TCASN proudly welcomes Catherine Finneran and Stacy Lightfoot to its board.
“We are thrilled to welcome these outstanding leaders to our board,” said Bob Obrohta, executive director of TCASN. “Each brings decades of experience, deep knowledge of the field, and a genuine passion for expanding college access. Their insight and dedication are invaluable as we continue to strengthen our work and support students on their educational journeys.”
Catherine Finneran, Vice President of College Scholars at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, currently oversees college admissions, college advising, retention, and student success for the program. In this role, she provides strategic leadership for all college programming and advising, supporting approximately 1,200 students attending more than 175 colleges nationwide. Under her leadership, SEO Scholars achieve an 85 percent college completion rate. Catherine also leads key college admissions initiatives for more than 200 12th Grade students and external partnerships that strengthen outcomes and expand opportunity for Scholars. Catherine manages and develops a 25-person team of College Persistence professionals and plays a central role in strengthening systems, processes, and program strategy to ensure best-in-class support from college entry through graduation.
Prior to joining SEO, Catherine served as Program Manager for UBS NextGen Leaders, a multi-year, $10 million philanthropic initiative focused on expanding college and career success for first-generation college students. A core component of this work was UBS’s partnership with SEO, where she collaborated closely with SEO leadership to support 125 young men through college graduation, achieving a completion rate of more than 90 percent.
Over the course of her nearly 20-year career, Catherine has worked across corporate philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, and education to expand access and opportunity for underrepresented students. Before UBS, she spent five years as Program Director of The Posse Foundation’s New York office, where she led college access and success programming and managed cross-functional teams. She began her career as a high school history teacher in the South Bronx as a member of Teach For America.
Stacy Goodwin Lightfoot is a collaborative senior leader with more than 25 years of experience expanding educational opportunity, strengthening partnerships, and guiding institutional transformation that connects learning to community progress. As the inaugural Vice Chancellor for Access and Engagement at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), she has led university-wide initiatives that enhance student success, create pathways to learning, and deepen UTC’s role as a trusted regional partner.
From 2024 – 2025, Stacy served as a Commissioner for the Gates Foundation-supported Commission on Purposeful Pathways, which brings together education, workforce, and civic leaders to strengthen transitions from high school to meaningful careers. Earlier in her career, she testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Senator Lamar Alexander, where she shared practical recommendations to simplify the federal financial-aid process and improve guidance for low-income and first-generation students. Her testimony emphasized giving families timely, clear information to make informed college decisions.
Prior to joining UTC, Stacy served as Executive Vice President of the Public Education Foundation (PEF) in Chattanooga, where she led major collaborations that expanded college access and completion. Her leadership produced measurable gains for local students and earned national recognition, including the Excellence in Education Award (2016).
Stacy holds a Master of Arts in international service from the University of Roehampton (London) and a Bachelor of Arts in communications and theatre, from DePauw University.
These new board members will play a critical role in shaping strategic priorities and guiding future initiatives. Their combined expertise, lived experience, and deep understanding of the higher education landscape will strengthen TCASN’s ability to expand college access and better serve Tennessee students and communities.