Our Team
The Grow Associates Team Consists of multi-talented and dynamic individuals who work together with their clients to develop lasting solutions
Gaby Rowe is the CEO and Managing Principal of Grow Associates. Gaby was born into a family of educators on the Upper West Side of New York City. While her circuitous career has taken her from investment banker to school principal to technology innovator to public policy and implementation consultant, Gaby’s focus has always been on high impact projects that serve to transform the lives of young people and enable economic empowerment, digital equity and opportunity.
Under her leadership, Grow Associates has also led technology enabled strategic projects for the State of Texas, the City of Houston, Dell, Intel, Arundo Analytics, Aramco and Marathon Oil. Throughout her career, Gaby has been on numerous task forces to promote diversity and inclusion for underserved populations and has been recognized for this work by the NY Times, the Houston Business Journal, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ken is a Managing Principal of Grow Associates. With over 30 years of experience as a senior executive and innovation consultant in the technology, manufacturing and education sectors, Ken’s passion is to enable entrepreneurs, innovators, and developers by leveraging the tools of change management, entrepreneurship and start-up implementation. Ken’s skills include strategy development and implementation, business development and consultative sales, finance, accounting and compliance, legal affairs, audit management, information technology solution development, deployment, and project management.
Ken has led the growth and development of numerous technology and software initiatives across a wide variety of companies and industries in both the public and private sectors. The common thread throughout the span of Ken’s career has been helping people and organizations navigate new learning, processes, and technology needed to both create and manage innovation disruptions.
Kate Sylvain serves as Chief of Staff. As Grow Associates’ Chief of Staff, Kate is responsible for working closely with the Principals of Grow Associates and the BDEM to prioritize project staffing, strategies, and timelines and is ultimately responsible for the allocation and management of project resources throughout a project’s lifecycle.
Before joining Grow Associates, Kate worked as an educational consultant where her primary role was to support children and their families by offering customized learning recommendations that blend age-appropriate and experiential curriculum with online learning programs. She also worked with families in creating home learning spaces so children could find success while learning virtually. In addition, Kate has offered guidance to parents on using technology to support their children’s development. Prior to working as a consultant, Kate worked directly in educational settings, beginning as an early childhood educator and moving to supervisory roles throughout her 20 year career. Kate served as Director of two separate early childhood programs in New York City where she managed day-to-day operations of students, families, teachers, and staff. She has offered learning support to thousands of children and their families, and mentored hundreds of teachers.
Joana Nunoo serves as Grow Associates’ Business Development and Engagement Manager. As BDEM, it is Joana’s responsibility to maintain and strengthen client relationships from their first introduction to Grow Associates all the way through the end of their client engagements.
Joana started her career as a teacher and instructional leader in the Houston Independent School District. At the help of her 10th year, she took an opportunity to launch into the start-up space, working for an early-stage technology company with a focus on developing a learning support program for under-resourced schools. Joana is a recent MBA graduate from Rice University’s Jones Business School where she concentrated her studies in Entrepreneurship and Corporate Strategy. Her teaching experience combined with time-spent in the start-up environment and MBA training have all contributed to the way she expertly navigates client relationships while staying focused on developing strategies that meet clients’ needs.
Dr. Yi Ren serves as a Senior Consultant incharge of Research. Dr. Ren is responsible for working with the Chief of Staff and BDEM to prepare program evaluation plans, grants application, online survey and data collection methods, research/evaluation reports, and other research related tasks.
Dr. Ren has over 10 years of experience in research methodology, program evaluation, data analysis, and data visualization. She is committed to using data science methods and theories to develop program evaluation and applied research area. In her career, Dr. Ren has published seven academic peer-referred articles and conducted numerous program evaluations. Her evaluation reports help programs receive tens of millions in funding every year. She has served as a Research Manager at Harris County Department of Education, Texas. Dr. Ren serves as an Adjunct Professor at University of Houston, and a peer reviewer of American Education Research Association. Most recently, Dr. Ren is the Director of Analytics, Outcomes, and Insights at WebMD, leading a 10-person research team.
Hima Brahmbhatt serves as Senior Consultant incharge of Project Management at Grow Associates. Hima is responsible for providing continued clientele support, training, invoicing and solution based response for the smooth functioning of the project. It is also her responsibility to ensure that all parties involved are completing their assigned tasks within the set boundaries, so the project is completed within the timeline.
Prior to moving into consultancy, Hima has over ten years of experience in human resources both in the United States of America and overseas in multiple industries. During her career she rose from lower management to senior management where she has built many programs to benefit employees and negotiate internal and external contract for her company while keeping employee satisfaction at the center of her duties and add maximum value to the organization as a whole. Apart from this she serves as a Board of Director for her Homeowners’ Association (HOA) and provides voluntary hours to her child’s elementary school’s Parent Teacher Association.
Jessica Coffey serves as a Senior Consultant. Jessica works across many projects fulfilling tasks as needed. She collaborates with the Chief of Staff and BDEM on current and future projects.
Jessica is talented in client support and customer service. Beginning in sales and training development, she then moved on to positions in NYC independent schools as an elementary educator. Most recently Jessica worked in school administration, including admissions and marketing teams where she worked as a liaison between school administrators and parents, often acting as a first line of defense in solving issues and problems that were raised by parents. Jessica also managed multiple calendars of school administrators, created school class and bus schedules, created program marketing materials, managed social media accounts and
As a consultant at Grow Associates, Brittany Sutton is actively engaged in diverse projects across multiple industries. She brings her expertise to the table as a valuable contributor to market research initiatives, conducting business analysis, and assisting in the development of training materials. Collaborating with cross-functional teams, facilitating workshops, and delivering impactful presentations to clients are integral components of her role.
Simultaneously, Brittany is pursuing a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) degree in Educational Leadership & Policy from the University of Tennessee. Drawing from her experience as a Special Education teacher, she is dedicated to developing strategies that foster resilience and mindfulness, with the ultimate goal of helping individuals thrive in all aspects of their lives.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Brittany finds joy in the simple pleasures of life. She proudly declares herself a sweet tea addict and cherishes moments spent quilting, indulging in reading, and sharing quality time with her beloved canine companions, Max and Penny.
Our Management Team
Our Success
Digitally Equipped Students
School Districts Supported
Partnerships with Internet Service Providers
Partnerships with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM)
Grant Funds Committed