Our Team

Omari Burnside is a senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In this role, he works with communities of practice comprised of researchers, associations and service providers who partner to deliver evidence-based services and resources designed to support institutions’ equitable student success efforts. Prior to joining the foundation, Omari served as the assistant vice president of strategy and practice at NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where he researched and developed tools on implementing student success practices, including student employment, emergency aid, advising and other holistic student supports. Prior to that, Omari worked at a non-profit consulting firm where he designed and delivered technical assistance to help campus and state system leaders plan, scale and implement strategies to close opportunity and equity gaps. Omari holds degrees from Harvard, George Washington University, and the University of Maryland.

Sue Cui is a senior program officer at Ascendium Education Group, where she works on philanthropic initiatives to reduce or eliminate institutional and systemic barriers for underrepresented postsecondary education learners so they can achieve their academic and career goals. Sue serves as co-chair of Grantmakers for Education’s Postsecondary Access & Attainment Impact Group. Prior to Ascendium, Sue made grants for STEM teaching and learning at the Helmsley Charitable Trust and supported corporate giving in arts, nutrition and domestic violence awareness at Altria. Sue studied anthropology and art history at New York University. Sue completed the Aspen Rising Presidential Fellowship in 2019 alongside the inspiring third cohort of higher education executives.

William (Bill) F. L. Moses serves as managing director for The Kresge Foundation’s Education Program, which supports postsecondary access and success for low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students. The key architect of Kresge’s education programming, Bill leads the team’s continuum of domestic and international grant activities from developing program strategy, reviewing preliminary ideas and helping grantees develop proposals or initiatives, to awarding funding and monitoring existing grants. Since arriving at Kresge, Bill has served as a program officer and senior program officer, was instrumental in developing Kresge’s Green Building Initiative and has spearheaded the foundation’s grantmaking in South Africa. He serves on the Governing or Advisory Boards of College Promise, APIA Scholars and Africa Grantmakers Affinity Group.

Keith Witham is the director of education grantmaking at Ascendium Education Group, where he oversees strategic grantmaking in support of Ascendium’s philanthropic mission. Prior to joining Ascendium, Keith was managing director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program where he led initiatives focused on community college leadership and institutional transformation centered on equitable student success. Prior to that he was on the faculty at the Temple University College of Education and held positions with Complete College America and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. He has published numerous journal articles and book chapters focused on issues of postsecondary equity and student success, community college finance and organizational change in higher education. Keith received a Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education. He also earned a master’s degree in social service administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science, both from the University of Chicago.