FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
J. Mike Moore
Braven
j.mike.moore@bebraven.org
678-343-3896
CHICAGO – Aimée Eubanks Davis, founder and CEO of Braven, will receive the Innovator of Color Award at the 2024 ASU+GSV Summit, April 14-17 in San Diego. A live stream of the ceremony will be available.
The Innovator of Color Award is given annually to those “making a true impact in education,” and showing related, groundbreaking accomplishments in their work and personal lives through innovations in learning and skills.
GSV selected four recipients this year including Eubanks Davis; Esther T. Benjamin, CEO and Executive Director of World Education Services; Amanda Fernandez, CEO and Founder of Latinos for Education; and Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company.
“I’m extremely honored and humbled to be selected as one of GSV’s Innovators of Color for 2024,” Eubanks Davis said. “But this award is also a testament to the collaborative hard work and dedication the Braven team has put forth over the years alongside our nine higher education partners.There is so much great work and inspirational ideas in education right now, as shown by my co-recipients.”
Ten years ago Eubanks Davis founded the national nonprofit Braven in 2013 to work in full partnership with innovative institutions of higher education and employers to ensure first-generation, low-income college students and/or those who are from underrepresented backgrounds in the professional workforce land strong first jobs.
The two-part experience that begins with a credit-bearing college course followed by a post-course experience that lasts through graduation. This ed-tech organization uses the power of technology to scale, while also ensuring volunteer coaches and mentors continue to be integral to the experience.
Students emerge from Braven with the confidence, skills, experiences and networks they need to land a strong first job and get on a path to economic freedom. Currently, just about 30 percent of the 1.4 million low-income or first-generation college students who enroll in college each year are predicted to secure a strong job that will put them on the path to economic freedom.
“Braven is committed to working in seamless partnership with our innovative higher education administrators, faculty and staff to ensure the American promise rings true for students who have earned their bachelors degrees,” Eubanks Davis said.
Braven partners with nine higher education institutions (California: San José State University, Delaware: Delaware State University, Georgia: Spelman College, Illinois: Chicago State University, National Louis University and Northern Illinois University, New Jersey: Rutgers University-Newark, New York: The City College of New York and Lehman College), and more than 75 employers and career partners to empower 10,000 students or “Fellows” on their path to economic mobility. Earlier this month Braven announced a partnership with San Francisco State University.
When students are given access to information capital and networks as well as the opportunity to practice professional skills, the American promise is attainable within just five semesters. In 2023, 777 Braven Fellows earned a bachelor’s degree and outpaced their peers nationally in strong job attainment by 17 percentage points (60% vs 43%) within six months of graduation. More than 75% of Braven graduates are out-earning their parents at the same age in their very first job out of college.
“At ASU+GSV, we aim to recognize leaders who are not only visionaries in their fields but who also actively dismantle barriers to create a more inclusive society for all,” said Tiffany C. Taylor, Partner, Chief People & Impact Officer at GSV. “Aimee’s accomplishments are profound manifestations of our shared values and we are proud to honor her outstanding contributions.”
Eubanks Davis holds many affiliations, including being a 2023 John P. McNulty Prize winner, 2020 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, 2019 Obama Foundation Fellow, Pahara-Aspen Fellow, a member of the Global Aspen Leadership Network, a Braddock Scholar, a Draper Richards Foundation Entrepreneur and a Camelback Ventures Fellow. She also sits on the boards of Relay, OneGoal, and Zearn.
About Braven
Founded in 2013, Braven empowers promising, underrepresented young people—first-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and/or students of color—with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks necessary to transition from college to strong first jobs. Braven is embedded within institutions of higher education and partners with employers to build cutting-edge career education into the undergraduate experience for low-income and first-generation college goers and provides students with a network of supporters and a sense of belonging. Braven Fellows are persisting in college and achieving exciting levels of internship and job attainment. For more information about Braven, visit braven.org.
About ASU+GSV
Now celebrating its 15th year, the ASU+GSV Summit is the world’s most important and impactful gathering of leaders across “Pre-K to Gray” education and workforce learning. Hosted in San Diego, the annual event attracts over 7,000 in-person attendees. This year, ASU+GSV is also hosting its inaugural AIR Show, an immersive exploration of the AI Revolution in education, held in conjunction with the ASU+GSV Summit. Past GSV keynote speakers and honorees have included Presidents George Bush, Barack Obama and Vicente Fox Quesada; Former Secretaries of Education Arne Duncan and John King; Surgeon General Vivek Murthy; Gina Raimondo; Reed Hastings; John Legend; Condoleezza Rice; Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; Priscilla Chan; Laurene Powell Jobs; and more.