Strada collaborates with students, policymakers, educators, and employers across the U.S. to strengthen the link between education and opportunity.
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We prioritize policies, practices, and programs that help ensure postsecondary education provides equitable pathways to opportunity.
We advance our mission through research, grantmaking, social impact investments, public policy solutions, Strada-supported nonprofit organizations, and strategic initiatives.
Strada’s mission-aligned investments support and advance our work to strengthen the connections between education and career. Strada invests in carefully selected organizations and funds that have the potential to create systemic change on behalf of students, job-seekers and employers.
The Strada Difference
While financial return is an important aspect of any investment decision, Strada’s approach also emphasizes mission impact. We believe that by supporting companies engaged in education and career planning, student success, and workforce transitions, we will expand the pipeline of diverse talent to meet the needs of a changing economy.
Our work includes direct and indirect investment in and acquisition of mission-aligned organizations pursuing innovative education and human capital development solutions. Strada typically seeks to invest in more established entities with a demonstrated record of effectiveness and market acceptance. Through our Strada Education Innovation Fund, we also explore opportunities in early-stage organizations focused on solutions to prepare Americans for the future of learning and work.
“Strada’s deep roots in education have created unique opportunities, from collaborations with their affiliates to strategic co-marketing. They have been a key partner in helping us grow our team and scale our impact on students and institutions.”
David Kozhuk | CEO and Founder, UCONNECT
“To successfully build and scale education-to-employment pathways for more than 100 million working, low-wage adults requires not just passion but painstaking follow-through. Strada has followed through for Cell-Ed. They’ve amplified our future of work message with key audiences, recently helping us secure a high-profile speaking opportunity that led to quality leads. We prize how their authenticity and active engagement aids Cell-Ed in executing on our growth plan.”
Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami | CEO and Founder, CELL-ED
Meet the Team
Education-to-employment data help individuals make informed decisions about college and workforce training.
Strada interns help drive our commitment to strengthening the link between education and employment and are immersed in a vibrant and supportive circle where they are able to collaborate and network.
Mentors in Tech recruits tech industry veterans from the region’s robust tech industry to mentor students at the area’s small, affordable, open-access colleges. The partnership between Green River and Mentors in Tech, or MinT, is supported in part by a $400,000 grant from Strada’s Employer and Community College Partnership Challenge.
Nationally recognized experts on postsecondary education and workforce development will provide leadership and support for Strada’s strategic plan.
Strada’s newest report, Building Better Internships, looks at the latest findings from the National Survey of College Internships (NSCI), a survey developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions.
Strada Education Foundation, today announced two new leadership appointments. These leaders will support the foundation’s efforts to conduct research and develop policy solutions in two critical areas: quality coaching and work-based learning.
Through the Arizona State-led Work+Collective, more than a dozen institutions are injecting mentorship, career development skills.
Strada Education Foundation announced Justin Draeger will join Strada as senior vice president, affordability.
The State Opportunity Index was developed to help states build a stronger connection between education after high school and equitable pathways to opportunity so students realize the full value of their education and employers have the workforce they need to fill high-demand jobs.
This more detailed set of technical appendices provides state-specific details on select measures in the State Opportunity Index.
Strada researchers answer key questions about the State Opportunity Index, what it measures, and how it can be used by states and important stakeholders.
Mamie Voight, president and CEO of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, on how states can use State Opportunity Index data to identify what is working within higher education and what needs to improve.
Michael Collins, vice president of the Center for Racial Economic Equity at Jobs for the Future, on how the State Opportunity Index tells a more nuanced story of the data surrounding the value of education after high school.
Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president of The Education Trust, on how the State Opportunity Index helps measure whether policies and practices are actually benefiting the students they were designed to support.
Part of the State Opportunity Index, these profiles for each of the 50 states plus Washington, D.C., provide a breakdown of state progress for return on investment and the five priority areas.
As part of the State Opportunity Index, these technical appendices provide the details behind the data.
Sign up for the Strada Education Foundation newsletter to stay up to date on how we are working to strengthen the link between education and opportunity.
The Texas Credentials for the Future program helps universities close the gap between the skills employers need and what students learn in a degree program. Rather than place the responsibility on students to find opportunities to develop practical skills related to their education, credentialing programs like the University of Texas System’s add a layer of training onto degree studies that helps students signal to employers their readiness to apply their education.
‘Colleges and universities, states, and our country can do more to help prepare students for the critical transition from college to the labor market.’
New research highlights what states and institutions can do to help more graduates secure college-level jobs.
The gift of time. A recognition of talent. A helping hand. How our mentors helped shape us as people and professionals.
Strada Education Foundation Appoints Heather McKay to Direct Institute for the Future of Work
At the heart of MiraCosta College’s Increase Diversity, Equity, and Advancement in Biotechnology (IDEA-BTEC) program, funded in part by a $400,000 grant from Strada Education Foundation, is a unique partnership between the college and two local biotech employers: Sterogene Bio-Separations and Open Biopharma Research and Training Institute.
The community college learning lab and dental clinic is now a newly refurbished space where dental hygiene students refine their technique on mannequins outfitted with realistic incisors, molars, and cuspids. The clinic was remodeled through a partnership with Delta Dental of Rhode Island and supported by a $400,000 grant from Strada Education Foundation.
The letter was delivered in response to the department’s request for information regarding the disclosure of confidential wage records under the department’s regulations governing the confidentiality and disclosure of state unemployment compensation data. Strada also included specific recommendations for regulatory amendments.
Report indicates both success and need for improvement in meeting students’ varied goals
Veteran education policy advocate brings extensive federal experience to shape policy solutions that strengthen pathways to opportunity
A new and improved Free Application for Federal Student Aid expected late this year should provide opportunities for more students and their families to access money to pay for college. Yet the transition to this new form presents unprecedented challenges for those who work to help students complete it.
To better understand the value community colleges provide to individuals and communities, we need to acknowledge the range of needs they serve.