About Meto
Our story
In 2018, Meto was founded to connect African students with university opportunities. Along the way, we have learned that all students can benefit from our innovative model, wherein universities make the first move and invite good-fit students to apply. So, in 2023, we opened our platform to students across the globe.
Our Mission
Meto is a tech-based nonprofit intent on making access to quality higher education a reality for all students. We have a special focus on creating scholarships for low-income students.
Our board of directors
Isaac Shongwe
A graduate of Wesleyan University, Isaac became the second-ever black South African to be named a Rhodes Scholar. After graduating from Oxford with his master’s degree in 1991, Isaac went on to a successful career in business, serving as the CEO of Barloworld Logistics Africa and the founder and CEO of Letsema Holdings & Investments. He chaired the board of the Open Society Foundation in Southern Africa, sat on the board at Wesleyan University, and is currently the Chair of the University Council at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Dr. Jason Klugman
A graduate of Johns Hopkins and UPenn, Jason has dedicated his career to increasing access to education for underserved populations. Jason is the senior director of the College Preparation Initiatives in Princeton University’s Emma Bloomberg Center for Access & Opportunity. He directs the Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP), a comprehensive college preparation initiative supporting students from the Trenton, New Jersey region who are historically marginalized in higher education.
Cissy Viebranz
A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Cissy’s interest in the African continent began during her travels in Kenya in 2007. Over 15 years later, Cissy continues to invest in the continent by dedicating her time and mobilizing her network to connect and support Africa-related organizations.
Elodie Shami
Elodie led the Communications and Education departments at the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda to the United States before switching gears to the tech world after obtaining her Masters in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland. She is currently the Lead UX Researcher at Lookback.
Joshua Simpson
Joshua’s dissertation at Oxford University studied unconditional cash transfers in sub-Saharan Africa. Joshua then worked for Google and FSG before starting at Capital One in their Social Impact Strategy & Consulting division.
Debra Shaver
Deb Shaver worked in college admission for almost 40 years and served as the Dean of Admission at Smith College from 2003 to 2018. As a first generation low income student herself, she remains deeply committed to access and has been widely recognized for her commitment to FGLI students. Deb received a bachelor’s degree in English and physics from Cornell University and a master’s degree in counseling from Alfred University. Her professional experience included roles at Alfred University; Colgate University; Holy Cross College; and Smith, where she worked for 24 years. In retirement she continues to mentor first gen students as well as emerging leaders in college admission and college counseling.
Our staff
Ryan Benitez
Founder & CEO
United States
Ryan graduated from Princeton University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Public and International Affairs. He wrote his senior thesis on university demand for high-achieving, low-income international students. Before founding Meto in 2018, Ryan worked for three years for Ashinaga, an international nonprofit that supports the higher education of gifted African students. After starting Meto, Ryan was invited to speak on the education panel at the 2019 Stanford Africa Business Forum. At the 2022 Masters of Scale Conference in San Francisco, Ryan was recognized alongside 39 other tech CEO’s as the founder of an Early-Stage Disruptive Venture. Ryan was one of two non-profit CEO’s to receive the recognition. Also in 2022, Ryan was selected as one of 12 grantees for the Praxis Labs Nonprofit Accelerator program. Ryan also serves on the advisory board for Second Chance.
Abraham Barry
Director of Innovation and Operations
Liberia
Abraham has worked in the education access space since completing engineering school at the University of Liberia in 2017. He believes in the transformative nature of quality education, which fuels his passion.
After graduating from university, Abraham was instrumental in building SMART Liberia, one of the most successful access programs on the continent. His work focused on strengthening internal systems and processes and forming strategic partnerships to enhance SMART Liberia’s market positioning. He also led the redesign of the Education Advancement Program by developing rigorous recruitment standards, building a comprehensive curriculum, and instituting robust data collection systems and quality control measures. He is most excited about the opportunity to scale the impact of his work with Meto.
Blake Thomsen
Co-Director of Global Partnerships
United States
Blake has worked with high school students since 2013. After graduating from Princeton, he earned his MDiv from Duke Divinity School, where he developed an interest in equitable economic systems. He sees Meto as a uniquely efficient means of addressing economic and educational injustice around the world. He has supported Meto’s work on a volunteer basis since 2018 and joined as a full-time employee in 2021.
