# Joseph Connor

> Joseph Connor is the founder and CEO of Odyssey, a New York based technology company that helps states run school choice programs like education savings accounts (ESAs). A former classroom teacher at KIPP and Rocketship who went on to Notre Dame Law School and worked on the landmark Espinoza v. Montana Supreme Court case, Connor built Odyssey to make public education dollars easy for families to access. The platform has helped more than 140,000 students across seven states tap into over $375 million in state funding, and raised a $10 million Series A in 2024 led by Tusk Venture Partners with backing from a16z's Katherine Boyle.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Odyssey
- **Organizations:** Odyssey, SchoolHouse, Faegre Drinker (Drinker Biddle & Reath), KIPP, Rocketship Education
- **From:** Suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** J.D., Notre Dame Law School
- **Known for:** Founded Odyssey, described as the leading school choice technology platform, Helped more than 140,000 students across seven states access over $375 million in state education funding, Built what he describes as the first real-time identity verification technology in the country, cutting eligibility confirmation from 30-60 days to under one second

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Began teaching in low-income charter schools, including KIPP, in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and San Jose
- **2012** — School leader fellow and third-grade teacher at Rocketship Education
- **2013** — Entered Notre Dame Law School, researching private school choice and education policy
- **2016** — Earned J.D. from Notre Dame; joined Drinker Biddle & Reath (Faegre Drinker) as an associate advising startups, school networks and nonprofits
- **2020** — Contributed to an amicus brief in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the landmark Supreme Court school choice case; co-founded SchoolHouse as COO
- **2021** — Founded Odyssey to help families access K-12 education funding
- **2022** — Raised $4.75M seed round; a16z (Katherine Boyle) backed the company
- **2024** — Raised $10M Series A led by Tusk Venture Partners; Odyssey operating across multiple states

## Achievements

- Founded Odyssey, described as the leading school choice technology platform
- Helped more than 140,000 students across seven states access over $375 million in state education funding
- Built what he describes as the first real-time identity verification technology in the country, cutting eligibility confirmation from 30-60 days to under one second
- Previously founded SchoolHouse, scaling to roughly 50 microschools across 9 states and raising $8.1M during the pandemic
- Raised a $10M Series A (2024) led by Tusk Venture Partners with a16z, Bling Capital and Cubit Capital
- Worked on Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court school choice case

## Latest updates

- **2024-05** — Odyssey announced a $10 million Series A led by Tusk Venture Partners, with revenue reportedly tripling over the prior year
- **2025-02** — Featured as a speaker at the ASU+GSV Summit, citing 140,000+ students and $375M+ in state funding across seven states

## Links

- Website: https://josephjconnor.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-connor-b6a96a16/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/josephjconnor
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/478148920758105/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joseph-connor
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-16