COOP Careers names Adanta Ahanonu President and evolves its executive team

COOP creates three new executive roles — President, Chief Growth Officer, and Chief of Staff — positioning the organization to grow its impact tenfold and equip 100,000 first-generation and low-income college graduates for upwardly mobile careers.

COOP has announced a series of changes to its executive leadership as the organization enters its second decade. The changes introduce a new President role, shift several reporting lines, and elevate leaders who have built their careers and expertise in workforce development.

At the center of this evolution is the creation of a President position to lead the team, drive impact, and execute COOP's strategic plan. COOP is proud to share that Adanta Ahanonu, the organization's longtime Chief Program Officer, has stepped into the role of President. Adanta joined COOP from Year Up United six years ago, just a month into the pandemic, and has been an inspiring and indispensable leader ever since.

The new structure allows Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kalani Leifer to refocus the CEO role on raising resources and elevating COOP's external profile.

An executive team built for the next decade

To support the President and lead COOP through significant evolution and growth, COOP named two additional executives to critical roles:

Stephanie Cafaro steps into the newly created role of Chief Growth Officer, overseeing the Recruiting and Marketing functions and leading COOP's earned revenue strategy. Over the last four years, Stephanie has led the Recruiting team through significant enrollment growth and a complex randomized controlled trial, consistently exceeding expectations. Before COOP, she led recruitment for the City Teaching Alliance, a revenue-generating fellowship delivered in partnership with American University.

Alex Barrett becomes the full-time Chief of Staff to the President, joining the executive team after providing tremendous value across the organization as a strategic consultant since 2025. In this role, Alex will support the President across all teams, focusing on executive team effectiveness and operations. Prior to COOP, she served as Senior Director of Strategy & Innovation at The Knowledge House, preceded by over seven years at Year Up United.

A structure aligned to strategy

As part of the evolution, Chief Operating Officer Pareen Kohlhaas — who oversees the Technology, Talent, and Finance functions — will now report to the President, a shift that reflects Adanta’s role in leading the team and driving day-to-day impact. We're fortunate to have a leader of Pareen's caliber for this moment. 

As President, Adanta will lead COOP in delivering against its strategic goals, diligently overseeing our orientation to efficiency and effectiveness. She will continue building a positive culture focused on outcomes, adaptation, and scale. 

In this new role, she will partner with Kalani in leading the annual planning process, drive continuous improvement, and shape the multi-year strategic plan, helping us meet our audacious goal of equipping 100,000 first-generation and low-income college grads for upwardly mobile careers.

Throughout this evolution, COOP's theory of change remains the same: a fellowship for first-generation and low-income college graduates, focused on securing that critical first full-time job through skills, community, and connections — head, heart, and hustle.