Joe Tavares serves on the senior leadership team at Center for Student Opportunity (CSO), a national nonprofit bridging the divide between leading institutions of higher education and those who most need college guidance, preparation and admissions assistance.

Tavares is responsible for the overall management of the College Access & Opportunity Guide, a college guidebook designed for students who will be first in their family to attend college. With recent evaluation outcomes showcasing the guidebook as a valuable and necessary resource for first-generation college and traditionally underserved college-bound students, he works to identify, cultivate, and strengthen funding partnerships that can help ensure the guidebook reaches students, families, and counselors nationally in need of its resources.

Tavares plays an instrumental role expanding the organization’s growing efforts to collaborate with colleges and universities, as well as with existing community-based nonprofits, to develop and grow programs that focus on college access and success, based on the belief that implementing programs founded upon proven best practices in the field will strengthen the landscape of college guidance and preparation for the target student demographic.

Prior to coming to CSO, Tavares worked at public relations firm Hager Sharp where he developed a deep knowledge of education reform by communicating public policy issues and assisting educators and policymakers at all levels analyze student achievement as it relates to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as the "Nation's Report Card."

Tavares has addressed several national professional conferences, including National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC), College Summit Institute, and college campuses across the country on issues affecting traditionally underserved college-bound students.

Tavares volunteers as a CollegeBound mentor to strengthen Washington, D.C., public school students’ math, language arts, and social skills, while preparing them for the college journey. While earning his bachelor’s degree at St. Bonaventure University, he studied at Oxford University, la Universidad de Belgrano (Argentina), and American University through the Washington Semester Program.