Our Team

Meet Gray DI

We are industry leaders in academic program evaluation and management

Gray DI’s experienced and talented team members work collaboratively across departments to develop program evaluation management software that empowers higher education. Gray DI clients have the tools and knowledge to make data-informed decisions and develop successful long-term strategies in academic program management.

Leadership

Bob Atkins, CEO & Founder of Gray DI

Bob Atkins

Founder

Bob led Gray’s entry into the education industry and the development of Gray’s proprietary industry databases and service offerings. He has worked directly with many of Gray’s education clients, consulting with CEOs and CMOs on business strategy, pricing, location selection, curricular efficiency, and program strategy.

Steve Probst

Steve Probst

SVP, Customer Success and Data Integrity

Steve works with colleges and universities to assess current and identify new academic programs, evaluate potential new geographic markets and campus locations, improve curricular efficiency, and address other strategic, enrollment, and financial challenges.

Mary Pahissa Upchurch

EVP, Customer Success

Mary leads Gray’s relationships with many of the firm’s largest education clients, including state-wide systems with their unique concerns and requirements. Her work includes institutional strategy development, market location, and program portfolio analysis including market vitality, program economics and pricing offer optimization. She specializes in facilitating the critical engagement processes needed to support various governance models, key stakeholders and ensuring transparency of process for institutional alignment and success.

closeup photo of

Zachary Paz

EVP & COO

Zach has developed and led Gray’s data analytic capabilities and tools. He has drawn together more than a dozen industry and proprietary sources to create comprehensive education industry analytical software. He works with Gray’s education clients, consulting them on program strategy, pricing, marketing, financial analysis, and location selection.

Pete Starrett

EVP & CFO

Pete has worked extensively on marketing, operations, program, and location strategies for both on-ground and online colleges and universities across the country. He has developed a method that Gray’s education clients use to review and assess their programs and campuses across dozens of U.S. markets.

lisa-piatek

Lisa Piatek

SVP, Business Development

Lisa is responsible for establishing and sustaining Gray’s relationships with higher education institutions. She helps institutions find the support they need for strategic planning, program selection and assessment, pricing, and location selection.

Ned Caron

Ned Caron

SVP, Marketing

Ned leads the Marketing Team at Gray with a data-informed approach. He is fluent in Gray’s leading-edge technology, which is helping to guide and shape efficient and smart decision-making as the most dynamic landscape the higher education industry has ever seen continues to unfold.

Team Members

Youssef Aljabi

Manager, Data Science and Product

Jamie Allsbury

RVP, Business Development

Bilal Amiri

Decision Intelligence Analyst

Ellen Atkins

VP, Administration

Elizabeth Atkins

VP, Decision Intelligence Analysts and Product

Monica Bilson

Senior Project Manager

Lorlei Boyd

Decision Intelligence Developer

Blair Bullock

Data Engineer

Liu Chang

Decision Intelligence Analyst

Andy Dunn

Manager, CS and Admin

Ralph Garcia

RVP, Business Development

Michael Hunter

Customer Success and Product Analyst

Mitchell Jillson

Manager of Economics and Outcomes

Travis Johnson

Director, Business Development

Haneesha Boppana

IT Security Administrator, IT

Nick Jones

Manager, Customer Success

Reeghan Kerns

Manager, Marketing

Kara Kimberl

Decision Intelligence Senior Analyst

Vladimir Landaverde

Director, Decision Intelligence Development

Ravi Lanka

Senior Decision Intelligence Developer

Juanel Oriach

Director, Customer Success

Dave Pearce

Director, Business Development

Mary Ann Romans

Senior Director, Marketing

Andrew Romans

Decision Intelligence Analyst

Elaine Rowles

Senior Director, Research

Nick Rowles

Senior Data Engineer

Siva Sanapathi

Decision Intelligence Developer

Xinxin Zhang

Decision Intelligence Analyst

Jennifer Ziegler

VP, (CS, HR, and Compliance)

Peter Agricola
 RVP, Business Development

Authorities in Academic Program Evaluation and Management

From market evaluation and curricular efficiency to machine learning and predictive analytics, Gray team members are masters of data analysis for academic program evaluation. They serve as public speakers, authors, writers, and expert sources in the field of academic program evaluation and management.

Interested in Joining the Gray DI Team?