Staff Directory
Charles Eaton, Executive Director
Charles joined the Foundation in June 2010 with 17 years of prior non-profit management experience. Most recently he led fundraising, business development and marketing initiatives for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), a growing healthcare association focused on improving healthcare quality and patient safety. Before joining APIC, Charles served as VP of member relations for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which organizes the largest tradeshow in North America, the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Charles leads the Foundation from his home office in Washington, D.C., where he and his wife are raising four children ranging from toddler to college age.
Charles says: “Getting people jobs is a great job. So many social challenges can be solved by providing someone a meaningful career and a living wage.”
Colleen Robbins, Director of Development
As Director of Development, Colleen Robbins is responsible for raising revenue and engaging partners to support the Foundation’s programs. She has spent her career working for non-profits, including roles at City of Hope, March of Dimes, and Prevent Blindness America. A native of Michigan and an alumna of Michigan State University, Colleen is an avid Detroit Red Wing hockey fan.
Colleen says: “Working for the Creating IT Futures Foundation allows me to help people change their lives through meaningful careers in the IT industry. Giving people opportunities to succeed is really what we are doing.”
Carla Bumba, Development Coordinator
Carla Bumba began working with the Foundation as a program coordinator in 2009. As Development Coordinator, she oversees the CompTIA staff fundraising campaign, maintains the Foundation’s database, assists with external fundraising campaigns and assists in the Foundation’s awareness-building. Her past non-profit experience is working in a number of capacities with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, (CCFA), including as Outreach Manager overseeing professional and lay education programming. Prior to working in nonprofits she was a retinal photographer and surgical scrub technician for 23 years. She enjoys hiking and backpacking the Rockies and anything centered around nature. She and her husband of 32 years have three sons, two grandchildren, and a dog named Bookers Bumba.
Says Carla: "The most satisfying thing about working for the Creating IT Futures Foundation has been having the opportunity to get to know many of our participants over the past two years and witnessing their self- motivation, their desire to improve their own situation. I find joy in their success."
Eric Larson, Director of External Relations
Eric has worked in the journalism and nonprofit fields for nearly 20 years. In the early 1990s, Eric served as a staff writer at the Anniston Star newspaper, where he won Alabama Associated Press awards for community service writing and deadline reporting. Eric worked as public grant writer for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin before serving as a Peace Corps health volunteer stationed in the Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific. Today he serves the Foundation from a home-based office in Raleigh, N.C., where he and his wife are ordered around by three young children and their dog, Kope, who followed them home from Kiribati.
Eric says: “It’s a real honor to be able to tell the story of how the Foundation is radically changing lives. When you help someone develop a career, you impact every aspect of their personal story for the better.”
Amy Spear, Program Manager
As program manager, Amy works to develop programs for the Foundation that integrate with its mission. This means communicating with nonprofit and corporate partners to learn best practices in IT workforce development and making sure the different parts of the Foundation’s programming work together to deliver outstanding results. She came to the Foundation from the Midwest Heart Foundation, where she worked as Office Coordinator and Administrative Director of Special Grants. When she is not working at her office at CompTIA headquarters in Downers Grove, Illinois, she is being kept busy by her young daughter.
Amy says: “The most satisfying part of working for the Creating IT Futures Foundation is when you receive an email or telephone call from a participant who has obtained employment. To hear the excitement and joy in an individual's voice makes me truly enjoy working for the Foundation.”
Kathleen Mrazek, Program Coordinator
Kathleen came to the Foundation with experience in special education, technology support and workforce development. She has worked for three years as the Program Coordinator, assisting the Program Manager in building program awareness and partnerships. Herself a dislocated worker retrained through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), she has a unique perspective when working closely with the Foundation’s candidates.
Kathleen says: “The most satisfying thing about working for the Foundation is the connection I have with our participants. Encouraging individuals to begin, complete and continue training towards an IT career has been very rewarding.”