Team & Board
Our team is fun-loving, hard-working, and obsessed with putting dents in big problems.
Who Are We?
One of our teammates explored the Canadian wilderness for 45 days. Another was at a party for three hours before realizing it was a funeral. As for our Board, they help connect us to our north star as we chart into new waters, helping us stay on the right path, and advising us throughout the entire journey. Learn more about us, what we value, and which one of us was at the funeral.
Adrienne Russman
Director of Collective Impact
Adrienne Russman
Director of Collective Impact
As Director of Collective Impact, Adrienne oversees Uncharted’s cross-sector collaborative work, leading, facilitating, and moving programs and organizations with diverse backgrounds toward measurable results to solve some of society’s biggest problems. Prior to Uncharted, Adrienne was a Senior Policy Advisor to Governor John Hickenlooper. She worked in the Governor’s Office from 2011 to 2018, overseeing special initiatives, and advising on policy, legislative direction, and communication strategy. Adrienne has also has worked on political campaigns from the local to national levels and served as a consultant to nonprofits working in the social impact space. Adrienne is a Denver native and a graduate of Wesleyan University.
Away from the office, Adrienne is probably on her bike, in the mountains, or trying to perfect a loaf of sourdough bread.
What Inspires You?
Good people, good food, and good conversation—preferably all at the same time.
Fun-fact:
Adrienne once wrote a Hamilton-inspired rap about Colorado for the Governor, performed during a State of the State address.
Ash Dumford
Director of Marketing and Communications
Ash Dumford
Director of Marketing and Communications
As Marketing Manager at Uncharted, Ash highlights our new model of accelerating ventures towards problem-centric outcomes, and shares the impact of our entrepreneurs, ventures, and broader network. She holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Communications—and has chased a variety of careers in the many, many years since. While her experience is broad, Ash’s true passion lies in amplifying stories that invoke wonder and inspire empathy.
What Inspires You?
Ordinary people who throw caution to the wind and salty food at the end of a trail.
Fun-fact:
Ash once ate a dozen blazin’ chicken wings in under three minutes.
Banks Benitez
Co-Founder and CEO
Banks Benitez
Co-Founder and CEO
As CEO, Banks is responsible for the organization’s strategy and long-term direction. A Denver native who joined Uncharted in the spring of 2012 as an unpaid intern, Banks has served in a variety of roles: leading entrepreneur selection, managing the mentor network, leading the expansion of the Institute around the world, managing the organization’s day-to-day operations and team. Prior to Uncharted, Banks had a few other jobs and graduated from just enough schooling to land the unpaid internship. He holds a Bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University and a Masters degree from the University of Sydney in Australia.
Outside of work, Banks is taking piano lessons, learning how to be a good neighbor to the folks on his block, and spends most weekends in his tent in the Colorado backcountry. You can usually find him near the snacks at a party, or wherever there are snacks.
What Inspires You?
People who are intentionally telling a story with how they live their lives.
Fun-fact:
Banks cries more than anyone else on the team, and gave a talk about how to embrace awkwardness.
Emily Scott
Program Director
Emily Scott
Program Director
Emily joined the team in July of 2015 and works as our Program Director. She is responsible for managing our Uncharted partnership programs, and previously our global expansion efforts. Since joining the team, Emily has supported 40 Lab Teams in implementing 5-day Labs and is continuing to lead our problem-focused Uncharted programs- an opportunity to work with everyone! She holds a B.S. from the University of Colorado in Aerospace Engineering, is a part-time astronaut, and is credited with giving Elon Musk the idea for interplanetary colonization.
What Inspires You?
I am inspired by the believers- the people who really think that a difference can be made if enough people get involved. The conviction and motivation of believers MAKES me a believer.
Fun-fact:
As an 18-year-old with 7 other women, Emily spent 45 days canoeing nearly 700 miles in Nunavut, Canada. They lost their maps… talk about Uncharted territory!
Gayle Karen Young
Board Member
Gayle Karen Young
Board Member
Joe Santini
Program Manager
Joe Santini
Program Manager
As the Program Manager, Joe lays the groundwork to ensure our accelerators do what they are suppose to – change the world! This means becoming a programming know-it-all from recruitment to execution to post-program support. Prior to Uncharted, Joe worked as a glorified beach bum helping local businesses in Sri Lanka for over a year. He is a Colorado native and holds an honors B.S. from Colorado State University in Business Management. Additionally, he holds the world record for individual Goldfish cracker consumption (we assume).
What Inspires You?
Joe imagines his threshold for inspiration as this flimsy piece of plastic wrap punctured by anyone with a dream or passion. He is inspired by the inspired.
Fun-Fact:
Joe’s Uncharted application was written directly to our office dog, Gus. Despite our better judgment, Gus insisted we give him a chance.
Laura Schwecherl
Director of Program Marketing
Laura Schwecherl
Director of Program Marketing
As Director of Marketing & Communications, Laura’s role is to bridge Uncharted’s internal work with the outside world—creating a powerful gravitational pull of people, resources, and partnerships to help further Uncharted’s impact. Prior to joining the team, Laura led marketing at the global health organization Possible, managing a team in New York City and South Asia to help improve access to healthcare in remote areas of Nepal. She believes in the power of data-driven messaging to spur smart engagement and growth, and is passionate about connecting communities to impact-forward organizations. Outside of work (aka her laptop) you can find her trail running, reading Murakami novels, or writing amateur poetry.
What Inspires You?
Authenticity, ultra runners, and taco Tuesday.
