social-emotional-learning
(4)
Patrick Cook-Deegan
Patrick Cook-Deegan is the founder and CEO of Wayfinder, a K-12 curriculum company that teaches purpose, belonging, and durable skills to more than 1.5 million students across roughly 4,000 schools. A former All-American lacrosse player turned human-rights advocate in Burma, wilderness guide, and Stanford d.school fellow, he built Wayfinder out of five years teaching character development in an Oakland public high school. He named the company after the ancient Polynesian navigators who crossed oceans without instruments - his bet on how to redesign the American high school for the 21st century.
Rupa Gupta
Rupa Chandra Gupta is the cofounder and CEO of Sown To Grow, a K-12 edtech platform that puts students in charge of their own learning through goal-setting, progress tracking, and structured reflection. A former Bain consultant turned school administrator, she co-founded the company in 2015 after witnessing firsthand the gap in tools that gave students genuine ownership over their education. Sown To Grow has raised over $5M in venture funding and serves districts across the United States, with measurable outcomes including record-breaking graduation rates in Stockton Unified School District.
Elinor Huang
Elinor (Wen-Hsin) Huang is the Founder and CEO of MEandMine, a San Jose-based AI-powered mental health platform for K-12 students that uses gamified, neuroscience-backed tools to help children build emotional regulation skills before crises emerge. Motivated by the loss of an MIT classmate to suicide and the 11-year average gap between symptom onset and treatment, she built MEandMine into a certified B Corp with partnerships spanning Google, Stanford Medicine, and the NYC Department of Education, and raised $6.6M in venture funding including a $4.5M round in June 2024.
Ilana Nankin
Dr. Ilana Nankin is the Founder & CEO of Breathe For Change, a San Francisco-based organization that has trained over 15,000 educators in mindfulness, social-emotional learning, and yoga — reaching an estimated 1-5 million students across the United States. A former Pre-K teacher turned Ph.D. researcher turned movement builder, she launched Breathe For Change in 2015 after her own students demanded she formally train them. Her organization runs the world's only 200-hour Mindfulness, SEL & Yoga Teacher Training designed exclusively for educators, a Master's in Human-Centered Education in partnership with William Jewell College, and an expanding professional development platform for schools and districts.