College Promise Announces New National Advisory Board Members
For over 10 years, College Promise has committed its efforts to setting young Americans on pathways of promise by expanding educational access and economic opportunity. With more than 470 programs across all 50 states, College Promise works towards academic and career success for students throughout their postsecondary education today and employability in the workforce of tomorrow.
As the leading national, nonpartisan, nonprofit initiative, we have advanced research, convened national leaders to share model practices, and collaborated with policymakers to create opportunities for both traditional and nontraditional students. The Promise movement has helped shape the future of education beyond high school and workforce development, providing pathways for millions of students to achieve their goals.
Today, we are proud to continue building on these efforts by welcoming two new members to the College Promise National Advisory Board: Sue McMillin, who joined in Fall 2025, and Saskia Levy Thompson, who joined in Spring 2026.
Sue McMillin joined the Greater Texas Foundation (GTF) as President and CEO in September 2017. GTF’s vision is for all Texas students to have equal opportunity to access and succeed in postsecondary education. Ms. McMillin has worked in the field of higher education non-profit management for over 30 years. Prior to joining GTF, she held a number of leadership roles at the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG, now Trellis Company/Trellis Foundation), including as Vice President of Operations and Senior Vice President for Customer Relations and Business Operations, prior to leading TG as its President & CEO for over 10 years.
Before joining TG, she worked in the financial services industry for Guaranty Federal Bank for 11 years as Assistant Vice President of Retail Services and Vice President and Director of Deposit Operations. She also serves as the Principal and Managing Consultant for Iolite Consulting Services, focusing her practice on executive management, higher education, and financial services consulting.
Ms. McMillin has served on the boards of the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), the National Council of Higher Education Resources (NCHER), ELM Resources, Texas Rural Funders, and as the past President of the National Association of Student Loan Administrators (NASLA). She currently serves on the board of Texell Credit Union and as its immediate past chair.
Ms. McMillin is active in the non-profit community previously serving as past Chair and board member of the United Way of Williamson County and has served on Southwestern University’s Board of Visitors for many years. She also serves as a board member and Secretary/Treasurer of the L3 Foundation.
Saskia Levy Thompson is a program director within Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Education program, where she leads direct investments in schools, interventions, and programming that increase the number of young people on track to successfully complete a postsecondary pathway that leads to an upward-bound career.
For over twenty years, Saskia has worked at the intersection of education practice, policy, research, and now philanthropy. She was a leader at the NYC Department of Education, including an appointment as Deputy Chancellor for Portfolio Planning; served as founding Executive Director of the Urban Assembly, a nonprofit network of college and career-preparatory high schools expanding opportunity for low-income students; and held senior roles at both the Research Alliance for NYC Schools and MDRC, the preeminent national think tank focused on building knowledge to improve social policy and reduce poverty. Saskia holds a BA in Political Science from NYU and a certificate in Philanthropic Leadership from Georgetown University. She started her teaching career in a kindergarten classroom on Manhattan’s Lower East Side
Saskia sits on the boards of several youth-serving organizations, including East Harlem Scholars Academies, the East Harlem Tutorial Program, and the Teagle Foundation, and volunteers in her Brooklyn community. In 2021-22, Saskia chaired the Mayoral Education Transition Committee for New York City. She served on the Mayor's Task Force on the Future of Workers and on the XPRIZE Brain Trust for Learning & Society in 2023 and 2024 and has been appointed three times to the Visiting Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
We are incredibly grateful to Sue McMillin, Saskia Levy Thompson, and all the National Advisory Board members for their dedication to advancing the College Promise movement. Their leadership and guidance will strengthen our mission to make postsecondary access and success a reality for every student in America.