About Us

About Us

icouldbe.org mentors the next generation through the Internet. icouldbe.org is an award-winning 501(c)3 non-profit that steers underserved teens toward careers they never imagined and toward their futures - by linking teens electronically to mentors in a wide range of careers..

It is well known that many highly successful people benefited from the wisdom and guidance of a mentor. That guidance helped them make satisfying career choices and become leaders in their fields. Yet, too few young Americans benefit from such guides and thus cannot envision, and do not plan for, their futures. This lack of support is most evident during the high school years, when many young people begin to think seriously about a career. Too many American high school students:

Can't Explore. With caseloads as high as 1,000 students per counselor, guidance counselors are too overburdened to effectively advise students on their futures. High school students receive less than 3 hours of career counseling over 4 years.
Don't Connect. There are over 16,000,000 American youths that need mentors and only 4,000,000 mentors.
Never Grasp. Students know very little about various professions and unwittingly choose the wrong career path.

icouldbe.org has devised an award-winning solution to the dilemma by developing a web-based resource through which skilled professionals mentor, and career planning tools point, America's underserved teens toward the futures they want. For instance, if a high school sophomore is interested in art, he/she can speak directly with graphic designers, high school art teachers, architects, painters, industrial artists, web site designers and other professional artists about their work. Also, that sophomore utilizes various online tools to chart and develop his/her career ambitions. By using icouldbe.org, a high school student can:

Explore career possibilities, using icouldbe.org's extensive database.
Connect with several of icouldbe.org's career mentors representing numerous professions.
Grasp and move closer to attaining the professional life s/he wants through online discussions with career mentors and utilizing icouldbe.org's career planning tools.

icouldbe.org has served over 4,000 at-risk teens in fourteen states and 80 schools with 1,500 nationally recruited e-mentors. icouldbe.org’s safe online environment and curriculum meet the National Mentoring Partnership’s Twelve Elements of Effective E-Mentoring, the U.S. Department of Labor’s SCANS Competencies & Foundation Skills and the American School Counselor Association’s Career Development Standards. E*Trade Bank, Goldman Sachs and Tiger Woods Learning Center have partnered with icouldbe.org to serve 100s of teens. icouldbe.org’s other partners include America’s Promise, National Mentoring Partnership, NYC YMCA and others. Reader’s Digest, Business Week, Computerworld Magazine and TimeOut New York are just a few of the publications that have featured icouldbe.org. Also, icouldbe.org won the prestigious Computerworld Award for using information technology that produces and promotes positive social change.

MENTEES

Hundreds of youths (who we call "mentees") - from inner-city high schools to Native American reservations to residential homes for teens in trouble with the law - have used and/or are using the website. Our mentees are disadvantaged and from low-income families, go to schools that lack sufficient capital and human resources, are at-risk of dropping out of school and/or have dropped out and are trying to find their way in life. Despite these conditions, we've experienced great success! Click here to read about some of our mentee success stories.

E-MENTORS

Hundreds of e-mentors - representing hundreds of career paths, from nearly every state in the union - work with icouldbe.org's mentees. Moreover, our e-mentors can serve more students than non-electronic mentors because each e-mentor can work with up to five youths. Here's a partial list of icouldbe.org's current e-mentors:

accountant, actor advertising copywriter, aid to state legislator, air force officer, archaeologist, architect, artist, astrophysicist, author, brand manager, business analyst, calligrapher, cardiothoracic surgeon, carpenter, clinical social worker, coach, college professor, community finance developer, computer engineer, congressional aide, construction engineer, corporate banker, department of defense contractor, dancer, director of education non-profit, doctor, education consultant, e-learning specialist, entrepreneur, environmental consultant, executive coach, fashion designer, fashion sales person, federal law clerk, filmmaker, financial consultant, fiscal and policy analyst, flight attendant, flight instructor, foreign affairs specialist, government contractor, government policy analyst, graphic designer, health policy PhD student, high school counselor, horticulturist, housing planner, illustrator, in-house counsel, infectious disease specialist, interior designer, etc.