Fun-fact:
She loves alpacas more than humans.
Marie Hathaway
Operations Manager
Marie Hathaway
Operations Manager
Marie is in charge of hiring, benefits, systems, and a slew of other internal necessities at Uncharted. Previously, Marie organized the program logistics for two Uncharted accelerators, and even though she’s no longer on the program team she absolutely loves program weeks and getting to know the incredible entrepreneurs. Marie graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a major in Applied Math and a minor in Minesweeper, and her two biggest passions in life are drinking water and the Chicago Cubs.
What Inspires You?
Fresh air, positivity, and people who cling tight to their values and work hard.
Fun-fact:
Marie wrote an original Christmas song when she was 16.
Nick Fellers
Board Member
Nick Fellers
Board Member
Nick is the co-founder of For Impact and president of The Suddes Group. In the last 10 years, he’s raised over $125 Million for causes in 30 countries and trained leaders from over 1000 organizations in how to use a sales process to maximize funding opportunities.
An entrepreneur, Nick started his first business while a student at the University of Notre Dame. Studying biology and philosophy, Nick would leave the labs early to make sales calls for his business – the first-of-its-kind student social network (and a precursor to Facebook). Upon graduation, Nick and his business partners sold their business to focus on ‘scaled impact in the social sector.’
Nick is passionate about family, social entrepreneurship, running, and all things web. An avid runner, Nick is currently working on running marathons in all 50 states. He and his wife, Anna, live in Columbus, Ohio, with their children, Will, Molly, and Rosie.
Paul Collier
Impact Specialist
Paul Collier
Impact Specialist
As Impact Specialist, Paul is working with the Uncharted team to redefine how we measure our impact and help us make the most out of the information we’re collecting from our entrepreneurs. In addition to working with us, Paul consults with nonprofits in Colorado and beyond on evaluation practices and analytics. Previously, Paul served as the internal evaluation lead at one of San Francisco’s largest family-serving organizations. He’s a proud Sun Devil and holds BS and BA degrees in business and nonprofit administration from Arizona State University.
What inspires you?
People who dedicate their careers to social impact work.
Fun-fact:
Paul was once trapped in a computer lab for four hours due to a prison break. During that time he set a personal record score for Kitten Cannon.
Sara Rodriguez
COO
Sara Rodriguez
COO
Sara is originally from Spain and joined the Uncharted team in November 2014. As the COO, Sara ensures the day-to-day operations of Uncharted align with the organization’s strategic goals. Additionally, she makes sure the team has all the financial metrics, projections, and scenarios needed to make solid management decisions. She also leads Uncharted’s Capital Partner network with 500+, investors, foundations, funds and family offices, manages our loan program, and helps ventures get ready to take on investments. Prior to Uncharted, Sara was the Associate Director at Rockies Venture Club.
What Inspires You?
The brave people who takes chances and do not live in the “what if” world.
Fun-fact:
Sara was at a party for three hours before realizing it was a funeral.
Teju Ravilochan
Co-Founder, Board Member
Teju Ravilochan
Co-Founder, Board Member
Teju is co-founder of Uncharted (formerly Unreasonable Institute), which he started immediately after college with Tyler Hartung and Daniel Epstein. Before Uncharted, he spent nearly a year as executive assistant to Paul Polak, founder of iDE, which has impacted over 20 million people. He conducted university-funded research (via the University of Colorado) to learn about the effectiveness of NGOs in tackling rural poverty, which deeply inspired his passion for Unreasonable’s mission. He is a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur, an Inc. 30 under 30 entrepreneur, and a TEDx speaker. His family hails from India. And he was born in Cleveland. So we like to joke that he’s a Cleveland Indian.
What Inspires You?
People’s courage to move forward when the chances of success seem so low inspires me.
Fun-fact:
I try to keep a running list of 15-20 bad dad jokes memorized, for deployment at any moment.
Will Seamans
Former Chief of Staff, Teach for America
Will Seamans
Former Chief of Staff, Teach for America
Will grew up in a low-income family in rural Colorado, and became the first in his family to attend college. While in college, Will was fortunate enough to discover his two life passions: entrepreneurship and education. During his senior year he founded a start-up aimed at making college more affordable for students like himself, and led that organization as CEO for the next 5 years, growing the company from 3 to 15 employees, and revenues 2.4x each year on average. He then joined the staff of Teach For America, where he held a number of leadership roles as the organization grew from impacting 80,000 students nationwide to over 500,000 students nationwide during his tenure. While at Teach For America Will solidified his belief that solving socio-economic disparity is the root solution to a majority of the problems in our society. He also discovered a unique strength in helping others reach their full potential, and has been coaching and mentoring management teams and CEOs to create the conditions for success in their organizations ever since.
Zach Strom
Venture Funding Director
Zach Strom
Venture Funding Director
As the Venture Funding Director, Zach leads Uncharted’s Capital Partner network with 500+ investors, foundations, funds and family offices, in addition to helping ventures get ready to take on investments. Prior to Uncharted, Zach worked with a variety of early and growth stage startups in partner-focused roles. Zach also launched a food truck, which he learned was much harder than expected. He holds a BSBA degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a lifelong Tar Heel fan.
What Inspires You: People that live with a sense of wonder and curiosity.
Fun Fact: I injured myself on my first Colorado ski trip after falling in the parking lot.
Step Into Our Office
From daily hugs and monthly team outings, to snack strategies and sticky notes, learn what it’s really like to work at Uncharted and check out our job opportunities!