Abby Funabiki
As BootUp’s Chief of Staff, Abby defines clear goals and results, both current and future, and works collaboratively to determine organizational priorities and strategies. She supports strategic planning, decision-making, and organization-wide coordination to ensure BootUp is on track to achieve its goals and initiatives. Abby collaborates with cross-functional teams to lead strategic initiatives and champions an atmosphere that empowers team members to invest in their interests, achieve their potential, and contribute to the organization as a whole.
Abby serves as a hub across the organization to align partnerships, program efforts, marketing, and business opportunities and enjoys optimizing organizational processes along the way.
Since 2011, Abby has worked in the nonprofit sector, supporting public education. Most recently, she was with the Park City Education Foundation, where she managed grantmaking and awards to support over 50 district programs, led fundraising campaigns, and analyzed data trends and key indicators to evaluate program performance and impact. In 2013, Abby led Park City School District’s rebranding project as their Communications Director and created processes for the newly formed communications department. At state and local conferences, Abby has presented on district implementation models, data analytics, and fundraising.
While attending Willamette University in Oregon, Abby interned for the Willamette University Foundation and McCormick Foundation in Chicago. She played on the tennis team and served as Team Captain her senior year. Go Bearcats! She has earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Utah and wrote her thesis on nonprofit capacity building.
Abby believes students who are taught to think critically and solve problems will positively influence their communities and transform our country. She’s dedicated her career to building programs and creating capacity within organizations that support equity in public education.
Our Team
Lien Diaz
CEO, Board Vice Chair and Director of Educational Innovation and Leadership, Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech.
Abby Funabiki, MPA
Chief of Staff
Suzanne B. Carlson, M. Ed.
Director, Business Development
Brenda Bass
Director, PD & Implementation
Heather Cunningham, EdD
Director, Educational Equity and Research
McKay Perkins, MS
Manager, Content Development
Manager, Content Strategy
Senior Learning & Implementation Specialist
Melody Hagaman
Manager, Content Development
Manager, Content Strategy
Senior Learning & Implementation Specialist
Ashley Waring
Manager, Content Strategy
Senior Learning & Implementation Specialist
Becky Hansen
Manager, Content Development
Manager, Events
Learning & Implementation Specialist
Tenisha Harrington
Manager, Inclusion & Belonging
Learning & Implementation Specialist
Allison Drake
Manager, Partner Engagement
Learning & Implementation Specialist
Natalie Varkey
Manager, Partner Engagement
Manager, Events
Learning & Implementation Specialist
Emilie Martinez
Web Developer
Stacie Mason, PhD
Research and Evaluation