2019 Camelback Semi-Finalists
It feels apropos that another year is coming to a close in time with the first round decisions for the next Camelback cohort. We are always so grateful to the hundreds of entrepreneurs who shared their vision with us, and even more appreciative of everyone’s dedication and intentionality with supporting their communities. This year, we are excited to welcome 129 Semi-Finalists for the Camelback Education Fellowship. There are both new names and familiar faces, innovative nonprofits and inspiring for-profits and beautiful future schools. We hope you enjoy closing out the year celebrating this group as much as we do.
Happy New Year, and thank you all for the work that you do!
With love,
Camelback
What happens next:
Camelback Semi-Finalists will complete the Round 2 application. Past Camelback Fellows tell us this round is the most difficult as it requires intensive reflection — it asks about team growth, making progress, and financials. We expect to make our decisions on the next round by early February 2019, and will interview around 40 Finalists. Follow the journey through our newsletter!
View For-Profits & Hybrids | View Schools | View Nonprofits
All organizations listed alphabetically within their categories.
We have included a brief description and websites, both as provided by candidates.
This list is inclusive of candidates accepted priority last month.
For-Profits & Hybrids
Afropassport - JTL White
Afropassport provides educational travel to Afro communities worldwide for black youth and young adults (18-25) to deepen global conscious
Aliento - Reyna Montoya
In Aliento, we co-create community healing through art, advocacy, and leadership development that leads to collective people power.
B-360 - Brittany Young
B-360 changes the perception of urban dirt bike riders and engineers through culturally relevant stem programming and safe riding practices.
Be A Maker Club - Huzefa Neemuchwala
Be A Maker Club provides mobile makerspaces for children.
BearTech Inc - Hsin Hung Sze
Online project-based learning (PBL) platform to help companies effectively generate executable hands-on projects for students
BestFit, Inc. - Asha Owens
BestFit uses video to provide students college insight, increase the visibility of institutional resources & aid in college decision-making.
Boddle Learning - Edna Martinson
Our product is a game-based learning platform for practice & assessments that helps teachers find learning gaps their students have in STEM.
Cipher 3sixty - Kristyna Jones
Cipher 360 is a curriculum company that provides culturally relevant professional development to teachers, schools, and districts.
Community Exceptional Children's Services - Shawn Hearn
Our collaborative, hands-on, project based learning environment meets academic, therapeutic and social emotional learning goals.
Diversity Talks - Kiara Butler
Diversity Talks specializes in providing student-led professional development grounded in diversity, equity and inclusion.eco
ecoEDI, L3C - Renee Joseph
We provide a college accelerator supported by mentorship, for minority and low-income students, saving students time and over 60% in cost.
Fathom - Joseph Adeola
Fathom equips and prepares young people as leaders for more innovative, equitable and sustainable communities.
First Edventures - Victoria Tollossa
Through a combination of community support, education & services we help parents better navigate the early years of a child’s development.
Floop Edu - Melanie Kong
We build mobile-friendly solutions for teachers so they can create equitable feedback systems that support all learners.
FloraMind - Mahmoud Khedr
FloraMind guides teenagers toward positive mental health through workshops at high schools that cover psychoeducation and self-care.
Healthy Hip Hop - Roy Scott
Healthy Hip Hop uses music, movement and a positive message to inspire and change a generation.
HEARD - Deena Minwalla
HEARD supports family engagement at school by strengthening school communities, streamlining communication, and promoting learning at home.
Hip-Hop Future School - Martha Diaz
HHFS is the first online school with the focus on using hip-hop-based education for liberation and the practice of restorative justice.
Hire HBCU - Lavon Powell
We provide executive search support to help schools recruit and retain diverse leaders.
i-Subz - Jasmine Edwards
i-Subz makes it easy for substitute teachers and Title 1 schools to find each other, and for substitutes to get same day pay for their work.
iChange Collaborative - Martha Caldwell
We facilitate transformative experiences for educators to solidly position them as allies and advocates for all students.
