Who We Are

Meet Our Staff

Jason Dónes

CHIEF OF PEOPLE & OPERATIONS

As the Chief of People & Operations, Jason leads Beyond100K’s efforts to improve operating systems and establish equity-driven foundations in talent development, culture and belonging, finance, and strategic planning. People and their connection and development has been a key theme of Jason’s life and a driving force behind his energy for this role.

Jason previously served as Managing Director for corps programming at Teach For America: Greater Chicago-Northwest Indiana where he set strategic direction and worked alongside his incredible team to retain, coach, and develop their corps of teacher-leaders placed across the region. Before leading a team as a head of program, Jason served as a teacher coach, program designer, and culturally responsive teaching specialist in various roles. His 8 years at TFA centered on the belief that everyone has the capacity to become a change agent and with coaching and support, their power to do the most good can be maximized.

Prior to joining the TFA staff, Jason spent 5 years in the classroom as a TFA corps member, lead teacher, as well as a City Year corps member. Jason is a proud Chicagoan and Humboldt Park Puerto Rican native. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He is a grateful son, committed husband, and proud father of two little boys. He serves for them and for the community that guides them.

Why does belonging in STEM matter to you?

When I was a kid, the most consistent opinion I had was that I wanted to be a scientist. I wanted to tinker and invent creative solutions to simple problems I noticed in my life. I loved to take electronics apart and figure out how machines worked. My favorite movie genre was sci-fi and I could read about how stuff works for hours. That part of me was rarely nurtured at school if I’m honest. At some point that connection between what I enjoyed most and what I could freely explore at school fizzled out and my grades in STEM courses never matched my interest in the field more broadly. Now, my son wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up. He wants to study dinosaurs (technically he wants to bring them back to life but…) and I want to ensure he has the system around him designed to ensure he knows that he belongs in that field and deserves to be a student people invest in.