OPENING DOORS TO GREAT WORK

CONNECTING STUDENTS TO HIGH-SKILL CAREERS

From the time education began, student reflection on the value of their educational experiences has regularly centered on a single, appropriate, and familiar question: “When am I ever going to use this?”

Our purpose at Avenue Scholars is for the answer to that question to be “every day of your life.” That’s because Avenue Scholars is about careers – learning about them, preparing for them, entering them, and above all else, succeeding in them.

Avenue Scholars will expose the students entering our program today to a variety of quality career options in fields such as health care, information technology, automotive technology, trades and manufacturing, and business processes. We’ll also coach them through part-time work so that they can experience the realities of the work world and learn and develop the attributes necessary to be successful in it.

We’ll help students identify and access the paths to their career goals, which includes providing them with a grant to continue their education/training after successfully completing their Avenue Scholars high school experience. We’ll continue to support them throughout their time in post-high-school training and will work with employers to open doors to career opportunities. We’ll then stay with them for six months after they start their careers to make sure they get off to a good start. This is our commitment to our students.

We greatly appreciate the generous support of our educational, business, philanthropic, and community partners for their unique contributions to our students’ success and well-being. Without the collective contributions of each of them, none of this would be possible. Special thanks to our students for choosing to be part of this program and being the inspiration for our work.

Let’s go forward together and accomplish great things!

“Avenue Scholars helps provide a sense of direction by emphasizing career training and the importance of building a future on that solid foundation.”

Walter Scott, Jr., Founding Board Chair, Avenue Scholars

Board of Directors

Susie Buffett

Chairperson

Jeff Schmid

Director

Calvin Sisson

Director

Katie Weitz, Ph.D.

Director

Ken Bird, Ed.D.

President/CEO

Organizational & Program Administration

Kenneth M. Bird, Ed.D.
President/CEO
kbird@avescholars.org
402.505.6814
Catie Dagle
Director of Information & Quality Assurance
cdagle@avescholars.org
402.991.5402
Shaney Esparza
Office & Staff Assistant
sesparza@avescholars.org
402.991.5328 
Lisa Sterba, Ed.D.
Sr. Director of Programs
lsterba@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Lindsay Decker
Director of Communications & Development
ldecker@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Beverly Hass
Office & Staff Assistant
bhass@avescholars.org
402.991.5595 
Ally Miller
Avenue Scholars Program Support Intern
Kris Valentin
Sr. Director of Human Resources
& Administrative Services
kvalentin@avescholars.org
402.991.5532 
Michael Johnson
Assistant Director of Programs
mjohnson@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Kristy Preuss
Office & Staff Assistant
kpreuss@avescholars.org
402.991.5552 
 
 

High School Team

Ashley Knott – Department Head
High School Career Coach
aknott@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Terrence Gillian
High School Career Coach
tgillian@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Marquita Lambert
High School Career Coach 
mlambert@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Jordyn Smith
High School Career Coach
jsmith@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Jose Almanza
High School Career Coach
jalmanza@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
 Allison Goff
High School Career Coach
agoff@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
 Beth Leach
High School Career Coach
bleach@avescholars.org
402.916.9777 
Fred Starks
High School Career Coach
fstarks@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Vanessa Collins
High School Career Coach
vcollins@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
 Zadie Johnson
High School Career Coach
zjohnson@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Kamina Lemons
High School Career Coach
klemons@avescholars.org
402.916.9777

Postsecondary/Career Team

Tonya Fairgood – Department Head
Postsecondary Career Coach
tfairgood@avescholars.org
402.916.9777 
Tom Prescott
Postsecondary Career Coach
tprescott@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
 
 
Dan Corral
Postsecondary Career Coach
dcorral@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Canei Rodriquez
Postsecondary Career Coach
crodriquez@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
 
 
 
Marcus Manley
Postsecondary Career Coach
mmanley@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
Anthony Tate
Postsecondary Career Coach
atate@avescholars.org
402.916.9777

Business Outreach Team

Audrey Gustin – Department Head
Business Relations Manager
agustin@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
 
 
Jessi Hedlund
Career Program Manager
jhedlund@avescholars.org
402.916.9777

Tom Robertson
Internship Administrator
trobertson@avescholars.org
402.916.9777

Student Support Team

Guadalupe Perez-Aguilar
Student Support Assistant
gperezaguilar@avescholars.org
402.916.9777
 
 

Avenue Shared Services

Mike Alvano
Vice President & Treasurer
CFO of Avenue Scholars
malvano@avescholars.org
402.991.5597
Penny Darnell
Accounting Manager
pdarnell@avescholars.org

402.991.5543