Intervene - Aaron McCloud
Intervene is where data + tutoring = student growth
Invibed, Inc. - Danielle Pascarella
We make successful money management simple and easy through custom financial plans, educational video lessons, progress tracking & coaching.
KlickEngage - Samantha Pratt
We work to increase student achievement by promoting social-emotional learning through education technology.
Lexi - Annie Shih
Lexi is a 1 on 1 English tutor that teaches specific to a students skills and needs.
Li'l Stories - Anke Stohlmann
Li’l Stories inspires creative thinking, cooperative learning and digital literacy in the elementary classroom.
Little Bird - Jill Tew
Little Bird automatically schedules parent meetings for teachers, increasing parent meeting attendance and strengthening family engagement.
LOCUM YOGA - Patricia N Sica
LOCUM replaces traditional substitutes with trauma informed yoga instructors who teach self-regulation skills to middle-schoolers.
Mitchelli Music - Robert Mitchell
With a socially conscious approach, we create music and entrepreneurs that transform our community.
PIERCE Plan - Kelly Pierce
PIERCE Plan ensures all student-athletes qualify academically for a scholarship to compete athletically.
Pique - Brian Rucker
Pique is a scholarship market place platform that allows students to apply to unlimited scholarships with one profile.
Reflex Design Collective - Brooke Staton
We provide community outreach, strategy, and custom equity-centered design workshops to facilitate radical collaboration for social change.
Sacred Health Movement - Jamilah Shakir
We provide custom mindfulness, yoga, meditation, and coping skills classes to individuals, and groups from marginalized communities.
Searchkey, Inc. - Aida Mandic
We provide scholarship, grant, and award information to students so they can achieve higher levels of education and graduate debt-free.
Skool - Elias Aseged
The Skool platform helps underserved HS students with college access and helps counselors by providing insight into students' progress.
Social Cipher - Vanessa Gill
Social Cipher is a video game that gives kids with autism a safe, engaging, and accessible space to practice social skills.
SocialPreneur Lab - Jamela Peterson
SPLB empowers youth to become entrepreneurs; our platform and workbooks teach the business basics through applied learning!
Spark Mindset - Lawrence Wagner
We help break the cycle of poverty by empowering high students from underrepresented communities for technology careers.
Startup League - Annee Ngo
Startup League gamifies education to create greater access and opportunity for all students.
TasselTurn - Shante Elliott
We help youth in foster care graduate!
Teach X - Tanysha Nunnally
Teach X crowdsources industry experts and community partners to support underserved teachers in creating authentic learning environments.
The Black Women's Guide - Dominique Aubry
We provide proprietary, results-driven educational programs to black women entrepreneurs to build six-figure businesses.
Upkey - Amir Badr
We provide students with the education and tools to become a stronger professional. From the first resume, to the first job.
Upstream Storybooks - Stacy McCoy Prime
We create physical and digital children's storybooks, curriculum, and training that promote social equity, sustainability, & innovation.
WEPOWER - Charli Cooksey
To redesign harmful systems, WE activate Black and Brown folks who lead and advocate for change and accelerate scalable tech-solutions.
WhereWeGo - Leah Lykins
WhereWeGo empowers students & families to take control during the biggest question they have to answer: Where should I go after high school?
White Womxn Anti-Racist Alliance - Zara Cadoux
We foster and support a national network of white womxn dedicated to dismantling racism.
Ziba Quest - Christel Berry
Ziba Quest help children develop their emotional intelligence by digitizing and scaling Cognitive Behavioral Theory practices.
Schools
Academy for Creating Excellence - Marcus Harden
ACE is an educational experience that serves as a place of learning, identity and safety for males of color to cultivate their excellence.
Activist Graduate School - Micah White
Activist Graduate School: the online school for movement creators, protesters & changemakers. History, theory, strategy for the resistance.
