Our Team

Dmitriy Katsel

When I was at the University of California, Santa Barbara created a student organization that allowed students to work on advertising campaigns for local businesses and organizations; outside of a handful of internship opportunities in the area, this was the only opportunity students had for experiential business learning on-campus. When I was graduating, I realized that there is a whole mechanism at play where companies are genuinely interested in collaborating with universities to seek new knowledge and talent, and universities are investing in incorporating experiential learning as a method of improving learning and skills outcomes.
Spring Theory was born out of this experience and initial guidance from initial trial-clients and professors. Since then, we have grown to over 50 university partners and hundreds of corporate clients that seek to collaborate better together. My role currently is to find new ways to deepen relationships with our university and corporate partners, use feedback from our partners to improve on our framework and work to build an experience for all that is reliable, seamless and impactful.

Matt Colgan

I joined Spring Theory to run the project development side of the operation, where I am responsible for working with our company partners to identify the right projects and courses at any given semester.

Senior Client Development Manager

Debra Risch

As Spring Theory’s projects grew and became more complex, the need for a dedicated partnership manager became obvious. I joined the team to help expand our university network, and to help ensure a simple, streamlined process throughout each collaboration.

I find new courses, programs, and professors and take the time to understand the course focus and concepts covered, as well as project needs and preferences. I also serve as a resource for professors, students and clients in projects and as the point person for our university partners during the matchmaking process.

University Partnerships Manager

Joe Wright

I joined Spring Theory with over 15 years experience in building partnerships and strategic initiatives across industries in Tech, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Education and Non-Profit. In this role, I collaborate with company partners to develop custom projects within our University network. Throughout my career, I have built relationships with clients based on a genuine curiosity of their business and how the projects will impact the employee and client experience. I am based in San Diego, CA - home of innovation, beaches and sunshine.

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Recognized For

Higher Education Solution

Experiential Learning Solution

Our Values

Authenticity
We believe genuine, meaningful interactions go a long way—so we do everything in our power to stay real, humble, human.

Drive
We’re fearless—there’s no collaboration too big to approach, no challenge too hard to tackle. We constantly push ourselves to make new partnerships, experiences, and ideas a reality.

Smarts
We call ourselves Spring Theory for a reason—we’re proud to be bright and a little quirky, and we have a knack for making connections between ideas and people that others may overlook.