📣 The priority deadline to become a Braven Leadership Coach is Tuesday, May 26! As a Leadership Coach, you’ll guide a cohort of Fellows through the Braven Accelerator, helping them build confidence, sharpen their professional skills, and tackle real-world challenges. Here’s what the role looks like: • Virtually facilitate 10 weekly sessions of a 2-hour career course (August–December 2026) • Meet 1:1 with students to share insights from your own career journey • Receive training and ongoing support from Braven staff Apply by May 26 for priority consideration — the final deadline is June 23. Spots fill quickly, so apply today: https://lnkd.in/gRUp_uDe #BeBraven #BravenVolunteer #LeadershipCoach
Braven
Higher Education
Chicago, IL 61,367 followers
Leaders emerging from everywhere, empowered to excel anywhere. Join us as we put education to work for college students.
About us
Braven empowers promising young people on their path to college graduation and strong first jobs. We believe that our next generation of leaders will emerge from everywhere, so we take a particular interest in ensuring our talent network is filled with people from underrepresented backgrounds. To do so, Braven partners with educational institutions, volunteer professionals, and employers to offer a rigorous and relevant career readiness course, that is followed by robust campus-based alumni programming. The course is targeted as a part of the sophomore or transfer junior experience. Through The Braven Accelerator, a hybrid online and in-person course, Braven Fellows will get: --Skills: learn the hard and soft skills companies and organizations want and practice them in mock professional settings. --Experience: apply skills to solve real-world challenges with a cohort of peers. --Coaching: receive small group and one-on-one coaching from a local young professional to achieve personal and professional goals. --Networking: expand one’s circle of champions to include motivated peers, supportive adults, and respected thought-leaders. The Braven Accelerator is principally facilitated by volunteer Leadership Coaches who come from all walks of life and all believe that our nation is better off when a person’s starting point does not limit their opportunities. Leadership Coaches guide our nation’s future leaders through this meaningful experience. At the same time, they develop and practice leadership and management skills that accelerate their own careers. They also develop their own network and deepen their connection to the community in which they live and/or work. This unique, high-impact volunteer opportunity employs a primarily virtual coaching model. From The Braven Accelerator will come a generation of leaders as diverse as our future demands.
- Website
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https://bebraven.org/
External link for Braven
- Industry
- Higher Education
- Company size
- 51-200 employees
- Headquarters
- Chicago, IL
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2013
- Specialties
- Education, Career Prep, Leadership Development, Professional Training and Coaching, Higher Education, E-learning, and Workforce Development
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
100 N. LaSalle Street
Suite 310
Chicago, IL 60602, US
Employees at Braven
Updates
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Braven reposted this
This spring, students in UNT’s first Braven Career Accelerator course wrapped up a semester focused on professional development and career readiness. UNT partnered with nationally recognized nonprofit Braven to offer the Braven Accelerator Course to students looking to succeed in today’s competitive job market, many of whom are first-generation college students. The partnership — Braven’s first in Texas — reflects UNT’s expanding commitment to student success and career readiness. Students who take this 3-hour course build professional portfolios, participate in networking opportunities, develop leadership skills and tackle real-world projects with help and support from industry professionals. After the course is completed, participants receive ongoing support and access to Braven’s alumni network after graduation. “As a first-generation college student from a low-income, immigrant household, I didn’t have clear guidance on how to navigate higher education or my career. A program like Braven would have made my path much easier,” says Braven leadership coach and UNT alum Stephanie Murphy. “It’s been incredibly rewarding to see what the students have gotten from this experience.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gAEfXEpQ
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Braven reposted this
Congrats to Kilsys Payamps-Roure, founding executive director of Braven New York, who made the City & State 2026 Nonprofit Trailblazers' list! Payamps-Roure is also the 2026 Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholar at #CCNY. On March 2, her lecture, “Opportunity by Design: How CCNY and Braven Strengthen the College-to-Career Pipeline," took the form of a conversation with CCNY President Vincent G. Boudreau. Braven, a national #nonprofit organization helping promising #collegestudents on a path to #economicmobility, partnered with The City College of New York for a college-to-career pipeline since 2022. Also, a shout out to three #CCNY #almuni who also made the list: Adam Aponte, MD, MSc, FAAP, CEO of East Harlem Council for Human Services, Inc.; Gracie-Ann Roberts, DMSc, MPH, CPHQ, PA-C, Chief Quality Officer at Community Health Center of Richmond; and Doreen Thomann-Howe, CEO of American Red Cross Greater New York. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eh3UWDiw
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Braven reposted this
Then and now! Over the past year, our 2025 CPRA Capitol Hill Fellows took their passion for public service beyond the classroom and into the halls of Congress, gaining first hand experience. Now, we are proud to celebrate Alexis, Jacinay, Esron, Moujan, Edwin, and Karen as they graduate! We are so proud of everything this cohort has accomplished, and can’t wait to see where their passion for public service takes them next. CPRA is proud to support the next generation of public service leaders by creating opportunities for students to grow, lead, and make an impact. Congratulations to our graduates! 🎓🎉 James Jones Rutgers University–Newark
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🎉 Congratulations to Jonathan Chaparro, Braven's Chief Regional Success and Innovation Officer, on being honored as Teach for America Greater Chicago-Northwest Indiana Systems Leader of the Year! This award recognizes a TFA alum whose systems-level work has produced measurable results for students and schools, and Jonathan embodies that impact every day. At Braven, he leads national efforts to strengthen the college-to-career pipeline for first-generation and low-income students. As the founding Executive Director of Braven Chicago, he has helped scale innovative models that significantly improve graduation rates, career access, and postsecondary outcomes for thousands of students. Under his leadership, we launched BravenX, an innovative model that expands access for students through college success organizations. We're so proud to have him on the Braven team! 📽️ Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/gv6MbygR 💡 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gx4JT33T #BeBraven #TeachForAmerica #AlumniOfTheYear #SystemsLeader