Aster College Preparatory, Inc. - Teshanda Middleton
Aster College Prep disrupts generational poverty and transforms communities by providing access to quality education.
Believe Schools - Kimberly Neal
Believe Schools will exponentially increase the number of leaders of color in all industries in our country.
CODEd Academy - Kennan Scott
CODEd Academy is a school that unlocks the creative genius in all students, where learning is relevant, visible, and rooted in computer science.
The Destiny House - LaShundra Richmond
Design & implement comprehensive, organization-specific programs that address breaking down structural, organizational & cultural barriers.
Equity Now, Inc - Atasha James
Legends Charter School provides a world-class liberal arts education and learning experience that will position our scholars to live the best.
Encore STEM Academy - Kim Edward Bradley
ESA provides OM students with a STEM education to prepare them for tech careers because there are few urban schools that do.
Evolve Public Charter School - Laura DeLima
We support students to discover their passion and purpose while building critical competencies through an internship-focused education.
Generation Success - Brandy Williams
We create personalized learning opportunities that builds on the self-directed skills and passions of our students.
I3 Academy - Martin Nalls
I3 Academy is a charter school located in Birmingham, AL providing standards-based and social-emotional education to K-5th grade students.
Impact Charter School for Young Men - Dawn Antoine-Forbes
IMPACT will empower the next generation of young men of color to be learners and leaders with access to unlimited opportunities.
Impact Public Schools - Jen Wickens
Impact Public Schools designs, builds and operates world-class public charter schools in low income communities across Washington state.
The Greenhouse Academy of Professional Partners (GAPP) - Tracey Dumas Clark
The GAPP is a micro-school powered by Teacherpreneurs who incorporate the feedback of Student Designers to tailor the learning environment.
Invent Learning Hub - Aleicha Ostler
Provides students equitable access to the future by arming them with skills and mindsets beyond those a traditional education provides.
Invictus Leadership Academy (ILA) - LaTonya Derbigny
We will prepare under-served students with a world-class education for unparalleled access to the jobs of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Irene Morgan Schools - Adrienne Wallace
We build schools and entrepreneurial programs that meet the needs of and nurture the talents of children who have been incarcerated.
Ivy New Orleans Leadership Academy - Jaime Johnson-Duplessis
Ivy NOLA leverages our scholars' individual gifts and talents as means for empowering our girls to lead their way.
Legacy Academy School for Innovation and Social Progress - Regina Glover Johnson
Legacy Academy develops its students capacity to serve, and their dedication to lead critical work in their own communities.
The Mentoring by Example Foundation, Inc. - LaChaundra Graham
The Foundation provides individualized academic, entrepreneurial, and social support services to youth and young adults ages 12 to 24.
The Moxie Collective - Paul Yumbla
Moxie co-creates schools that are rooted in identity affirmation, a decolonial curriculum, project based learning & outdoor education.
New Orleans Freedom School & Farm Cooperative - alicia nance
We use a 21st century, youth-led model of Freedom and Indigenous Schools/Farms that will co-construct a movement to ensure we all get free.
Phoenix International Academy - Ivette Marquez
PIA charter school prepares students for the future of work through projects, personalization, restorative practices.
Races del Saber Xinachtli Community School - Lucia V. Carmona
Using Indigenous wisdom, the student constructs a way of learning towards the academic attainment, holistic health, and family engagement
SparkED - Jaclyn O'Brien
We provide an unrivaled preschool experience for all in an intentionally diverse community complemented by targeted parent education.
The Gathering Place - Joanna Klekowicz
At The Gathering Place, instead of forcing kids to fit one model of success, we see, celebrate, and nurture their inner-brilliance.
The Next Generation Academy - Dr. Bethel Cager
The NGA will produce future civic and community leaders.
