Since 2020, Beth Zielinski has worked with JRF to provide database management and programming for the scholarship, operations, and development teams. She has two decades of experience in both nonprofit foundation and university environments. She has helped high-achieving students from diverse backgrounds, including non-traditional, first-generation, and minority students, to create successful academic and career pathways.

Prior to her arrival at JRF, Ms. Zielinski spent ten years at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, working with undergraduate and graduate students and alumni, first as an academic advisor and then as a career development specialist. At JKCF, Ms. Zielinski created the Career Pathways Exchange program and developed and grew the Scholars’ internship program. Earlier in her career, Ms. Zielinski was an academic advisor for the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, managing the first-year student programs. Before that, Ms. Zielinski provided academic support at the Dean’s office in the College of Liberal Arts & Human Science at Virginia Tech, focusing on the success of transfer and first-year students.

Ms. Zielinski graduated with an M.A.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech and with honors from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with a B.A. in Biology and Sociology.