Erick Roa co-founded Ridgeline on a belief that young people deserve to be treated as capable decision-makers: given full information, real exposure to what's possible, and the agency to chart their own path. As the organization's strategy and operations lead, he builds the infrastructure, systems, and long-term partnerships that turn ambitious goals into something that actually runs.Erick has worked across nearly every function a nonprofit needs to succeed. He began as a high school English teacher in his hometown of Brooklyn, NY, where he first learned what young people are capable of when someone bets on them. He went on to lead ELA programs at Blue Engine, driving student achievement outcomes across 11 New York City partner schools. As a founding consultant at Promise54, he partnered with organizations nationwide to build high-impact talent and operations strategy. At Empatico, an initiative of the KIND Foundation, he led the partnerships that scaled the organization's reach from a handful of U.S. classrooms to a presence in over 50 countries. Most recently, as Chief Operating Officer at Making Waves Education Foundation, he built a team culture that earned consistently strong
Co-Founder, Head of Strategy & Operations
Executive Search Partner
Head Of Partnerships
Founding Talent Consultant
Program Manager
Master's studies in education
Bachelor's studies in literature
