Introducing Carmen Romero, CTB Trustee
By Carlos Martinez
“Social capital, that network is more than just a class you can take online somewhere to get an associates degree, it is those relationships, those clubs you can join, those events you can go to [...] that opens another door. Fr. [Katsouoros’] vision of co-location is a critical element of it” -Carmen Romero
Carmen Romero is the President and CEO at Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, a nonprofit organization that builds and preserves affordable housing in the greater District of Columbia area. Her work reflects her passionate desire to eradicate the cycles of inequality that result in restricted access to housing - an issue that cements long-term wealth gaps which predominantly impact minority communities.
Born in New York to immigrant parents, Carmen is a first generation American with degrees from both Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania. Carmen is very involved in her community and volunteers on multiple non-profit boards.
When asked, given her many personal and professional engagements, why committing to CTB as a Trustee was a priority, Carmen said, “What [she] sees in Come to Believe is a creative approach to saying that education is really the key to giving people opportunity, to making this a more equitable world.” She believes that the CTB model is taking an innovative and creative approach to solving big problems.
Carmen is not “new” to CTB in that she has followed Fr. Katsouros’ journey for many years - starting when he created Arrupe College in Chicago. In her experience, high quality education that provides systems designed to guide students to success are critical - and she saw that model being built at Arrupe by Fr. Katsouros. In establishing Come To Believe, Carmen again saw an evolution of this idea as the CTB began the work to bring this model to universities across the country. Supporting the expansion of the CTB model - one she believes will bring significant and sustained change to communities around the country - is why Carmen decided to become a trustee at CTB.
Carmen hopes that individuals and foundations will consider supporting CTB once they see for themselves the impact the model is having on students who enroll in a CTB model school. The results are strong: our students are finding success at remarkably higher rates than their peers at other associate degree programs. One reason for the success is the person-by-person based approach that is integral to a CTB model. This approach provides a platform to directly address systems that can perpetuate inequality - and this helps get students to the “finish line” at graduation. Carmen believes that potential donors will be interested in supporting Fr. Katsouros as he and the team work to create scale. This is what resonates with Carmen the most: she believes that replicating this model in communities around the country is critical. In her mind, this model is more needed than ever, particularly due to Covid-19.
In addition to the one-on-one engagement that is built into the CTB model, Carmen feels that the primacy of creating a CTB model college in a central location on the campus of future host universities is an aspect of the CTB that truly makes a difference. Inviting students to feel they are part of the larger host university - to allow them to see themselves as integral members of the community - is a big reason why these students come to believe in themselves as capable and welcome. This helps each student to forge a sense of community and belonging. Carmen shared that she is “excited [...] to leverage her real estate background to help the board [of trustees] think about’ the conversations surrounding the location of a CTB model college.”
In her role as CEO of the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, she knows that systemic change needs to address big problems and it takes a multifaceted approach to make a difference - this includes impacting policy and real estate access. In CTB she sees an organization that shares her vision for addressing big problems with big solutions
Last but not least, Carmen sees CTB expanding geographically across the country to “three, four, five different university co-locations [...] and with that will come more stakeholders, more people who get to experience it in their community and really inspire other groups” with the model’s success. Carmen looks forward to working with the rest of the Board of Trustees, and wishes the CTB family a happy new year.
