LEEAF First-Gen Fellows: Leaders for Economic Revitalization

Income inequality

Applying a proven solution to a new issue or sector (using an existing model, tool, resource, strategy, etc. for a new purpose)

The disconnect between universities and low-income communities is a major driver of income inequality. This disconnect is both unnecessary and fixable. Across Los Angeles County, universities are powerhouses of innovation and growth. In particular, our Cal States serve a critical mass of first-generation college students from local low-income communities. But many students, especially in the social sciences, struggle to find meaningful and rewarding career opportunities - and when they do, those opportunities often lead them to higher-income areas, perpetuating inequality. At the same time, in the communities these first-gen students come from, small businesses that should be pathways to generational wealth struggle without access to the basic resources to pursue their talents and build wealth. One of their biggest obstacles, confirmed by hundreds of LEEAF interviews, is the lack of highly trained, ambitious workers to drive innovation and help local businesses innovate and compete.

The LEEAF First-Gen Fellows program will directly equip 250+ new students to explore and create opportunities among small businesses in the local low-income communities they come from. The 10 Fellows will become leaders bridging the disconnect between university and community, directly supporting 10 businesses and indirectly benefiting dozens more as they: - Activate the Campus: College success to career leadership. LEEAF works with Fellows to spread resources and improve systems across campus, leveraging course redesigns, campus-wide partnerships, and digital tools to create a broadening circle of success reaching 250+ students. - Bridge the Gap: Career success for community revitalization. 10 Fellows embed with local small businesses, driving growth and community wealth as they secure their own career success. Far beyond classroom learning, students in LEEAF actually manage projects, run effective teams, develop deliverables, and see their skills come to life as they deliver results for the businesses they serve. - Spread Opportunity: Economic outcomes for business & community. Fellows provide the human capital boost small businesses need to succeed, building on LEEAF programs that have already created & retained over 2K jobs in low-income communities. Fellows also serve as catalysts for broader shifts in narrative and policy, working alongside LEEAF to spread innovations among our network of university, community college, and government partners.

Sparking a powerful connection of economic opportunity between LA County’s universities and its low-income entrepreneurs is an efficient strategy for systems change because it leverages billions in current resources to address a problem, creating win-wins to organically build momentum and reach greater scale. LEEAF has already established itself as a leading partner for equity-focused economic development with both LA City and LA County governments. We have also built a coalition of CSUs and community colleges focused on building capacity for innovation in communities. Now we are ready to bring these partnerships together. The First-Gen Fellows program will bring these efforts to the next level, placing the Fellows at the center of a county-wide movement leveraging key players in multiple spaces - higher education, corporate, philanthropic, and economic development systems - to address historic inequalities and advance economic revitalization across the region.

Building on the success of pilot cohorts, LEEAF tracks metrics laser-targeted to the skills and assets that enable people to become engines of local economies, especially career outcomes for first-gen students and business outcomes for local entrepreneurs. Our Lead Faculty leverage expertise in qualitative and quantitative analysis to lead a dynamic evaluation system that captures impact and optimizes programs in real time.
We are committed to matching or exceeding past results: 80+% of participants have told us LEEAF has prepared them to serve as an economic leader spreading skills and resources in their community; 85%+ have told us they have developed the high-level skills to advance in their careers; 90%+ shared that they have built a strong network of support in LEEAF, creating the connections to fuel lifelong success. LEEAF has already served over 1800 businesses and created over 2,000 jobs; the First-Gen Fellows program leverages this success for broader change.