Who We Are
Our Mission
To empower underserved youth and young adults to succeed in their academic and professional pursuits by creating opportunities to increase their social and career capital.
Our Vision
Welcome to EDGEucation, a husband-and-wife founded nonprofit connecting high schoolers, college students, and professionals. We’re Karen and Tim – both Filipino-American, 1st-generation college graduates who met as freshmen at the University of Southern California in fall 2000.
We officially launched EDGEucation in 2019, after years as K-12 (Tim) and college/university (Karen) educators and administrators. We know first-hand the struggles we both encountered navigating our way through college applications, getting undergraduate and multiple graduate degrees, and starting our professional careers. As we look back, we realize how helpful it would have been to hear from fellow first-generation college graduates who share similar experiences.
Our vision for educational equity in our community is one in which students and their families are empowered with knowledge to confidently make decisions about the future. Taking a human-centered design thinking approach to our work, we want our students to share with us what their struggles and motivations are at every stage of the process. Then we tailor our resources and help them be better prepared for college and careers.
Our expertise is in curating community connections – carefully selecting partners and volunteers from backgrounds similar to our students. Our mentors are committed to giving back to students who come behind them by sharing their personal and professional experiences. Our community mentorship pipelines allow high schoolers, college students, and professionals to collaborate towards a rewarding and successful present and future.
We’re on the EDGE of redefining success. Inspire change with us.
Our Team
Dr. Karen Ravago-Ballaret
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Karen Ravago-Ballaret has worked with diverse, first-generation college students at a number of universities throughout the country. She has a background in career counseling, graduate/professional school admissions, alumni affairs, and project management. The youngest daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, she was born in Hawaii and grew up on Navy bases around the world. She is passionate about issues related to education and mental health for first-generation students. Karen holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Southern California (USC), an MA in Higher Education Administration from Boston College, and an EdD in Educational Leadership also from USC.
Tim Ballaret
Co-Founder & Chief Financial/Operations Officer
Tim Ballaret is a veteran educator and first-generation college graduate who has worked with a diverse population of students in multiple K-12 school settings. He has experience dealing with a variety of educational challenges as both a teacher and administrator. Tim has a background in finance, entrepreneurship, education, athletics and nonprofit management. Raised in Southern California, he holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, an MS in Education from Mount Saint Mary’s University, and an MS in Sport Management from the University of Florida.