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Braven reposted this
Seven years ago, Muna Sheikh said yes to being the founding Board Chair of Braven's Bay Area board. She didn't just hold the seat — she built something. Through her leadership and her partnership with Deloitte, she helped create a talent pipeline, mobilize a community of 620 volunteers for a total of 11,560 hours, and raise resources that changed real trajectories for students nationally. Muna, watching you lead has been one of the great honors of this work. Thank you and I'm grateful you're staying at the table. Your legacy of leadership has helped me develop into my own authentic leadership. And now, Carlos Flores steps in as our new Bay Area Board Chair. A San Francisco State University alum and a former Braven Leadership Coach. Someone who has seen this work from the inside out — as a mentor and now as a leader helping shape what comes next. A transition rooted in gratitude and possibility. Let's go! #BeBraven #NationalVolunteerMonth #WomensHistoryMonth #AAPIAHM #BayArea #CollegeToCareer #LiveYourLegacy
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Braven reposted this
This morning I joined two cohorts of University of Massachusetts Lowell Braven Fellows at the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance headquarters in Boston for a Capstone Challenge Winners' Trek. Our Fellows were there not as visitors, but as recognized contributors who earned their place there. Here's how they got there. The Challenge: Earlier this spring, every Braven Fellow in the Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (FAHSS) at UMass Lowell Career Accelerator with Braven course was asked to take on BHSI's real business problem: How can an innovative insurance company like BHSI introduce career pathways in Property & Casualty insurance to college students outside traditional business programs and build a talent pipeline ready for an AI-driven future? Through the course, Fellows dove into research, applied design thinking, collaborated across cohorts, and pitched their solutions to BHSI judges. BHSI didn't treat the Fellows' presentations as a student exercise. They engaged with genuine curiosity, offering thoughtful feedback that left Fellows feeling heard and proud of their ideas. Two teams rose to the top. They didn't just win a grade. They won an invitation to BHSI's HQ. The Trek: Today was their day. Seated across from Fellows were BHSI leaders from the C-suite to regional teams, each with a different path, each with the same message: the insurance industry is evolving fast, and the people who thrive in it aren't just technically sharp. They're curious. They communicate. They build relationships. And at BHSI they think in careers, not just jobs. One moment that stood out: BHSI leaders described their company as still in its "very early days" in the U.S. as a forever business built on ambition, ownership, and the belief that the people who work there aren't just employees, they're "teammates" building something together for the long run. For our Fellows who are just beginning to write their own professional stories, that language landed differently than a standard corporate pitch. It felt like an invitation. Why this matters: The real story isn't just what happened today. This is what the model looks like when it works. UMass Lowell creates the space. BHSI shows up as more than a sponsor. They show up as co-educators, opening their industry, their careers, and their culture to students who, in many cases, have never imagined themselves in a room like that. And Braven builds the bridge between them. These Fellows came prepared. They came proud. And they left with a new sense of what's possible. It's a glimpse of the ecosystem we envision Braven building here in Greater Boston. Thank you to the BHSI team, Dennis Brown, Kayla Nation - PRC,CDR,CIR, David Lee and our UMass Lowell collaborators Diana C. Archibald, Greg D., and everyone who invested in this. You helped our Fellows see what future careers can look like for them. #Braven #FirstGeneration #HigherEd #EmployerPartners #WorkforceDevelopment
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We recently co-hosted a celebratory launch event with University of Mount Saint Vincent (UMSV). Centered around the theme “The Right Place on the River,” the event formally introduced the Braven Accelerator course and marked the beginning of this exciting partnership ahead of our inaugural semester this fall. This gathering brought together university leaders, students, employer partners, community stakeholders, volunteers, alumni, and supporters for an afternoon of connection and conversation centered on expanding career pathways for UMSV students. Attendees heard remarks from President Susan Burns, Provost Lynne Bongiovanni, Vice Provost Gabrielle Occhiogrosso, Ed.D., Braven NYC Board Members Kimara Bonhomme and Akila Grewal, and Kilsys Payamps-Roure, Braven’s Founding Executive Director of New York City. Together, we celebrated a shared commitment to ensuring students graduate with the skills, networks, confidence, and experience needed to secure strong post-graduation outcomes, while strengthening the New York City talent ecosystem through powerful cross-sector partnerships. #BeBraven #UMSV #HigherEducation #NYC #GoTogetherGoFurther
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The Braven team recently wrapped up our Ready to Launch Bootcamps nationwide — held both virtually and in-person — designed to help senior Braven Fellows take charge of their job searches. Fellows came prepared, immersed themselves in the work, and left geared up with the confidence and a sustainable plan to launch their careers. Fellow participants walked away with: • Support in evaluating opportunities aligned with their career goals • Tips on customizing application materials, plus coaching from Braven staff • Networking strategies to build lasting professional connections • A tailored, proactive job search plan 🎓💼 A huge thank you to our volunteers who served as panelists and breakout facilitators for sharing your time and expertise, our Braven staff for making it all possible, and our Fellows for showing up prepared, engaged, and ready to launch. 🎓💼 #BeBraven #ReadytoLaunchBootcamp #RTL
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May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, a time to celebrate and uplift the voices, cultures, and contributions of the AAPI community. Throughout the month, we’ll be highlighting stories and voices from our Braven community and celebrating the leaders who help strengthen it every day. #BeBraven #AAPIMonth
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