Congratulations to Crisis Support Services of Nevada Board Member, Stephanie Peterson, Director, Risk & Compliance — Global Business Operations for Microsoft Corporation, for receiving the 2018 National TRIO Achievers award on September 13, 2018, at the Council for Opportunity in Education’s 37th Annual Conference in New York City.

Federal TRIO programs help students to overcome class, social, academic, and cultural barriers to higher education. Students served by the TRIO programs must come from families with incomes under $37,650, where neither parent graduated from college.

Steph Peterson is accountable for a global team that manages the Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) program for Microsoft’s Business Operations. Microsoft Business Operations owns the launch and execution of the agreement-to-cash programs and processes for Microsoft and oversees this work for approximately $100B of revenue.

Recently, she has been sponsored to participate in the Hispanic IT Executive Council’s Emerging Executive program. In 2016, she received the MVP Award for her leadership of Microsoft’s Annual Giving Campaign, raising over $1M in funds for charitable organizations. She received the Reno-Tahoe’s 20 Under 40 award in 2015 and was recognized as a Nevada Women of Achievement in 2017. And somehow, she finds time to coach her kid’s basketball teams and participate as a Board Member for Crisis Support Services of Nevada.

Steph is an alumni of the TRIO Upward Bound Program at UNR and is committed to supporting underrepresented communities. She accredits TRIO programs as one of the main reasons that she committed herself to going to college and was successful once there. Steph was raised below the poverty line with a supportive mom and siblings but not college educated; college and a professional career were not something she would have been exposed to growing up. Upward Bound provided her a safe and reliable place to immerse herself in education and to be supported by counselors and educators that believed in her. Every day, Steph continues to utilize the skills and confidence that she built while in the program and is forever grateful. She also gives back to TRIO via speaking engagements and bringing STEM panels to conferences. This year, she was recognized as a National TRIO Achiever in New York.

Steph holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nevada. In her spare time, she is an avid snowboarder and enjoys global adventuring both solo and with her family.

We are so proud to have Steph on our Board of Directors to help us ensure that those in crisis can get help free of charge, 24/7.