennedy Winslow
Analyst
Tyrell Holcomb
Director of Development
Tyrell Holcomb brings over twenty years of experience in nonprofit and government service, dedicated to improving the lives of underserved and marginalized communities. Previously, he has held nonprofit leadership roles as Director of Community Engagement and Organizing at Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE), Program Manager at the Capital Area Food Bank, and founding director of advocacy at Don’t Mute My Health, a community-led health equity initiative in Washington, DC. A strategic relationship builder, Tyrell has raised financial support for organizations and initiatives, including negotiating community impact agreements ranging from $500,000 to $5Million.
Tyrell’s public service career began when he was elected as the District of Columbia’s Youth Mayor in 2004 and 2005. In 2016, Tyrell was elected to the Ward 7 Advisory Neighborhood Commission, which he currently chairs. He is a member of national public service organizations including the Young Elected Officials Network, National Black Elected Officials Caucus, and Local Progress.
Tyrell has been recognized as a DMV Top 30 under 30 by Urban One Radio and Community Leader of the Year by KIPP DC Public Schools. Tyrell graduated from the University of the District of Columbia with a major in Political Science.