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
Spring 2022 enrollment numbers from the National Student Clearinghouse reveal a fifth straight semester of enrollment declines, with more than 1 million fewer students enrolled compared to spring 2020
The $4 million challenge funds community colleges and their local employer partners that are innovating to meet regional workforce needs, boost employment and earnings outcomes for students, and drive enrollment for community colleges.
Phase 2 allows Taskforce members to seek up to $1.5 million ($6.25 million total) to expand efforts to connect education to employment.
Higher education’s measurement of student success is in the midst of an evolution. For nearly five decades, success efforts focused on access, then two decades with completion as the horizon for success, and now the focus is extending to student outcomes beyond completion.
At the innovative Rochester campus of the University of Minnesota, our vision is to “inspire transformation in higher education through innovations that empower graduates to solve the grand health challenges of the 21st century.”
Ducks Rise: Empowering Underrepresented Minorities and Low-Income Students Through Research Internships and Intentional Student Experiences
Developing In-Demand Skills Among Undergraduates for Better, More Equitable Post Completion Outcomes
Access to college isn’t enough. Neither is completion of degrees. It’s time to focus on outcomes
When Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott became president of Chicago State University in 2018, things were in pretty dire straits: The state budget had been slashed, operations rolled back, and the university had gone years without permanent leadership.
Our Mission is to Improve Lives by Forging Clearer and More Purposeful Pathways Between Education and Employment. We Seek to Understand Learners’ Needs Our research seeks to understand what students value about their educational experiences so we can better understand how to help them succeed through and beyond completion of certificates and degrees. We Support …
Credit for prior learning helped Loyce Shelley see herself in a new way — and complete her degree.
Work and Education Research
Applied connections between education and work are increasingly a part of undergraduate education in the United States.
Millie Garcia understands the needs of first-generation college students because she was one. Now, as president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Millie advocates for students just like herself — a group she calls “the new majority” (low-income students, first-generation students, and students of color). She shares what she’s learned about the importance of diversifying higher ed, from students and faculty to the highest leadership positions on campus.