SUPPORTERS

In addition to our individual supporters, icouldbe.org would also like to thank The Bodman & Achelis Foundations, The Dammann Fund, E*Trade Bank, Fleet Bank, Goldman Sachs, The MCJ Foundation, NYMEX, Shiffman Foundation and the YMCA of NYC for their generous support.

SCHOOLS AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
SERVED BY ICOULDBE.ORG

Modoc High, Alturas, CA
Anaheim ROP, Anaheim, CA
Anaheim High, Anaheim, CA
Western High, Anaheim, CA
Gahr High, Cerritos, CA
Downey High, Downey, CA
Project ACE, El Centro, CA
Project STAR, El Centro, CA
Temescal Canyon High, Lake Elsinore, CA
Jordan Freshman Acad., Long Beach, CA
Jordan Senior High, Long Beach, CA
Foshay Learning Center, Los Angeles, CA
YWCA of Greater L.A., Los Angeles, CA
Menlo-Atherton High, Menlo Park, CA
Milpitas High, Milpitas, CA
Moorpark High, Moorpark, CA
Canyon Springs High, Moreno Valley, CA
Newark High, Newark, CA
Boys and Girls Club, Oakland, CA
Pasadena High, Pasadena, CA
YWCA of Pasadena, Pasadena, CA
Porterville High, Porterville, CA
Richmond High, Richmond, CA
La Sierra High, Riverside, CA
Ramona High, Riverside, CA
Grant High, Sacramento, CA
Highlands High, Sacramento, CA
Hiram Johnson High, Sacramento, CA
Sunnymead Middle, San Bernardino, CA
Cordova High, San Diego, CA
Hilltop High, San Diego, CA
Hoover High, San Diego, CA
School of Business, San Diego, CA
Philip Sala Burton High, San Francisco, CA
Life Learning Academy, San Francisco, CA
Mission High, San Francisco, CA
Gunderson High, San Jose, CA
Andrew Hill High, San Jose, CA
Yerba Buena High, San Jose, CA
Santa Barbara High, Santa Barbara, CA
Seaside High, Seaside, CA
Banning High, Torrance, CA
MIT Academy, Vallejo, CA
Vallejo High, Vallejo, CA
Watsonville High, Watsonville, CA
Bunnell High, Stratford, CT
Stratford High, Stratford, CT
Chicago High High Ag. Sci., Chicago, IL
Bent. Harbor GEAR UP, Benton Harbor, MI
King Science & Tech, Omaha, NE
Jobs NH Grads, Berlin, NH
Jobs NH Grads, Exeter, NH
Jobs NH Grads, Farmington, NH
Jobs NH Grads, Laconia, NH
Jobs NH Grads, Manchester, NH
Jobs NH Grads, Merrimack Valley, NH
West Side High, Newark, NJ
I Have A Dream, Bronx, NY
HSTAT, Brooklyn, NY
Lilian Rashkis High, Brooklyn, NY
Tilden High, Brooklyn, NY
Vocational Training Center, Brooklyn, NY
Robert Wagner High, Long Island City, NY
La Guardia High, NY, NY
Westside YMCA, NY, NY
Community Services Cnsrt., Corvallis, OR
Simon Gratz High, Philadelphia, PA
Todd County Middle, Rosebud, SD
Todd County Senior, Rosebud, SD
AADC, Atascosa, TX
AADC, Boerne, TX
AADC, Comal, TX
AADC, Floresville, TX
AADC, Frio, TX
AADC, Guadalupe, TX
AADC, Guadalupe, TX
AADC, Medina, TX
AADC, Medina, TX
No. Cntral TX Workforce, Mineral Wells, TX
People Inc., Bristol, VA
JH Johnson Junior High, Washington, DC

Kate Schrauth, Executive Director

Kate Schrauth, Executive Director of icouldbe.org and former Chair of the icouldbe.org Board of Directors, has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has played a variety of leadership roles including founder and director, development director, and board member. Most recently she was Director of Development for Jumpstart’s Mid-Atlantic Region. Previously, Kate was the Director of Development at the Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University. While well known for her fund development background, her skills are a balance of program design and managing strategic growth of young and entrepreneurial organizations. From 1996 to 1999 she was the Director of Development and Director of New Programs at Harvard Student Agencies at Harvard University, an entrepreneurial student organization with earned income revenues grossing over $6 million a year. Prior to her work at academic institutions, she co-founded and directed Artists for Humanity, an arts and entrepreneurial organization serving hundreds of at-risk, urban youth from Boston Public schools. Kate attended Boston University majoring in the field of Political Science.