Urban Renaissance (#URpowerful) - Author Anderson UR delivers high quality education to children age 0-8 and their parents in low wealth communities; preparing parents for technology careers
Nonprofits
Be The Change Venture 509(a)(2) - Anthony Price
We’re changing the way we educate and prepare young people, in areas that tend to be undervalued, to be successful in the workforce.
Black & Brown Founders - Aniyia Williams
We help Black and Latinx people launch tech or tech-enabled businesses.
Camp Common Ground - Ronald Towns
We train youth leaders to bridge cultural gaps between their peers to create identity safe schools, particularly for marginalized students.
Capital Experience Lab - Patrice Jones
Imagine DC’s kids going every day (not just once a year to) world’s largest museum and research complex, the Smithsonian, as their classroom
Catch Education - Nita Evans
We prepare Black male athletes to catch a college education and create a cycle of success beyond sports.
Consult Your Community - Kiron Chandy
We empower college students in 22 universities to provide pro bono consulting to women and minority-owned small businesses across America.
Dibia DREAM, Inc. - Brandon Okpalobi
DREAM facilitates field experiences, meaningful exposure to academic rigor, and community mentorship to increase student outcomes.
EduLeaders of Color Rhode Island - Karla Vigil
We cultivate spaces that unite, support and empower people of color.
Eight Million Stories - Marvin Pierre
We seek to transform the lives of disconnected youth (16-18 years old) through education, skills training, employment and relationships.
Eustress, Inc. - Rwenshaun Miller
Eustress helps individuals understand and take accountability for their mental wellness - with cultural competency.
Excellent Readers Intervention Program - Dwann Wagner
ERx is a separate, in-school reading class for struggling readers in grades K-2 designed to equip them with proficient reading skills.
Fascinate Inc. - Justin Shaifer
Fascinate, Inc. excites underrepresented students about STEM and provides pathways to STEM careers.
Future Leaders Incubator - Desiree Hunter
We work with teams to develop a strategic plan to incubate initiatives that increase equity and inclusion within the school.
HEART Initiative (Healthcare & Education, Awareness, Response, to Trafficking) - Jennifer Amarteifio
We raise awareness, develop response protocols, and provide human trafficking training to healthcare providers and educators.
Hey Mentor - Kevin Truong
Hey Mentor provides college and career mentorship to underserved students and helps college students develop professional career skills.
IssueVoter - Maria Yuan
IssueVoter makes civic engagement accessible, keeps Congress accountable, & gives students & teachers a voice year-round.
JOURNi - Richard Grundy
We use tech and startup education while addressing other socioeconomic factors so that our students can increase their economic mobility.
LEADERSHIP NETWORK MULTIPLIER of the DC Association of Chartered Public Schools - Ramona Edelin
The Leadership Network Multiplier will help retain Charter School Leaders of Color, and build capacity among homegrown, single-site schools.
Make A Chess Move - MACM - Phillip Douglas
At MACM we play chess, we teach chess but more importantly, we use chess as a tool to reteach common sense.
Mentoring Mentors Inc. - Alphonso Mayo
We incorporate a near-to-peer intergenerational model. A middle schooler(the mentee) is paired w/high school(mentor-apprentice) paired w/ adult mentors.
Miami EdTech - Juan Vazquez
We provide educators with the technology and skills to prepare students for jobs of the future.
MindCatcher - Nakeyshia Kendall
We increase student agency by working with educators to create student interest collaborations with industry partners during the school day.
MindWorks Collaborative, Inc - Martrice Gandy
We collaborate to develop and sustain initiatives that ensure equitable outcomes and experiences for diverse students with disabilities.
Mission Bit - Stevon Cook
Mission Bit works to eliminate the tech divide for youth living in poverty by building coding pathways and professional opportunities.
Telling Our Story (TOS) & Students for Educational Justice (SEJ) - Hillary Bridges
Curriculum and after-school programming help young Black people have pride in their histories and know their power and worth.
