Established in 1999 by the Ford and W.K. Kellogg Foundations, our founding mandate was to strengthen the pathway to college for underserved students through systemic partnerships between K-12 districts, colleges and universities, businesses and employers, community-based organizations, and government at all levels. Our founding coincided with the creation of the federally-funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) program, and we began working with the U.S. Department of Education to provide professional development for the GEAR UP community. Since then, the program has flourished nationally, and our professional development events have grown from a few hundred participants to over 3,000 people per year. In 2017, we transitioned to an association which reinvigorated our founding principles. Led by expert practitioners and thought leaders, our community is expanding educational opportunities in thousands of schools nationwide and transforming the nation in the process.
