Jennifer Curry (MPA 2007) on helping social impact organizations advance equity

The following article was created by the NYU Alumni Association (NYUAA) as part of their annual Alumni Awards in recognition of University-wide graduates who are making an impact.

Jennifer Curry, EdD, founded Change Impact in 2017 to help social impact organizations achieve results and advance equity. Since then, Change Impact has trained nearly 30,000 professionals, raised more than $190 million in grants for nonprofits and schools, and designed program and equity strategies for more than 90 partners. Curry was named a Next 1,000 up-and-coming entrepreneur by Forbes magazine and is a regular featured author and speaker on equity in youth work.

Jennifer Curry, EdD, founded Change Impact in 2017 to help social impact organizations achieve results and advance equity. Since then, Change Impact has trained nearly 30,000 professionals, raised more than $190 million in grants for nonprofits and schools, and designed program and equity strategies for more than 90 partners. Change Impact’s projects include partnering with the City of New York to build a summer learning program for more than 100,000 students and launching Change Up Learning to support on-demand professional development for educators and youth workers.

Prior to starting Change Impact, Curry was the inaugural NYC Director of Samaschool, an innovative job training program focused on incorporating education about freelancing into traditional workforce programs. Curry previously served as COO of ExpandED Schools, an intermediary organization that supports schools and community groups in designing and operating after-school programs. She is currently an adjunct professor of Youth Studies at CUNY’s School for Professional Studies.

Curry grew up in Queens, NY, is a product of New York City public schools, and is a first-generation college graduate, who earned a master’s degree in nonprofit management and a doctorate in education leadership from New York University. She was named a 2018 Rising Latino Star by the New York State Hispanic Coalition. In 2020, she was selected to participate in the Stanford University Latinx Entrepreneurship program, representing the one percent of Latinx entrepreneurs nationwide who scale a business, and in 2021 she was named a Next 1,000 up-and-coming entrepreneur by Forbes magazine. Curry has served as a featured author and speaker on equity in youth work for the National Afterschool Association and Afterschool Matters journal.