Meet The Founder

Katie Zaback is a seasoned policy leader with over 20 years of dedicated experience helping states, postsecondary institutions, and nonprofits maximize their impact and transform education systems to better serve students. As Vice President of Policy at Colorado Succeeds and former Senior Policy Director at the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Katie has been at the forefront of defining and advancing ambitious, evidence-based policy agendas. Her coalition-building efforts have driven meaningful, long-term improvements across Colorado’s education landscape.

Katie’s leadership has been instrumental in enhancing Colorado’s remedial education and transfer systems, establishing transparent return-on-investment metrics for postsecondary programs, building a robust longitudinal data system that prioritizes data-driven insights, and significantly investing in postsecondary readiness programs in high schools. She is passionate about elevating the perspectives of those furthest from opportunity and grounding policies in solid research, ensuring that initiatives are not only well-informed but also effectively executed.

Beyond Colorado, Katie’s contributions span a decade of work at the national level, where she has empowered leaders across the country to leverage data for impactful policy change. As Director of Research at Complete College America, she guided data professionals to measure and elevate new metrics and help drive policy reform, and as Senior Policy Analyst at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, she represented states in national policy discussions and advocated for transformative higher education policies. Katie has also worked extensively with national nonprofits, government service providers, and educational institutions, helping them harness data to optimize their operations and outcomes.

A passionate advocate for educational equity, Katie has served in multiple community roles. She was a founding board member of YouthRoots, a nonprofit empowering youth through philanthropy, and she launched a Denver chapter of Integrated Schools. Her long-standing volunteer work with Colorado Youth at Risk further reflects her commitment to nurturing young leaders.

Katie holds a Master’s in Public Administration with a focus on policy analysis from Indiana University Bloomington, a Master’s Certificate in Database Design from Regis University, and a Bachelor’s in Economics and Political Science from Hastings College. She lives in Colorado with her husband, Don, daughters Madelyn and Sally, and their dog, Beezus. Together, they enjoy exploring the mountains, swimming, and spending time outdoors.