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.
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Terri James
founder & board chair“Think back; pay it forward.”
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.
Her career began at Paul, Weiss as a litigation associate, with early roles at the ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights. She later moved in-house across media and entertainment — E!, BBC America, NBCUniversal, Viacom (now Paramount Skydance) — and today, she's at HBO.
Long before My Rich Aunt existed, she was already running informal fundraisers for students who crossed her path. For her own nieces and nephews, that generosity shows up as impromptu shopping trips and proverbial checks in cards.
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.
Board of directors
The people who guide our mission, protect our promise to donors, and make sure My Rich Aunt is built for longevity.
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Adriana Ambriz
Board Secretary
Adriana Ambriz began her film career in the Agent Trainee program at Creative Artists Agency, then joined 20th Century Fox as a Creative Executive on films including We Bought a Zoo, X-Men: First Class and The A-Team. As an independent producer she helped develop the documentary Contra el Reloj and the comedy Bloodsucking Bastards, and produced for Germany's Construction Film, whose slate included Werner Herzog, Marc Forster and Tony Kaye. At BET Networks she was Senior Director of Original Programming, overseeing Tales, Street Dreams: The Story of Nas and Mandela, before joining One Community to develop and produce features including Respect.
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Keith Sparks
Board Member
Keith Sparks has spent his career developing, financing and running complex energy infrastructure businesses, alongside substantial M&A and venture capital work. As a private investor he backs businesses with predictable, long-term cash flows and real downside protection, and he advises renewable energy developers and government officials on infrastructure, community outreach, privatization and finance.
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.
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.
Advisory board
The mentors who challenge our thinking and keep us focused on the students.
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Penelope Codrington
Advisor
Penelope is an attorney who has worked domestically and overseas solving legal, compliance and management challenges for business and non-profit organizations. Remembering her relief after receiving a scholarship which paid for her college textbooks, she is delighted to help students feel supported and equipped to focus on their studies. Penelope graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
todayAfam Onyema
Advisor
Afam Onyema is Co-Founder and CEO of the GEANCO Foundation, which saves and transforms lives in Nigeria. GEANCO delivers life-saving surgeries and runs education programs across Nigeria, from cleft-lip repairs to scholarships that send girls to school. After graduating from Harvard University and Stanford Law School, Afam declined multiple lucrative corporate law firm offers in order to create and run GEANCO full-time.
John Peeples
Advisor
Bio coming soon.
todayHaley Sparks
Advisor
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.