Who We Are
The Ada Center team brings together expertise in higher education strategy, student success practice, technology, and organizational change. We are a small team of practitioners and technologists united by a shared commitment to improving student outcomes and expanding pathways to economic mobility. While our headquarters are in Colorado, our team of experts spans from California to Maine.
Our Team
Sarah Zauner
FounderSarah Zauner is the Founder and Executive Director of The Ada Center, a national organization that partners with colleges, universities, state systems, foundations, and higher education organizations to help institutions harness technology to expand opportunity and advance economic mobility.
Over the past decade, Sarah has led The Ada Center’s work with more than 700 broad-access institutions and numerous state and national organizations. Under her leadership, The Ada Center has developed research, playbooks, curricular resources, strategic frameworks, and initiatives that help higher education leaders navigate technology decisions and build stronger institutions.
Before founding The Ada Center, Sarah held leadership roles at the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and the Education Advisory Board (EAB). At Aspen, she led national research and initiatives focused on student success. At EAB, she helped develop technology products that supported colleges in improving student outcomes. Earlier in her career, she worked as a community college faculty member and served as a Fulbright researcher in China.
Sarah is a frequent speaker, guest lecturer, and advisor on higher education and technology. She enjoys mentoring students and emerging professionals, advising institutional and philanthropic leaders, and contributing to national conversations about the future of higher education. She is passionate about helping institutions harness technology to expand opportunity and advance economic mobility.
Dr. Christina Hubbard
Managing Director, Digital Holistic Student SupportDr. Christina Hubbard leads The Ada Center’s Digital Holistic Student Support portfolio and partnership with the Gates Foundation. She brings more than 25 years of direct service in higher education to inform her work. With experience across student services, program leadership, and classroom instruction, Christina joined The Ada Center in 2024 to address the intersection of technology and student success innovation. In her role, she leverages the latest insight on student success to inform strategy for funders, individual institutions, and state systems.
Christina brings extensive practical and research experiences in leveraging technology to meet the needs of students in open access institutions. Prior to joining The Ada Center, she worked as a top student success researcher at EAB where she led studies on career integration for post-traditional learners, reengaging and serving stopped out students, and leading advising innovation on college campuses. The bulk of her work focused on the role technology plays in ensuring every admitted student has a pathway to on-time graduation. Across her career, she has led hundreds of hands-on and didactic presentations on college campuses and national conferences.
Her passion for student success is informed by her own educational journey. As a teen parent turned military spouse, Christina navigated higher education while juggling personal, professional, and academic responsibilities—much like the student populations she serves in her work. Christina holds a Ph.D. in education from George Mason University, where she published her dissertation on the role of holistic advising in the persistence of adult community college students. She also has a Master of Education in student affairs from Regent University and a certificate in college counseling from UCLA Extension.
Andres Gil
Managing Director of Student Voice, General CounselAndrés leads The Ada Center’s student voice research team and also acts as The Ada Center’s General Counsel. In this capacity he has led more than 300 in-depth student interviews on how institutions can better use technology-enabled practices to support student success. He has also supported The Ada Center’s state-level initiatives in Ohio, California, and Connecticut, along with technology initiatives for HSIs.
As a small organization, Andrés also acts as The Ada Center’s general counsel, supporting The Ada Center’s legal needs, advising on technology procurement projects, and ensuring The Ada Center is poised for organizational sustainability.
Previously, Andrés provided legal counsel and devised effective advocacy strategies for small businesses and non-profits, with a focus on commercial, financial, tax, and international issues. In addition to his legal and advocacy work, Andrés has extensive experience developing educational offerings for his clientele, from small seminars to large, multi-day educational conferences. Andrés received his Juris Doctor (with high honors) from The George Washington University Law School.
Sarah Ferris
Managing Director, StrategySarah Ferris serves as a Principal Consultant at The Ada Center, supporting The Ada Center’s extensive partnership with The Gates Foundation and guiding major strategy projects. While much of her portfolio is focused on AI and Digital Holistic Student Support, more globally her work at The Ada Center is anchored in the translation of ambiguous ideas into clear frameworks that empower senior leaders.
Sarah brings significant experience managing dynamic projects, leading teams, and partnering with stakeholders in education, corporate, and government organizations. She has previously worked at American University in Washington, DC on the Strategy Implementation team in the Office of the President, managing the implementation of the long-term strategic plan and coordinating cross-divisional projects. She also partnered with college and university leaders across the U.S. for 10 years at the research and technology firm EAB. There she led a 20+ person research team, regularly presented at on-campus workshops and national convenings, and served as the Chief of Staff to the SVP/General Manager for Research.
While much of her career has focused on U.S. postsecondary education, Sarah has also lived and worked abroad, including coordinating professional learning, accreditation, and school improvement initiatives at a large K-12 international school district.
Dr. Rachel James
Managing Director, Technical ImplementationDr. Rachel James and her team of IT specialists partner with a handful of The Ada Center institutions on more complex technology implementation projects. Across her 25+ year career supporting higher education institutions, non-profits, and hospital systems, she has helped implement hundreds of CRMs, ERPs, and custom data solutions. Her team’s current work with The Ada Center is focused in California and Texas.
Rachel has a background in computer science and management consulting. Her education journey began at a rural community college in Georgia and eventually took her to pursue graduate work overseas. She currently splits her time between Colorado, Hong Kong, and London.
Our Partner Ecosystem
We are proud to work as part of a broader ecosystem of organizations who share a commitment to improving economic mobility through higher education. As a small organization, we partner frequently with other subject matter experts and organizations to provide institutions with the breadth of expertise needed to achieve their goals.
Our collaborators include organizations such as AASCU, Achieving the Dream, the Advising Success Network, AIHEC, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, Ascendium Education, the Center for Innovation in Postsecondary Education, College Futures Foundation, Complete College America, EDUCAUSE, the Gates Foundation, Growing Inland Achievement, Jobs for the Future, NCII, Phase Two Advisory, Sova Education, State Success Centers, Strong Start to Finish, and Tyton Partners.
We also collaborate through multi-organization initiatives such as Higher Endeavor, where we partner with organizations including AIR, Community College Center of Student Engagement, rpk Group, Student Ready Strategies, and T3 Advisory to provide coordinated support to participating institutions.
To preserve our independence, The Ada Center does not maintain commercial partnerships with technology vendors. This allows us to provide vendor-neutral guidance and recommend the approaches and solutions that best fit each institution’s unique context and goals.