Who We Are

The Ada Center was founded by Sarah Zauner in 2017 in response to a growing chorus of college leaders looking for guidance on technology decisions. Most recently, Sarah was the Associate Director at the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence program, in which she managed a number of initiatives including Aspen’s efforts to improve transfer student outcomes, a collaborative project with CCRC, Public Agenda, and Achieving the Dream; and the Prize for College Excellence. Sarah also supported the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Frontier Set initiative and the American Association of Community Colleges Pathways project.

Prior to joining Aspen, Sarah led the Education Advisory Board’s (EAB) community college research, consulting, and software division. In this capacity, she led  the development of EAB’s student success technology, SSC-Navigate, and managed major research studies on topics such as student onboarding, developmental education redesign, strategic planning, and advising. Sarah has visited over 500 community college and university campuses to support college leadership teams with their student success agendas and software implementations.

Sarah’s interest in higher education began as a community college advisor, and grew during her time as an education researcher in China through the Fulbright program. Sarah completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia and her graduate work at Sun Yat-sen university.

Who You'll Work With

When you reach out to The Ada Center, Sarah and her team will personally review your inquiry and discuss how the Ada Center can help. Based on your institution needs, The Ada Center will match you with a subject matter expert best equipped to support your institution. Our goal is to provide the most effective and affordable approach to supporting your college, including through free consultations and resources.