Pay Our Interns - Carlos Vera
Pay Our Interns pushes organizations to pay their interns.
Pennez - Rebecca Dove
Pennez creates innovative products that serve K-8 youth to improve reading comprehension and fluency.
Project Z - Jazmin Tanner
We are a youth operated consultancy disrupting the intersection of professional and workforce development, positive impact, and -preneurship
Rural Opportunity Institute - Vichitra Jagannathan
We support rural communities to make systemic shifts that support people to heal from trauma and break generational cycles of trauma.
Sacred Generations - Percilla Frizzell
Sacred Generations organizes system-impacted tribal communities to protect sovereign nations and honor the sacred in Native California.
Seeds of Fortune Inc. - Nitiya Walker
Seeds of Fortune Inc. desires to equip minority girls with tools to make smart financial decisions starting with college.
South Coast Code - Elan Jones
We teach code.
SPEAK Mentorship - Hetal Jani
SPEAK develops the belief and confidence of immigrant girls to see themselves as workforce leaders through a network of visible role models.
STEM to the Future - Jacob Adams
Provide STEAM based learning experiences to TK-5th grade Black and Latinx students to see and use technology as a means of liberation.
Stockton Urban Revitalization Fellowship - Nicholas Sanchez
SURF reverses the brain drain and trains the next generation of local education and policy leaders.
The Confess Project - Lorenzo Lewis
We are improving access to Mental Health services and resources for men of color, while equipping them with the tools of Mental Wellness.
The Homesteadista - Lisa Quattlebaum
Equitable media representation of, education, and leadership development for marginalized urban women and girls in the green movement.
The Hustlers Guild - Yasmin Rana
The Hustlers Guild cultivates youth innovation and potential through Hip Hop, STEAM education, and community resources.
The Leadership Brainery - Derrick Young Jr
The LB is a long-term development incubator that empowers underrepresented young "leaders" and pipelines them into top graduate schools.
The Marcy Lab School - Reuben Ogbonna
We provide underserved youth with a high-quality and affordable education in software engineering and then place them in high-paying jobs.
The National LGBTQ Worker's Center - Joan Jones
We engage in a combination of education, advocacy, and organizing to provide support to low-wage or no wage LGBTQ workers.
The Practice Space - AnnMarie Baines
We are a public speaking organization that elevates powerful youth voice through communication skill development in underserved communities.
The Scholarship Academy - Jessica Johnson
The Scholarship Academy connects families to a vital 4-year college funding pipeline.
The Women's Global Empowerment Initiative (WGEI) - Rachel Kirk
WGEI provides access to study abroad, language learning, and social-emotional literacy tailored specifically for high school women of color.
Think of Us - Sixto Cancel
Think of Us leverages innovative technology to improve the lives of youth in and existing foster care.
Torus Teens - Cecilia Foxworthy
We use technology to facilitate out-of-school interactions & experiences that translate to better performance in- and outside the classroom.
Trellis Education - Megan W. Taylor
We recruit, develop, and retain exceptional STEM teachers for our most underserved communities.
UPchieve - Aly Murray
UPchieve is an ed-tech nonprofit providing the first free, 24/7 tutoring and college counseling service for underserved high school students
Village Arms - Kelis Houston
Village Arms provides emergency shelter services, support and advocacy for youth and families impacted by child protection.
we are (working to extend anti-racist education) - Ronda Bullock
we are provides anti-racism training for children, parents, and educators in order to dismantle systemic racism in education.
Wise Young Builders - Elijah Moses
WYB bridges youth to the STEM trades/construction industry through exposure to building projects, math and connecting them to professionals
Youth Activism Project - Anika Manzoor
We help teens build the skills, networks, and resources to create and lead advocacy campaigns on issues they are deeply passionate about.
Youth Empowerment Broadcasting Organization (YEBO) - Cory Montalvo
YEBO uses media production and pop-culture to help students in grades 5-8 to surface, explore, and define their identities.