Meet the 2020 Semi-Finalists for the Camelback Fellowship

 

Each year, we find ourselves working through this intensive and exciting experience we call Recruitment & Selection. Since Camelback began, it’s been a part of our work cycle: searching, identifying, and sharing innovative, underrepresented social entrepreneurs. Our process has changed each year, sometimes in dramatic ways and sometimes in smaller refinements. We have known for a while now that it’s not a pipeline problem and a few years ago, we made a point to the haters. This year, our process has been about supporting new technical founders of color (as we co-designed a new platform with former Camelback Semi-Finalist Daquan Oliver and his platform, WeThrive) and experimenting with new systems to match the recent evolutions in our Fellowship

No matter the ups and downs of our growing pains, the end result is that we have a list of 120 incredible Semi-Finalists to spotlight and share. Their passion, dedication, and perseverance is what fuels our team’s hustle. These candidates will go through a more rigorous next round that takes a close look at financials, metrics of success, and team analysis. We will announce in early November with an update on our list of expected 45 Finalists, and then again in mid-December announcing our next cohort of 22-24 entrepreneurs, the 2020 Camelback Fellows. 

Congratulations to all our Semi-Finalists, and thank you again to all applicants for sharing their work with us!


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SEMI-FINALISTS IN EDUCATION 

Camelback Ventures began with Education as its first track (you could also call it portfolio, impact area, pillar, focus — all those good words) with a pilot run out of founder Aaron T. Walker’s Brooklyn living room in 2014. Today, Camelback has supported 35+ education entrepreneurs, leaders of innovative school models, creators of thoughtful programming, and game-changing technology. We began with education because we believe it is at the core of our mission and vision to create a nation of livable communities where everyone has the opportunity for a quality education and a good life. 

Semi-Finalists are listed alphabetically by organization name; candidate name follows organization name. Semi-Finalists in this category may be nonprofits, for-profits, hybrids, or schools: 


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SEMI-FINALISTS IN CONSCIOUS TECH

Camelback Ventures began funding EdTech organizations in our first cohort in 2015, and has expanded in recent years to support more sub-types of adventurous, socially conscious technology. We believe that entrepreneurship is the fastest path for societal change, and technology is a tool that can be used to empower that change. Our Conscious Tech track invites candidates to share tech solutions for not just education, but other social impact areas, such as workforce development, policy and advocacy, and social justice. Being responsible, inclusive, and intentional with technology aligns to our mission and vision to create a nation of livable communities where everyone has the opportunity for a quality education and a good life. 

Semi-Finalists are listed alphabetically by organization name; candidate name follows organization name. Semi-Finalists in this category may be nonprofits, for-profits, or hybrids: 


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SEMI-FINALISTS IN LOCAL ECONOMIES

After beginning with education and later technology, we knew that our next focus area had to be economic and workforce development. In Fall 2018, we ran our first pilot called the Good Jobs initiative. Our Local Economies track for 2020 will feature all of the lessons and expertise we’ve developed over the past years along with new learnings and projects. Camelback Fellows specializing in Local Economies will have a unique experience by meeting twice a week (after regular business hours - between 5:30 - 8:30pm) for workshops and intensive 1:1 growth strategy consulting. They will have access to in-kind services (such as use of the Camelback Ventures co-working office) and opportunities in the New Orleans entrepreneurial ecosystem, including pitch competitions and conference access. 

Semi-Finalists are listed alphabetically by organization name; candidate name follows organization name. Semi-Finalists in this category may be for-profits or hybrids, and all must be based in New Orleans: