Meet the Team
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Riva Yeo
Riva Yeo
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Riva Yeo is a first-generation college graduate, the daughter of an immigrant mother, and a joint-degree JD/MPP candidate at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. Born and raised in southern California, Riva attended the University of Rochester on financial aid and scholarships. After college, she worked in New York at the investment management firm the D.E. Shaw Group and the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. After law school, she will return to southern California to clerk for a federal judge. She co-founded Rise Collective because she believes in the power of all students to imagine and build fulfilling and financially sustainable lives.
Ty Hayes
Co-Founder & President
Ty Hayes is a veteran educator with 27 years of teaching experience in Southern California. Growing up in Barstow, Ty developed a passion for education and helping underserved communities. He earned his Master's degree in Education Technology and continues to make efforts in integrating productive tools and digital platforms into his school’s curriculum. He currently serves as the Teaching and Learning Lead, where he directs initiatives focused on improving literacy and critical thinking, especially for low-income students. His deep commitment to equitable education is evident in his work, continuously seeking innovative ways to bridge the gap in access to quality education. Focusing on community with a forward-thinking approach, Ty is dedicated to making a lasting impact on students’ lives.
Ty Hayes
Co-Founder & President
Chief Marketing Officer
Judith Zhu
Judith Zhu
Chief Marketing Officer
Judith Zhu is a Lead Product Marketing Manager with over 7 years of experience in the tech sector. After exploring various fields, including law, sales, and politics, Judith discovered her true passion and found a fulfilling career in product strategy. Her journey, while initially winding, has led her to a rewarding role where she can leverage her skills to drive innovation and impact. Judith's early experiences, such as her involvement with the California Association of Student Councils (CASC), supporting education reform. After moving to New York, her commitment to empowering young people led her to volunteer with Minds Matter, a mentorship program that supports high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds get into selective universities. As a board member of Rise Collective, Judith is dedicated to helping the next generation discover their own unique career paths, even those that may not follow traditional trajectories.
Kevin Chen
Chief Curriculum Officer
Kevin Chen is currently a data manager at the Children's Funding Project, a non-profit focused on expanding equitable opportunities for children through strategic public financing. Previously, Kevin was a research assistant at the Harvard Graduate School of Education's EdRedesign Lab, contributing to data strategy, collection, analysis, and research. He also served as a data analytics and senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and Deloitte, advising federal agencies on modernizing their systems for data-driven decision-making. Before his consulting career, Kevin dedicated three years to teaching algebra I and II at High Point High School as a Teach for America Corps member. Kevin holds a master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park. He currently resides in Wheaton, Maryland with his partner and their 6-year-old Labrador Retriever.
Kevin Chen
Chief Curriculum Officer
Megan Wong
Secretary & Chief Operations Officer
Megan Wong
Secretary and Chief Operations Officer
Megan Wong is a Business Process Manager at The Infatuation, JPMorgan Chase, where she streamlines operational processes to align with the company's strategic goals while ensuring compliance with regulatory and legal standards. She also has experience working with marketing agencies to develop brand and digital strategy within the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. An advocate for AAPI and women’s empowerment, Megan is actively involved in groups such as Ascend Global Leadership, a global network of Pan-Asian professionals. She holds a B.A. from New York University, with a concentration in politics, economic development, and public health. Coming from a family of educators, Megan is a strong supporter of continuous learning and believes there are multiple pathways to success. Originally from Northern California, she now resides in Seattle.
Jay Nam
Chief Financial Officer
Jay is an MBA student at Harvard Business School from southern California. Jay believes in the transformative power of education to uplift communities and to change lives. Through Power in Pathways, Jay is eager to illuminate new career paths and opportunities for students from all backgrounds.
Jay Nam
Chief Financial Officer
Samantha Hunt
Board Member
Samantha Hunt
Board Member
Samantha Hunt is a Board Member for Rise Collective, where she uses her impact expertise to support the organization and to help middle school students explore career options. With a background in education and advocacy, Samantha is a fellow at A Better Balance. Her work focuses on protecting students' rights, providing legal services and public outreach to support pregnant and parenting students. Her efforts focused on ensuring students received necessary accommodations to continue their education under new Title IX regulations. During her Fellowship, Samantha's key goals were to provide legal services to students seeking accommodations and educate them on their rights. She played a crucial role in advocating for pregnant and parenting students to ensure they had equal access to education. Samantha holds a law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School and is dedicated to empowering students by protecting their educational opportunities.
Hannah Hayes
Direector of Peer Mentor Recruitment
Hannah Hayes is a senior at Carnegie Mellon University, majoring in Economics and Statistics. With a passion for data analysis, she is eager to apply her skills to improve education for all. Having attended Quail Valley Middle School and Serrano High School, Hannah is excited to contribute to a non-profit organization that directly benefits the community where she grew up. Her academic background and personal connection to the area drive her commitment to giving back through Rise Collective.
Hannah Hayes
Director of Peer Mentor Recruitment
Chief Culture Officer
Tracy Wong
Nicolas Jofre
Board Member
Tracy Wong
Chief Culture Officer
Tracy Wong is a 6th year educator in Minnesota, servicing black and brown students in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. Born and raised in Sacramento, CA, Tracy received her BA from New York University and a MA in Education from Loyola Marymount University. Through Teach For America, Tracy had the opportunity to service the community she grew up in. Now in Minneapolis, she continues to work with students, advocating for students at school. While her specialty is lower Elementary, she works alongside Middle School to create a consistent school culture for student success.
Nicolas Jofre
Board Member
Paige Amormino
Maggie Wang
Chief Technology Officer
Maggie Wang
Chief Technology Officer
Maggie Wang is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). She holds a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and worked as a software engineer at Capital One and Blackrock. In addition to her tech pursuits, Maggie is passionate about education and has dedicated her spare time to various volunteer initiatives. She has worked with the California Association of Student Councils, taught with Engineering for Kids in Tennessee, and led Capital One Coders in the DC Metro Area and New York City. Maggie firmly believes that digital literacy is essential for a comprehensive education and a key tool for creating a better world. As part of Rise Collective, she is committed to ensuring that every student is equipped with the digital resources necessary to shape their own futures.
Paige Amormino
Chief Recruitment Officer
Paige Amormino is a PhD candidate in experimental psychology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Her research focuses on morality and altruism, investigating why people do good things and why others don't. She is originally from Windsor, California. Paige hopes to become a professor of psychology someday.
