Krista Schnell is the Program Manager for the Pay It Forward Accelerator at Scholars Equity Network (SEN).

Krista brings an engineer’s precision, a consultant’s professionalism, and a sociologist’s systems perspective to program management. Over the course of her career, she has brought clarity and structure to technology thought leadership and research programs at Accenture, helping her team operationalize new ways of working, streamline processes, and deliver measurable outcomes.

She holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, where her academic work focused on gender and work, inequality, and the social dimensions of technology. This interdisciplinary foundation shapes her approach to program design, storytelling, and impact measurement.

Through her work with SEN, Krista is passionate about building the operations and infrastructure that enables scholars and alumni to turn their commitment to service into sustained, collective impact. She is especially motivated by initiatives that help individuals give back to their communities, support one another, and create lasting pathways for equity and opportunity.