Forté Team

Elissa Sangster

CEO

Elissa Sangster serves as CEO of Forté and brings to the role extensive knowledge of issues affecting women's abilities to seek, prepare for and attain business leadership positions, drawn from her prior experience as Assistant Dean and Director of the MBA Program at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. There she oversaw all activities related to the full-time McCombs MBA program including marketing, admissions, student services, and alumni relations. Before McCombs, Elissa was Assistant Director of the MBA Program at Texas A&M University’s Mays School of Business.

Elissa currently serves as Treasurer and Board Member for the Thirty Percent Coalition. She is past Chair of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) Annual Industry Conference and formerly served as Chair of MBA Student Services Professionals (MBA SSP). Elissa sits on the board of Forté as an ex-officio member. She enjoys reading, running, cooking, and Aggie football. She lives in San Antonio with her husband, Jeremy, and their daughter, Anna Leigh. Elissa received her MBA and her B.A. in English from Texas A&M University.

Daniel Garza

Vice President, Development

Daniel is the Vice President, Development, leading a team responsible for all aspects of Forté’s fundraising initiatives, including securing and managing academic and corporate partnerships, expanding donor identification, cultivation, and stewardship, and securing financial support from grants and foundations. He also oversees Forté’s technology platforms as well as drives the organization's data strategy. He brings almost 10 years of work in the technology industry, including working for Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, and almost 20 years of experience in higher education. He has extensive experience in management education as he served as the Assistant Dean for the full-time MBA program at the University of Texas at Austin and Executive Director for the undergraduate business program at the University of Denver, where in both roles he oversaw recruitment marketing, admissions, academic advising, student affairs, and career services.

Most recently, Daniel has been focused on continuing and professional education, where he has led multiple teams at UT Austin and UT System across a portfolio of academic courses, master's degrees, and training programs.

Arrion Rathsack

Vice President, Programs

Arrion is the Vice President, Programs at Forté, leading a team responsible for developing and implementing programs across college, pre-MBA, MBA and professional audiences. This includes content development, program management, event operations, and enrollment marketing.

Prior to Forté, Arrion acquired more than 15 years of experience in graduate business education including strategic planning, recruiting/admissions, student services, and alumni relations at major public and private universities, including the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin, W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, and the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Arrion earned a BSBA in Business from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. She lives in Austin, Texas with her partner Ben, their two children, and their dog Bandit.

Katie Stanfield

Vice President, Marketing

Katie is the Vice President of Marketing and Enrollment Management at Forté, leading a team responsible for the organization’s brand, communications, and PR strategy, as well as enrollment marketing for college, pre-MBA, MBA, and professional programs.

Katie spent more than 15 years in leadership roles at Kaplan, launching projects and leading teams within campus marketing, events, product marketing, strategic partnerships, and campaign development. She served as the National Director of Sales and Marketing at Applerouth Tutoring, further developing her expertise in social media, digital marketing, demand generation, and funnel management. Katie earned her BS in Nutritional Sciences from Texas A&M University and her MS in Chemistry from Sam Houston State University. She lives in College Station, Texas with her husband, John, and their two children.