One Degree’s Founder and CEO Rey Faustino (left) and Founding Board Member Karla Monterroso (right) met in 1999 during their first year at USC. As children of immigrants and the first in their families to go to graduate school and college, respectively, they felt immediate kinship. Experiencing firsthand the personal economic and socio-emotional transition from low to middle income, their journey was made possible through resource connections made by their public school teachers. These connections fostered their development as young leaders.
Grateful to the communities that shaped them and ready to serve the community in the most effective ways, Rey and Karla want to extend the opportunities that they were given to more students and families. From their shared experience to a shared vision for the future, the One Degree team has grown to a team of seven people and over 150 Founding Connectors.
ADVISORS
Suzanne Klahr,
CEO of BUILD
Brett Alessi,
managing director of new initiatives, Mass 2020
Dr. Ron Ferguson,
senior lecturer and director of Achievement Gap Initiative, Harvard University
Nicco Mele,
technologist and founder, Echo Ditto
Alexandra Quinn,
vice president of leadership and strategy, Health Leads
Hydra Mendoza,
vice president, San Francisco Board of Education
