Current projects:
Catalyze Sessions

September - October 2023

Share your knowledge for social good

Take action - it's easy!

Participate as a purpose-driven leader (Knowledge Partner) in a 90 minute virtual session. Along with a small group of other pro bono Knowledge Partners, you will share your insights, skills and connections with a social venture tackling a challenge. Add value, learn about the venture, and connect with peers on a common cause of interest.

At the end of each session, each Knowledge Partner will be asked to pledge a follow-up action, such as sharing a connection, reviewing materials, or building awareness of the venture’s impact among friends and colleagues. Stay in touch with your new network. In turn, the social venture will keep you apprised of the impact of your knowledge.  

Current opportunities to engage are below. If interested, complete the form.

BroadFutures

Mission: BroadFutures seeks to celebrate neurodiversity by creating access, cultivating skills, and revolutionizing the workplace for all.

Impact: BroadFutures strives to create access to employment opportunities for young neurodivergent people while also supporting and educating employers to make their workplaces inclusive and accessible. They achieve these goals through training, mentoring and paid internships programs both locally in the Washington, Metropolitan area, as well as through nationwide pilots.

Need: There is an increased demand for their programs from young neurodivergent people as well as demand from employers in hiring neurodivergent talent. BroadFutures seeks to triple how many people they serve over the next five years, and seek help on a nationwide expansion strategy.

Catalyze Session Question: How can BroadFutures effectively and impactfully scale their model nationwide, while still retaining quality outcomes?

Knowledge Partner Skills Required: Business expansion or scaling nonprofits

Per Scholas

Mission: Per Scholas’ mission is to advance economic equity through rigorous training for tech careers, and to connect skilled talent to leading businesses.

Impact: Per Scholas offers both entry- and mid-level courses to prepare diverse individuals to enter and advance in the tech sector, regardless of their previous educational or professional background, race, or gender. Their tuition-free training takes a holistic approach that fully prepares graduates for employment in the tech sector, with access to support services for two years post-graduation

Need: There is significant demand for cybersecurity workers (currently there are over 755,000 Cybersecurity jobs open in the U.S. and only enough qualified professionals to fill 68% of the roles.) These positions typically require prior industry experience. An apprenticeship program is a strong potential solution to fill employers’ growing hiring demands while providing a pathway for diverse technologists to pursue this career track. Per Scholas has designed a new Cybersecurity Apprenticeship program but has not yet launched its first cohort yet.

Catalyze Session Question: ​​Can Per Scholas obtain feedback on its Cybersecurity Apprenticeship program design and value proposition for employers (particularly larger companies)? Introductions to prospective employers are welcomed if possible.

Knowledge Partner Skills Required:
Business plan assessment, cybersecurity marketplace

Telosity Ventures

Mission: Telosity Venture’s mission is to help millions suffering from mental illness and propels impact in mental health and wellness through investments and innovation. 

Impact: Telosity Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on digital wellness and mental health in North America. It invests in vetted mental health and digital wellness startups, manages innovation challenges with cash prizes, and shares research with the community. They have impacted 1 million lives to date, and seek to expand to 5 million, with an emphasis on reaching women and youth.

Need: Approximately 1 billion individuals are currently suffering from mental illness, but there are significant challenges to responding to this need because of mental health provider shortage, equity, limited options for coverage, etc. Telosity seeks to find innovative solutions to bridge this gap by investing in carefully vetted mental health and digital wellness startups. 

Catalyze Session Question: What can Telosity Ventures do to let more people know about them and identify limited partners for its venture capital fund? Specifically, how can it enhance its pitch materials and improve funder outreach?

Knowledge Partner Skills Required: Recruiting limited partners and funders

Ready to share your knowledge?

Apply to participate

Complete the form below. We will contact you to discuss fit and availability.  

Catalyze Session Knowledge Partner Participant Form

Please ensure that all required fields marked with asterisk (*) have been completed.
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