The people paying it forward.
My Rich Aunt started with one story, and grew into a whole community of them. Below, meet the founder, and the board and advisors who make sure the next generation of students has an easier road.
Terri James — Founder & Board Chair
“Far from rich, but always willing to help.”
She made it to Stanford and Harvard, and never forgot what it cost to get there.
Terri James grew up in working-class Los Angeles and made her way through public schools to Stanford, then Harvard Law. She also knew the quiet math of getting by: borrowing textbooks she couldn't buy, skipping study abroad, and getting through her first New England winter in a thin jacket until a work-study check finally paid for a real coat.
Long before My Rich Aunt existed, she was already running informal fundraisers for students who crossed her path. She'd also been the go-to aunt for her own nieces and nephews for years, usually with a check and a pep talk.
Far from rich herself, Terri built My Rich Aunt because she knows how much a small, well-timed gift from someone who cares can help. Her hope: a community of generous ‘aunts and uncles’ will feel the same way and step in with real support without ever making a student feel embarrassed for needing a little help.
“Think back; pay it forward.”
— Terri
Board of directors
The people who guide our mission, protect our promise to donors, and make sure My Rich Aunt is built for longevity.
Adriana Ambriz
Board Secretary
A dedicated champion of My Rich Aunt's mission and the students it serves. Full bio coming soon.
Keith Sparks
Board Member
A dedicated champion of My Rich Aunt's mission and the students it serves. Full bio coming soon.
Trinity Crigler
Board Treasurer
Trinity Crigler has worked in corporate finance for 25 years. She's Controller at Olea Kiosks, a privately held technology-services company, where she built the finance team from scratch and now sits on the executive team.
She joined our board after a few conversations with college students who were doing everything right and still couldn't quite catch their breath around money. Trinity has been there. Her Christian faith taught her that money is a tool, and she wants young people to have it working for them from the start. On weekends she mentors college-aged women on the practical stuff: budgeting, planning, and the small habits that add up.
Trinity holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Washington State University and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. When she's not at work, she and her husband are usually somewhere new with a glass of wine in hand.
[insert connection to My Rich Aunt]
Marie Milnes Vasquez
Board Member
Marie Milnes Vasquez is managing director of EY's National Tax Mergers and Acquisitions Group. She joined EY after more than two decades as a lawyer at the Internal Revenue Service, where she drafted official IRS guidance and advised on high-profile tax controversies.
She earned her J.D. at Harvard Law School and her LL.M. at Georgetown University Law Center, then clerked for the Honorable Laurence J. Whalen of the U.S. Tax Court before moving into private practice.
[insert connection to My Rich Aunt]
Advisory board
The mentors who challenge our thinking and keep us focused on the students.
Penny Codrington
Advisor
Lending her experience and insight to help My Rich Aunt reach the students who need it most. Full bio coming soon.
TodayHaley Sparks
Advisor
[insert 1 sentence description of role on My Rich Aunt]
Haley Sparks, PhD, MSW, is a psychologist, social worker, and Ease and Enjoyment coach who helps people show up better with each other. She's the inaugural Director of Community and Organizational Development at UCLA, in the External Affairs division. Before UCLA and coaching, she spent years as a therapist for individuals, couples, families, and groups. Haley earned her PhD in Psychology and her MSW at the University of Michigan.
[Describe Haley's quote re importance of the My Rich Aunt service]
John Peeples
Advisor
Lending his experience and insight to help My Rich Aunt reach the students who need it most. Full bio coming soon.
Afam Onyema
Advisor
Lending his experience and insight to help My Rich Aunt reach the students who need it most. Full bio coming soon.