Elizabeth Nieto

The Opportunity Network (OppNet) equips high school and college students with the skills and experiences to harness their power and passions to thrive through college and career. We recognize networks as critical levers for academic and professional success for youth, so we take an innovative approach by underscoring the power of personal connections and professional relationships as vital complements to the skills and experiences OppNet develops in students. Through robust college counseling, intentional engagement with leaders and professionals across industries, intensive training in networking, and experiential learning in various career paths through five summers of internships and enrichment programming, our students are able to harness their agency to achieve their academic and career goals.

Since the pandemic, A Fair Shake has developed a Zoom Reading Aloud to Dogs program in collaboration with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan's remote tutoring program. Children receive tutoring four afternoons a week and, once a week, they read to "their "dog. Reading to dogs has proven to increase children's reading confidence because they do not interrupt, judge, or correct. Supported by trained volunteers and dog-themed books, the dogs are helping the kids most at risk of falling permanently behind in critical literacy skills. A Fair Shake for Youth, founded in 2010, is a 501(c)3 uses the untapped power of therapy dogs to help underserved middle school aged youth build greater empathy and self-esteem and reduce bullying. A social and emotional learning program, A Fair Shake partners with schools and community organizations in low-income neighborhoods in New York City. Once a week for 10 weeks three therapy dog teams and an instructor work with groups of students in a program whose curriculum combines hands-on work with the dogs with a discussion of a dog related topic. As the kids learn to give commands, teach tricks, and try basic agility - encouraging a dog through a tunnel or over a jump they practice positive reinforcement, see the impact of verbal and non-verbal communication, and experience the power of relationships based on trust and respect. As they learn about animal shelters, rescue and second chances and breed discrimination they make connections to their own life experience and choices. The dogs, honest, non-judgmental and living in the moment make if safe for the youth to let their guard down. As participants learn about the dogs they learn about themselves and each other in ways that open up more possibilities for their own life. The kids tell us that they surprised that the dogs like them, that the dogs listen to them, that they are good with the dogs.

Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity—by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it. Spotify transformed music listening forever when it launched in Sweden in 2008. Discover, manage and share over 70m tracks for free, or upgrade to Spotify Premium to access exclusive features including offline mode, improved sound quality, and an ad-free music listening experience. Today, Spotify is the most popular global audio streaming service with 365m users, including 165m subscribers across 178 markets. We are the largest driver of revenue to the music business today.

The All Stars Project is changing the national dialogue about how to meaningfully impact the lives of people growing up and living in poverty, and the role that "outside-of-school" plays in preparing inner-city youth for success in their lives. At All Stars, inner-city youth participate in hip-hop talent shows, leadership training in partnership with the business community, an internationally award-winning police-community relations program, and more. We have transformed our unique, community-based and grassroots programs, founded in NYC in 1981, into a growing movement reaching 20,000 inner-city youth and families each year in 6 cities. We have become one of the country's leading Afterschool Development organizations, creating a new national model that uses performance as our approach to helping kids and their families grow on and off the stage, and bridge-building through volunteer and direct partnership initiatives between our generous supporters, their families, and the youth of All Stars. To become more involved, link with our page and visit us at www.allstars.org.

The Opportunity Network (OppNet) equips high school and college students with the skills and experiences to harness their power and passions to thrive through college and career. We recognize networks as critical levers for academic and professional success for youth, so we take an innovative approach by underscoring the power of personal connections and professional relationships as vital complements to the skills and experiences OppNet develops in students. Through robust college counseling, intentional engagement with leaders and professionals across industries, intensive training in networking, and experiential learning in various career paths through five summers of internships and enrichment programming, our students are able to harness their agency to achieve their academic and career goals.