Accelerator
Accelerator
2022 Yass Prize Miami Accelerator Industry Experts
The 2022 Yass Prize Semifinalists are invited to an exclusive in-person accelerator in Miami, Florida to culminate their four week bootcamp experience. Semifinalists will engage with and learn from Yass Prize alumni, mentors, business leaders, and investors with the goal of honing their three minute pitch for the panel of judges at the end of the week. We are thrilled to introduce our 2022 Yass Prize Miami speakers.

Patricia Brantley
CEO of Friendship Schools
Yass Prize Fellow

Jeb Bush
Chairman, ExcelinEd

Renee Delos Santos
Marcom Lead, The Times Group

Mike Hoque
CEO, Hoque Global

Manny Diaz
Education Commissioner, State of Florida

Jamie Candee
CEO, Edmentum

Michael Moe
Founder and CEO, GSV

Michael Sorrell
President, Paul Quinn College

Jane Swift
Operating Partner, The Vistria Group

Christopher Simmonds
Principal, CARE Elementary

Sung-Ae Yang
Co-Founder, Rock by Rock

Fernando Zulueta
Founder and CEO, Academica

Taylor Shead
CEO of STEMuli
Yass Prize Fellow

Antonio Roca
Managing Director, Academica Virtual Education

Michael Carter
Founder and CEO, BizEquity

Debi Crimmins
Senior Vice President, Advocacy and External Affairs, Edmentum

Jason Mitchell
Leadership, Advocacy, and External Affairs, Edmentum

Sam Caucci
Founder & CEO, 1Huddle

Marty McClure
Director, Corporate Strategy, Edmentum

Jeffrey Imrich
Co-Founder, Rock by Rock

Jeanne Allen
Founder and CEO, The Center for Education Reform

Rob Blevins
Executive Director, Discovery Center of Springfield

Michael Musante
Executive Vice President, Center for Education Reform
Our newest endeavor – that was part of our Yass Prize initiative – we're bringing career and technical education into the school
I'm in the process of going through the construction of a 20,000 square foot $11.5 million dollar building dedicated to career and technical education for the students in the Philadelphia region.
Everyone knows that without great education, our nation suffers.
Great education is a vital link for students to become successful citizens.
Because of the Yass Prize, we were able to add an additional pre-K classroom.
Being a part of the [Yass] family confirmed that what I'm doing is right,
going against the common core and focusing on what we know is important for kids really works, and having a network of people now that also agree was super huge.
The Yass Award is about celebrating and rewarding those who make students the priority.”
One of the missions of the Yass Prize and the Yass Prize movement is really surfacing best practices in innovation—
in innovators who are doing this type of transformational work, so that others can learn from it and replicate it, so that you can actually grow yourselves.
Education is one of the most fundamental pillars for democratizing opportunities for success that we have in our society.
It’s thanks to organizations like the Yass Prize that our children are going to have a better tomorrow.
The Yass Prize is truly changing the landscape of education options across the nation,
and I couldn't be more grateful for what it's done for us, and helping us serve more students and families.
Being a part of the [Yass] family confirmed that what I'm doing is right,
focusing on what we know is important for kids really works, and having a network of people now that also agree was super huge.
Being a part of this experience has amplified the access we can give to our students in a way that nothing has, and the access is just critical.
The Yass Prize is almost like Burning Man for education reform.
It might be the first time you’re speaking where everyone is actually listening and cares about what you’re doing.
I don’t think I’ve been in a room as supportive as the Yass Prize Semifinalist room in Miami.
Yass brought us together, creating opportunities to create an educational universe within which we can look at education differently…
we have to find academic experiences that represent neuro-divergent learners, kids who want to learn about gaming, who want to do stuff online, who dropped out of school.