WHAT OUR PARTNERS THINK
Past and Present
"Working with Grisel and Alberto on our organization’s 5-year strategic plan was affirming, enriching, and generative. Their relational style paired with their robust, on-the-ground experience in program development, nonprofit leadership, and philanthropy helped me be open and honest about all the ambiguity and challenging decisions that come with strategic planning. Grisel and Alberto really listened to our team, helped us come to consensus in places of disagreement, and were in our corner every step of the way."
Jesse Ilhardt, Co-Founder & Executive Director, VOCEL
"As a growing nonprofit, working on our very first strategic plan, Alberto and Grisel were invaluable. They supported us every step of the way in creating realistic, yet ambitious growth goals for our organization. They listened to feedback, partnered with our board, and facilitated productive working sessions that led to the completion of our 3-year strategic plan (linked). We are excited to share this plan and work to achieve our goals."
Dirrick Butler, Founding Executive Director, Project OneTen
"We gave you a difficult and demanding task and you exceeded all expectations! Your preparation was incredibly thorough and your skill at understanding and responding to suggestions, questions, and concerns was amazing. I was extraordinarily impressed by both of you. Many thanks!”
Brian Fitzpatrick, Former Executive Director and President of the Board of Directors, Wentcher Foundation
"We brought in Avanza to help launch a pilot program and we were lucky to have Grisel on our team, she is an immensely talented leader. She seeks to understand her clients, develops trust with the team, and is excellent at project management. When we were forced to move all of our programming to virtual platforms, Grisel transitioned to leading us through that project which involved high-quality research and program design and her experience clearly prepared her for this. She also came back to High Jump to do leadership coaching for a new staff member and it was incredibly helpful in the onboarding process. She truly excelled in every project she did with us. Our staff appreciated the personal way she supported them and I knew we could trust her insights and experience. I highly recommend working with her!"
Nate Pietrini, Executive Director, High Jump
"We partnered with Avanza to accomplish our goal of 100% college acceptance; I am happy to say that all of our seniors - 90% of whom qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch - were accepted to at least one four-year university. Our college team was able to design, implement and refine a robust college counseling program through the coaching, resources, and support that Grisel provided. Without her, our team, and ultimately our students and families, may not have been able to have the college options that they all do. I cannot say enough about the positive impact that Grisel made to our staff, students and families, and would recommend her to anyone interested in fortifying or starting their own college counseling program."
Drew Goltermann, Principal, East College Prep
"Grisel has been working with HVA High for the last year and a half and in this short period of time she has brought rigor, expertise and direction to our college program while building strong relationships with both teachers and students. She brings deep knowledge of the college process coupled with streamlined organization tools that make it easy for principals to track student progress in real time and direct college counselors strategically."
Abe Correa, Principal, Harlem Village Academy High
“Grisel has been an essential partner in developing Alpha's college success program. She has led program design efforts, provided our board with the information they needed to make good decisions, and supported school staff in executing effectively. Grisel has helped us build the capacity we needed in order to keep the promises we made to scholars and families.”
John Glover, Founder & CEO, Alpha Public Schools
"Our organization has hired Avanza for multiple projects over the last few years. We have been impressed with Avanza’s ability to deliver quality services on a wide range of our needs. It would be hard to beat the customer service of its principle, Grisel Maldonado. She made time for us on her vacations multiple times in order for us to keep to our timelines. We are repeat clients and I see us coming back to Avanza again in the future."
Mike Huguelet, Special Projects Manager, Gary Comer Youth Center - UtmostU
“Grisel has helped Namaste develop systems to measure impact and make data informed decisions that benefit Namaste students and Alumni. She has offered continuous communication, and programmatic support that has helped me grow and learn both professionally and personally.”
Mercedes Alvear, Alumni Transition Coordinator, Namaste Charter School
