Dr. Antonia O. Franco’s career spans nearly thirty years of executive and management experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic and government sectors advancing access, equity and a voice to marginalized communities. She has worked extensively on leading organizational change, creating strategic partnerships and community building, and scaling the work of programs, initiatives and organizations.

Currently, Antonia serves as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Digital NEST. She oversees the programmatic and operational initiatives that support the scaling efforts spanning the five rural communities of Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, Modesto and Stockton. Digital NEST creates sustainable technology learning centers for Latinx youth in order to foster economic equality. Since 2014, more than 3,200 teens and young adults have entered our programs and received professional skills, technical training, resources, mentorship and a network to launch their careers.

Most recently, Antonia served as the Chief Executive Officer for Callisto, a nonprofit, whose mission is to combat sexual assault, support survivors and advance justice through technology. Antonia’s priority was to lay the groundwork for scale and growth by building the organizational and technology infrastructure/capacity, operationalizing a new business model, and developing a new engagement strategy to better serve college students on 25 college campuses across the U.S. Previously, Antonia provided consulting services to organizations in the areas of organizational development and governance. In this capacity, she also served as the Interim Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History to support their executive transition. In addition, she was the Executive Director of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), a national organization dedicated toward advancing educational and career equity. She led the organization’s transformation by building a robust organizational infrastructure, modernizing programs, strengthening partnerships and launching an advocacy platform. She led a community of 20,000 students, scientists, and educators including 115 chapters nationwide in the movement to build a critical mass of diverse scientists with advanced degrees and in positions of leadership in STEM. Antonia has also served as the Vice President & Program Director for Student, Family and Community Initiatives at Helios Education Foundation, where she managed a portfolio of community centered investments focused on establishing and leveraging local, regional and national partnerships to increase Latino student educational success. At Arizona State University (ASU), she held various leadership roles for eleven years, focused on increasing access for low-income, first generation students and families.

Antonia continues to work for equity in the technology and arts sectors, cultural spaces and nonprofit communities through local and national nonprofit board service. She is the board member of Nonprofit Connection Santa Cruz County and OFBYFORALL.

She is an alumnus of Arizona State University having earned her Doctorate in Educational Administration and a Master’s degree in Higher and Postsecondary Education. Her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration is from Northern Arizona University.