Tealee Brown
University Relations Manager
Liberia
Tealee believes in the life-altering power of quality education, that everyone deserves a fair chance at it, and that Meto is an effective means through which she can contribute to ensuring that every student is given a fair chance.
She has a degree in Global Challenges from the African Leadership University, where she developed an increased passion for inclusive and equitable spaces/opportunities. Over the course of her career, Tealee has worked with several small start-ups and not-for-profits across a range of roles that positioned her to manage, support and promote strategic communications, research and partnerships for the achievement of impactful causes she believes in.
Hayat Seid
Co-Director of Global Partnerships
Ethiopia
Born and raised in Ethiopia, Hayat has always had an appreciation for the importance of quality education and the challenges related to access. After completing high school at the African Leadership Academy and earning her Bachelor’s degree from NYU Abu Dhabi in 2017, she spent the next few years as an international outreach and recruitment specialist at the Institute of International Education (IIE) regional office in Ethiopia. This role enabled her to gain a deeper understanding of the gaps within access to higher education on the African continent. Compounded with her personal experiences, it also reaffirmed her commitment to providing equitable access to quality education for Africans.
Julie Moloney
Director of University Initiatives
United States
Julie Moloney graduated from the University of Notre Dame with her Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Spanish and Masters in Education. She taught for two years in an under-resourced school before joining the Admissions Office at Notre Dame. Julie’s passion for access to education for all is fueled by her background. Her mother immigrated to the United States for college from Bolivia, earning a full scholarship to pursue higher education. Her father lived and worked in Liberia as part of the Peace Corps. Julie was the Director of International Admissions at Notre Dame prior to joining The Bolles School, an international day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida, as a College Counselor. She began at Meto in August 2023. She is an active member of NACAC, International ACAC and SACAC.
Neema Mollel
Associate Director, Scholarship Programs
Tanzania
Neema hails from the Maasai land in Tanzania, a heritage that profoundly influences her dedication to promoting access to education for young people from marginalized backgrounds. Her academic journey was made possible by scholarship opportunities. Neema was a recipient of two prestigious scholarships, the Chevening and the Irish Fellows Programs, choosing the latter to pursue her Master’s degree in International Development from the University College Dublin (UCD).
Before joining Meto, she played a vital role at The African Leadership University (ALU), where she led the Alumni Relations department, growing the network from 79 to over 1,000 alumni. Neema’s passion at Meto stems from her drive to empower and mentor students in their academic and career pursuits. Drawing from her own experiences, she’s passionate about sharing insights to enhance educational access, especially for those in need.
Benoit Iradukunda
Rwanda Manager
Rwanda
Benoit Iradukunda is a pan-African youth advocate currently based in Rwanda. Prior to joining Meto, he worked as a programs coordinator at the Young Ancestors Foundation, a platform that he co-founded, which seeks to empower young people through provision of 21st century skills and create partnerships to establish employment opportunities for youths across the African continent. He has also served as a team leader for the MasterCard Foundation funded program at the African Leadership University to design a program to train youths from Francophone countries across the continent in entrepreneurship and career development. He graduated from the African Leadership University in 2022. His professional interests are in social entrepreneurship and nonprofit consulting. He is Rwandan and has also lived in Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Senegal, and the Gambia.
Executive advisory committee
Zambia
Amb. Godfrey Simasiku
Former Minister of
State for Higher Education
United States
Dr. Angel B. Pérez
CEO
National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)
United States
Jenny Rickard
President and CEO
Common App
Advisors
Togo
Arsène Mabadjam Katawa
Founder & CEO
EDULCOD-Togo
Rwanda
Boniface Onyango
Principal
Principal, Riviera High School
Rwanda
Flavia Mugire
Admissions Officer
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
United States
Dr. Luisa Duarte-Silva
Former Director of IIP
Princeton University
Zambia
Dr. Fredah Banda
Rhodes Scholar
PhD, Oxford University
United States
Dr. Patty Croom
Associate Director of International Admissions
Michigan State University
Singapore
Joan Liu
Founder, Second Chance at Higher Education
United States
Jennifer Dewar
Director of Strategic Engagement
Duolingo English Test
Kenya
Alan Davidson
Executive Director
KenSAP
Uganda
Connie Mutazindwa
Former Advisor
EducationUSA
Rwanda
Fonda Kempton
Former Executive Director
Bridge2Rwanda
Kenya
Laura Kaub
Former Program Manager
Yale Young African Scholars
Yale University
Our memberships
