Long before COVID-19, America’s most vulnerable students were struggling to access not only education and skills training, but the social connections that open doors to great careers. Aimée Eubanks Davis, founder and CEO of Braven, says the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on low-income and minority communities has also laid bare inequities in the education-to-workforce ecosystem. It’s time, she says, to level the playing field so all college graduates can secure strong first jobs that lead to long-term career success.

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About Aimée Eubanks Davis

Aimée Eubanks Davis is the founder and CEO of Chicago-based Braven, which works to ensure underrepresented college students develop the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks to get strong first jobs after graduation. She founded Braven based on her deep belief that our next generation of leaders will emerge from everywhere.

Eubanks Davis has spent the majority of her career at Teach For America where she led the organization’s groundbreaking work around its human capital and diversity efforts. Earlier in her career, she taught sixth grade in New Orleans and led TFA’s Breakthrough/Summerbridge New Orleans site.

She is a 2019 Obama Foundation Fellow, Pahara-Aspen fellow, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a Braddock Scholar, a Draper Richards Foundation Entrepreneur, and a Camelback Ventures Fellow. Eubanks Davis is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

More about Aimée’s work:

Braven Doubles Down to Help Students, Alums Build Social Capital Despite Pandemic

Choose Creativity Awards Honoree – Aimée Eubanks Davis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUvAHCJQwjE

How to Help Low-Income Students Hold Their Own on the Job Market – The Chronicle
https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-to-Help-Low-Income/247927

Building the Leadership Pipeline with First-Generation College Students
https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/building-the-leadership-pipeline-with-first-generation-college-students/

A ‘Braven’ New World: Connecting First Generation College Students To Amazing First Jobs – Forbes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/colinseale/2019/08/22/a-braven-new-world-connecting-first-generation-college-students-to-amazing-first-jobs/#7f4569841962

Straight Up Conversation: Braven CEO Aimée Eubanks Davis – Education Next
https://www.educationnext.org/straight-conversation-braven-ceo-aimee-eubanks-davis/

Season 2, Episode 3 Transcript: Download