Dr. Christine Koehn

Executive Director

After being instrumental in its creation and launch, I currently serve as Achieve Palm Beach County’s Executive Director.  This collective impact initiative centers on aligning the efforts of key stakeholders across various sectors focused on ensuring the post-secondary education readiness, access, and success of all of Palm Beach County’s students.

For nearly 25 years, I’ve worked in Palm Beach County’s nonprofit arena and primarily in leadership roles.  Previously, I served as the Executive Director for the Celia Lipton Farris & Victor W. Farris Foundation where I provided oversight of the Foundation’s administration and grantmaking; at the United Way of Palm Beach County, in the role of Vice President of Community Impact; at the Quantum Foundation, finishing my tenure there as Vice President for Programs; and, at the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, as a Research and Evaluation Specialist.

Within these roles, I have facilitated partnerships and community collaboratives, identified service systems barriers, and created and executed strategies designed to address those barriers.  Further, I’ve focused on social issues such as educational achievement, financial stability, health care promotion and access, child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention, maternal child support, family strengthening support, out-of-school activities, and arts and culture.

I’ve also developed and executed of large-scale research and evaluation projects, presented as numerous forums to various populations, published in professional journals and books, and served as a manuscript reviewer.

I currently serve on a number of local, state, and national nonprofit Boards and committees focused on improving the lives of our most vulnerable people.

Elizabeth Burrows

Senior Director

Elizabeth C. Burrows is a full-time economic development professional, and an emerging entrepreneur, speaker and personal development coach. Her career spans more than 15 years in the public and nonprofit sectors, where she has used her natural talents in communication and relationship-building to grow businesses, community initiatives and cultural programs. In 2017, she founded The Life Edit Project as a platform to inspire and empower women to new levels of greatness.

Elizabeth is a graduate of Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, Florida, where she received a diploma from the International Baccalaureate Program. She completed her undergraduate studies in Public Relations at the University of Florida, and graduate studies in Public Administration at the University of Miami.

Elizabeth is a life-long member of St. John Primitive Baptist Church in Delray Beach, where she serves on the Praise Team and Pastoral Care Committee. She’s also a self-proclaimed nerd that spends her free time reading, writing, learning new things and seeking out new experiences. She currently lives in Boynton Beach, Florida with her husband, Travis and daughter, Naomi, who both entertain and inspire her everyday.

Gabriela Como

Operations Manager

Gabriela arrived at Achieve Palm Beach County after a nine-year career at Palm Beach State College where she spent the majority of her time working in the Registration/Admissions Department getting an up close and very personal look at the very real struggles and challenges our youth face when trying to navigate a college path. Prior to education, she worked in the financial services sector supporting executives. She attained an Associates in Arts Degree from Nassau Community College. She’s currently working on completing her bachelor’s degree. “Becoming a mom really highlighted how important it was for me to continue my education because I know I must set the example for my daughter. I grew up with a single mom who worked full time and went to college full time so that she could achieve her career and financial goals. She taught me that education can be an equalizer in many areas of life and that knowledge is something that once gained can never be taken from you.” She is originally from Great Neck, New York but relocated to Boynton Beach after having vacationed here and falling in love with Palm Beach County.