Associate Board
The First Graduate® Associate Board is a group of emerging leaders who dedicate their time, resources, and networks to raise awareness and support the mission of First Graduate® as it seeks to help local youth become the first in their family to graduate from college. Our key objectives are working with First Graduate® on network expansion, especially among young professionals, fundraising, and strategic projects and general support.
Hailey Bayliss
Hailey is a San Francisco-based communications professional with more than seven years of experience helping technology companies tell their stories. As a Director at Orchestra, she works with companies across emerging technology, healthcare, AI, and other fast-growing industries, advising executives on communications strategy, media relations, and thought leadership. She enjoys the combination of creativity, problem-solving, and relationship-building that comes with her work.
Outside of work, Hailey enjoys skiing, playing piano and pickleball, going to concerts, and exploring San Francisco. She is also an animal lover and volunteers with a senior dog rescue.
Leanna Colanino
Leanna Colanino grew up in the Bay Area and is currently residing in San Francisco, working as a Communication Associate for Hamilton Zanze (“HZ”), a multi-family real estate investment firm. She serves as the communication liaison between HZ and its investors. Prior to joining HZ, Leanna worked for Stanford University’s Financial Management Services in the Gift Securities department, where she assisted with stock gift processing and managed client communication.
Leanna holds two B.A. degrees in Communication and Latinx & Latin American Studies from Chapman University. She has worked for numerous non-profits, mainly focusing on furthering education and finding opportunities for young students. Outside of work, she enjoys trying new restaurants, attending live music events, reading, and spending her free time at the park or the beach.
Will Dixon
Will was born and raised in the Bay Area and joined First Graduate to give back to the community that shaped him. He believes education is one of the most powerful ways to open doors, and that every student deserves the support to make it through college and beyond. Professionally, Will works in wealth management, helping people plan for their financial futures. Outside of work, he enjoys skiing and trying out new restaurants.
Madeleine Gesell
Madeleine is a Marketing Associate at Hamilton Zanze, a San Francisco-based real estate investment firm, where she works on digital marketing, content, and events. Prior to joining Hamilton Zanze, she worked in marketing and outreach at UCSF Health. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Boston University in 2023, concentrating in Marketing and minoring in Mandarin Chinese.
She has previously been involved with nonprofits like Inkululeko, which provides educational resources to South African youth, and is looking forward to getting involved in nonprofit work again through First Graduate. Outside of work, Madeleine enjoys hiking, surfing, collecting vinyl records, and attending concerts.
Christopher Gomez
Christopher Gomez is a software engineer at Metriport and a member of First Graduate’s Associate Board. As a Latino and first-generation college graduate, he joined First Graduate to help other aspiring first-generation students pursue higher education and become college graduates themselves.
Andres Perez Soderi
I grew up in Venezuela and was the first in my family to go to college in the US. I studied Management Science and Engineering at Stanford, and while there founded a speech AI company called Sanas, and later an investment firm called Carya. I’m extremely excited about helping the next generation of FG students reach their goals! I was able to get into my dream school thanks to all the help and guidance I had along the way, so FG gives me an opportunity to pay it forward.
Seth Tarver
Grace Thomas
Hi! My name is Grace Thomas! I am 26 years old, live in San Francisco, and work in tech sales. A fun fact about me is that I often refer to myself as a Bay Area lover since I grew up in the North Bay, graduated from UC Berkeley, and have been living in San Francisco since graduating.
In my free time, I love finding new hobbies and keeping myself busy! You can usually find me hanging out with my friends and family, playing in just about any Volo intramural sport I can sign up for (soccer and pickleball are my favorites), traveling, baking, going on walks, planning a dinner party, event, or holiday, or doing something crafty!
Past Board Members