Nathaniel Calhoun, Director of Education

Nathaniel Calhoun, Director of Education for icouldbe.org, has spent the last several years as an educator in the developing world. He headed the English Department at Gambia's top private high school and prior to that, he designed courses in English, Philosophy, History and Debate at a private Lebanese high school. At both institutions he focused on curriculum revision and development and will have similar responsibilities with icouldbe.org. He spent the last academic year co-leading the African Aids Awareness Campaign, which traveled by road down the western coast of Africa, exploring the different ways that individuals and organizations fight HIV/AIDS. Before departing for Africa and the Middle East, he received his BA in English, Philosophy and Religion and his MA in Literature from the University of Pennsylvania.

Michelle Derosier, Associate Director of Programs

Michelle is excited to be the Associate Director of Programs with the icouldbe family. She greatly enjoys interacting with the people who bring icouldbe to life – the mentees, mentors and teachers. Prior to icouldbe.org, Michelle was a Site Coordinator and Teacher Evaluator with the K-12 division of Kaplan, inc., ensuring that nearly 150 students receive academic support in well-organized, safe, and engaging learning environments. Michelle has a BA in psychology and has extensive experience in crisis counseling, having worked in and supervised a hotline and walk in center for five years. She is an innovator who has spearheaded a variety of projects. Over the years, she has founded an adult literacy ESL program, organized a production of Eve Ensler's 'The Vagina Monologues' to raise funds for Safehorizon, and is in the process of establishing a gender violence prevention and peer training program, specifically geared towards middle school boys. In addition, Michelle is currently fulfilling a five-year-old dream of creating a one-stop shop website catering to interracial and intercultural relationships. Her recent proudest achievement is directing and launching the Tanzania, East Africa pilot – icouldbe's first venture into the international forum. She looks forward to advancing her role with icouldbe as trailblazers of the international e-mentoring phenomenon.

Jake Kersey, Program Manager

Jake has worked with children as an educator, coach, mentor, and brother his entire life. He received a BA in American History & Literature from Harvard University. Prior to joining the icouldbe team, Jake directed tutoring programs in New York’s South Bronx and Washington Heights neighborhoods, combating academic underperformance in the primary grades by partnering with families and teachers to emphasize holistic educational solutions. In his uncaged time, Jake is a freelance writer and amateur environmentalist. He is obsessed with hamburgers.

Ramon Henriquez, Office Manager

As the associate business manager Ramon ensures that all staff members have everything they need to facilitate their job as well as monitoring all office equipment and making sure they are working properly. He is also responsible for all accounting related tasks concerning icouldbe.org. Ramon is currently working on his B.A. in Criminal Justice from St. John’s University. His experience as a tutor has helped him understand the true needs of inner city students across the city as he is able incorporate those needs to the main concept of icouldbe.org. Ramon’s hobbies include making long-distance phone calls to talk baseball with his father, and driving to unknown destinations.

Bill Silverman, Chief Technology Officer

Bill Silverman, Chief Technology Officer, is responsible for the development and maintenance of the icouldbe.org website and database. Bill has a B.S. in Physics from SUNY Stony Brook. After a corporate career as an Engineering Director responsible for managing software and hardware development, Bill started his own business as a programmer and consultant. Bill has over 12 years of programming experience working with online communities, including many non-profits. His programming skills include ASP, ASP.NET, VB, Perl, PHP, and Javascript. He has developed dozens of websites and desktop applications that use SQL server, MS Access and MySQL databases. Bill has been part of the icouldbe.org team since 2001.



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