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Citizen Schools announced Monday that Joe Ross, a member of Full Circle Fund’s Education Circle, has joined the organization in California as state Executive Director. Citizen Schools is a national nonprofit organization that mobilizes adult volunteers to teach apprenticeships, and partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for low-income students.

Part of Full Circle Fund’s dual mission is to build the next generation of community leaders, and within our Circles we provide inroads for private sector members to engage with the issue areas they care about. We asked Joe to share in his own words what prompted this successful tech executive to make the shift.

“I’ve always been academically interested in education, but my experience with Full Circle Fund made me realize how deeply I want to be personally involved in a hands-on way. Not just occasionally, but full time. When I joined Full Circle, right away I was inspired by the network of education reformers I met within the Education Circle.”

“Then, during the Grant Cycle, I got to know some of the nonprofits under consideration for a grant. One of those nonprofits was Citizen Schools. In the end, the Circle did not give its grant to Citizen Schools, but I was still struck by the organization’s success mobilizing hundreds of adult volunteers to teach middle school kids after the end of the regular school day. Then I heard they were looking for an executive director. I couldn’t resist raising my hand.”

Joe continued, “In my technology career, I saw Flip Video grow from a relatively obscure idea into the buzz of the Bay Area and beyond. I expect Citizen Schools, which already has had an amazing impact in Silicon Valley and Oakland, to follow a similar trajectory. And while it won’t end up like Flip Video as an acquisition by Cisco Systems, Citizen Schools’ model of education reform will prove ripe for adoption by Sacramento — and by policymakers around the country. That’s scalable impact — what we venture philanthropists, borrowing from startup lingo, might call an ‘exit strategy.’”

Congratulations on this new step, Joe!

Posted in Joe Ross, impact, education