Meet Our CEO

Stephanie Saroki de García is founding CEO of the Private School Growth Fund. She is a mission-driven leader, entrepreneur, and advocate for educational justice with over 25 years of experience transforming opportunities for children and families in underserved communities.

Previously she was co-founder and managing director of Seton Education Partners, a national nonprofit that has launched and scaled financially sustainable, nationally recognized school models integrating deep character and faith formation with academic excellence.

During her 17-year tenure at Seton, Stephanie pioneered school models that uniquely combined classical education, personalized learning, vibrant Catholic faith formation, and operational innovation. She led the replication of the first blended learning Catholic school in the U.S. to thirteen schools in nine cities. She also led the development and scaling of the groundbreaking Brilla-El Camino and Romero school models. Under her leadership as managing director, Seton’s operating budget grew from $2.7 million to $33.5 million, philanthropic revenue increased nearly twenty-fold, and school-based operating budgets collectively exceeded $68 million. Stephanie also oversaw $118 million in school facility development—all while recruiting and mentoring exceptional, mission-driven teammates.

During COVID, Stephanie founded the Redemptive Leadership Project, a growing network of Christian CEOs dedicated to ensuring all children have the educational opportunities necessary to achieve their God-given potential.

Stephanie’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the New York Post, the Washington Post, City Journal, National Review, U.S. News and World Report, the Bronx Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Sun-Times, America Magazine, U.S. Catholic, National Catholic Reporter, the Christian Science Monitor, the 74 Million, Education Week, Education Next, NPR, Univision, EWTN, and other outlets.

Earlier in her career, Stephanie launched and for over five years led the K-12 education program at the Philanthropy Roundtable, serving as a trusted advisor to foundations and philanthropists. She co-authored Saving America’s Urban Catholic Schools: A Guide for Donors and served on the strategic planning committee for the Archdiocese of New York’s school system, chairing the committee on school leadership. Previously, she taught high school English through Teach for America in Oakland, California, where she twice received the Award for Excellence in Academic Instruction.

Stephanie holds a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School (Dean’s Fellow) and a B.A. from UC Berkeley (summa cum laude). She also completed executive leadership training at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. While pursuing her master’s degree, she worked at the Office of Management and Budget. Stephanie lives in San Diego with her husband and is the proud mother of two amazing children.