Driven by Purpose. Grounded in Practice.
Meet the GenSpark Team
Rachel Gans
Co-Founder
Rachel Gans is a strategist, educator, and coach with more than two decades of experience helping people and organizations navigate complex systems. Her work spans organizational communication, workforce development, human-centered strategy, and executive functioning, with a consistent focus on understanding how systems function and where they break down for the people within them.
Rachel holds a BA in History from Brandeis University, an MA in Media Ecology from New York University, and an MA in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds certificates in Strategic Management and Innovation from the Copenhagen Business School and Human-Centered Strategy from IDEO.
An award-winning educator, Rachel served as Associate Professor of Practice at Simmons University and has held visiting faculty positions at Northeastern, Clark, and Brandeis Universities. She has designed and managed major grants for the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and has led workforce development initiatives for the City of Boston and Meet Boston.
Kristina Markos
Co-Founder
Kristina Markos is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Chair in Communications at Lasell University with nearly two decades of experience spanning strategic communication, branding, content strategy, and digital engagement. Her career has taken her through major markets including Chicago, Miami, New York, and Boston, where she built deep industry expertise before bringing that experience into the classroom and the consulting world.
A certified career coach through NACE and an organizational consultant, Kristina has led internship and career development programs for more than a decade. Her research focuses on the factors that shape creativity and innovation, with particular depth in intergenerational dynamics and the professional integration of emerging generations. She has lectured internationally, has been cited as an expert on intergenerational workplace dynamics by PR News and Ragan Communications, and serves on the board of PR Club.
Kristina holds a BS in Journalism from Bowling Green State University and a dual Master's in Liberal Studies and Communications from the University of Toledo.