INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – January 23, 2020 – Education nonprofit Teach For America Indianapolis (TFA Indy) recently launched its inaugural Investing in Innovation Fellowship (IN3F), seeking to fund social innovation projects that increase support and learning opportunities for students in low-income communities throughout Indianapolis.

Beginning spring 2020, the selective five-month program provides Fellows with a series of professional development workshops facilitated by local and national organizations that cover topics spanning across project management, entrepreneurship, and fundraising. At the culmination of IN3F, Fellows will be awarded up to $2,500 each to pursue their project.

“We’re committed to cultivating the leadership of our members and their innovative solutions for student success,” said Anna Watson, TFA Indy’s managing director for network impact. “We received many quality applications from leaders seeking to address a wide range of local issues including teacher wellness, youth philanthropy, arts access, and wraparound support for under-resourced or immigrant students. We’re excited to invest in their learning as they leverage community resources and consider systemic solutions.”

“I am excited to join this fellowship of individuals who are solution-oriented, passionate about their work, and can communicate in a way that not only addresses the problems we are facing, but also, the reason that finding a solution benefits everyone,” said Michael Lipphardt, an IN3F fellow and director of operations and finance at Victory College Prep.

Nine local leaders have been selected for the first cohort:

• Leader: Max Glenn, KIPP Indy Unite Elementary
  
  Issue: Arts access
  
   
• Leader: Elyse McNett Goonan, Envisage Technologies
  
  Issue: Youth philanthropy
  
   
• Leader: Shivani Goyal, La Plaza
  
  Issue: Mental health resources for immigrants
  
   
• Leader: Tom Hakim, Washington Woods Elementary School
  
  Issue: Social, emotional and academic growth for highest-need students
  
   
• Leader: Michael Lipphardt, Victory College Prep
  
  Issue: College and career access
  
   
• Leader: Ana Luis, The Excel Center
  
  Issue: Preventing high school discontinuation
  
   
• Leader: Madeline Mason, Metropolitan School District of Washington Township
  
  Issue: Teacher wellness
  
   
• Leaders: Joe Zwiebel and Makayla Imrie, Thomas Carr Howe High School
  
  Issue: Comprehensive mentoring for under-resourced students

For more information on Teach For America Indianapolis, visit teachforamerica.org/where-we-work/indianapolis. For more information on the Investing in Innovation Fellowship, visit teachforamerica.org/in3f.