New York, NY - DonorsChoose, a national education equity nonprofit, appointed three new directors to its board at their October 2024 meeting. Shan-Lyn Ma, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Zola; Pedro Noguera, Dean of the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California; and Nasir Qadree, Founder & Managing Partner at Zeal Capital Partners, join the DonorsChoose board as the organization reaches a $1.7 billion fundraising milestone for classroom resources for public schools across the country.
Ma, Noguera, and Qadree join the DonorsChoose board as the terms of directors Mitch Cohen, Kristie Jones, Desiree Rogers, Trabian Shorters, and Jeff Weiner come to a close. “I'm so grateful to each of the board members whose contributions have helped to shape DonorsChoose and will continue to provide inspiration for our work,” shared DonorsChoose CEO Alix Guerrier. “I'm especially thankful for the support and guidance each of them provided to help me settle into my role as CEO in the last few years.”
DonorsChoose, founded by former Bronx educator Charles Best, launched as a website where public school teachers could post requests for classroom resources. Best’s colleagues posted the first 11 projects. Since then, teachers at nearly 90% of US public schools have requested resources through DonorsChoose.
“I am excited by the unlimited potential of DonorsChoose to match everyone from individual donors to charitable foundations with the projects, geographies, and domain-specific areas they are looking to impact, while fulfilling the urgent requests teachers need in order to do their work,” noted new board member Shan-Lyn Ma.
Board member Nasir Qadree shared, “I’m excited to support an organization that ensures resources flow directly to classrooms where they can make the greatest impact, allowing kids to dream big, sparking potential, and possibility in young minds.”
As America’s classrooms continue to recover from the learning impacts of COVID-19, DonorsChoose and its community of supporters are playing a vital role in ensuring students and teachers have the resources they need to excel. “Despite its flaws, public education continues to be critical to American democracy. Only an educated public can ensure that our rights are protected and that the problems facing our society and the world will be addressed with intelligence and courage,” affirmed board member Pedro Noguera.
DonorsChoose is grateful for the service of these new leaders on its board of directors and their commitment to realizing our vision of becoming a nation where every student, in every community, has the tools and experiences they need for a great education.
Shan-Lyn Ma (Co-Founder & CEO of Zola)
Shan-Lyn Ma is Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Zola, the wedding company reinventing the wedding planning experience by combining compassionate customer service with smart tools and technology. Since launching in 2013, Zola has supported millions of couples on their journey from engagement to wedding and newlywed life. Zola has been named one of The Wall Street Journal’s Top 25 Tech Companies to Watch, and one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.
Before founding Zola, Shan was Chief Product Officer of Chloe + Isabel. Prior to that, Shan was Gilt Groupe’s first Product Lead where she led key new business launches, including their successful foray into mobile. Additionally, she was Creator and General Manager of Gilt Taste, the brand’s food and wine division. Before her time at Gilt, Shan held product and marketing roles at Yahoo. She holds a degree in BCommerce with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and an MBA from Stanford University.
Pedro Noguera (Dean, University of Southern California Rossier School of Education)
Pedro Noguera is the Dean of the Rossier School of Education at USC. Previously he held endowed chairs at UCLA, NYU, Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of 15 books. His most recent book A Search for Common Ground with Rick Hess was the winner of the American Association of Publishers Prose Award in 2021. Noguera serves as an advisor to several states, school districts, foundations, NGOs and nonprofits. In 2014 he was elected to the National Academy of Education and Phi Delta Kappa honor society. In 2020 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Born in New York City to Caribbean immigrants, Noguera is the father of five children, and grandfather to five.
Nasir Qadree (Founder & Managing Partner at Zeal Capital Partners)
Nasir C. Qadree is Founder and Managing Partner of Zeal Capital Partners, a leading mission driven venture capital firm based in Washington, DC that invests in high-growth, early-stage businesses across the future of learning and work, financial technology and health equity categories. He guides the firm’s focus, leads investment activities, and manages post-value creation strategies for its portfolio companies. Zeal is focused on executing a differentiated investment mandate coined “Inclusive Investing™" which allows Zeal to cast a wide scope when sourcing companies, while keeping outsized returns and impact front-and-center. The firm has been touted as one of the ImpactAssets 50 for three years in a row.
Prior to Zeal, Qadree served as Associate Director for AT&T's Aspire Social Investment Fund, where he oversaw direct investments in education and employment technology companies. Prior to AT&T, he led Village Capital's US Economic Opportunity portfolio and served as its Global Head of Education investments. Qadree began his career in the public markets at Goldman Sachs and State Street Corporation.
He’s a 2023 graduate of Kauffman Fellows, an internationally acclaimed venture capital fellowship. Qadree is deeply involved in philanthropy, through his mission to completing 51 full marathons, in all 50 states and D.C. — having already completed 19 — to raise $1 million in scholarship funding for first-generation college students. Qadree has been named a 2024 DEIC Power100 Asset Manager honoree, a 2022 Venture Capital Journal Rising Star, a 2018 Washington Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient, and a 2023 & 2024 Washingtonian Tech Titan. He has been featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Fortune Magazine.
Outside of Zeal, Qadree is an avid vinyl collector and DJ’s 100% vinyl records. He holds a BA from Hampton University, from which he graduated magna cum laude. The Atlanta native currently resides in Washington, DC with his wife Chloe and son Myel.
About DonorsChoose
DonorsChoose is the leading way to give to public schools. Since 2000, 6 million people and partners have contributed $1.7 billion to support 3 million teacher requests for learning resources and experiences. As the most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors, and district administrators alike, DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to the teacher, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Charity Navigator and GuideStar have awarded DonorsChoose, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, their highest ratings for transparency and accountability. For more information, visit www.donorschoose.org.
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