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Launch Event

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2023-24 Tools Competition

Launch Event

September 21, 2023 | 12-1 PM ET | Virtual

Replay the Launch Event

Join us for the 2023–24 Launch Event

The Tools Competition is a multi-million dollar funding opportunity for edtech tools tackling the most pressing issues for learners worldwide and catalyzing learning science research at scale. The 2023-24 Tools Competition launched on September 21, 2023 with a virtual event marking the official start of the annual cycle. This year’s Tools Competition will award millions of dollars to the most innovative technologies supporting learners worldwide—and we expect this cycle’s prize purse to be the largest yet.

Replay the Launch Event to hear from Tools Competition sponsors and leaders in the edtech space, learn about this cycle's tracks that span Pre-K through adult learning, and discover what made previous winners successful.

learning resources

Agenda

Opening

Kumar Garg, Schmidt Futures

Keynote Address

Dr. M. Brian Blake, President of Georgia State University

Tools Competition Overview

Kumar Garg, Schmidt Futures

A Word from our Sponsors: Introduction to Tracks

Featured Competition Partners

The OpenAI Learning Impact Prize

Sherry Lachman, OpenAI

Winners Highlights

Closing & Next Steps

Kumar Garg, Schmidt Futures

Speakers

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Kumar Garg

President
Renaissance Philanthropy
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Kumar Garg

Kumar Garg

President

Renaissance Philanthropy

Kumar Garg is President of Partnerships at Schmidt Futures where he helps all major Schmidt Futures programs find successful leverage and also runs the Technology and Society portfolio. He previously shaped science and technology policy for the Obama Administration, serving in a variety of roles in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Garg led the Obama Administration’s efforts to bolster STEM education, and was involved in policy development, implementation, and communication for a wide range of science and technology issues. Prior to this, he worked on behalf of parents and children seeking educational reform as an education lawyer and advocate. He has a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Yale Law School.
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Caitlin Mills

Associate Professor
University of Minnesota
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Caitlin Mills

Associate Professor

University of Minnesota

Caitlin Mills has a PhD in Cognitive Psychology, and her research focuses on constructs related to mind wandering and engagement during learning and in everyday life contexts. She aims to characterize when mind wandering occurs, how it influences learning, and ways to automatically detect it in real-time. Other research interests include the influence of mind wandering in ubiquitous tasks such as driving and how it relates to functional aspects of our lives such as affect, mental health, boredom, and creativity.
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Dr. M. Brian Blake

President
Georgia State University
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Dr. M. Brian Blake

President

Georgia State University

As the eighth President of Georgia State University, Dr. M. Brian Blake leads the State of Georgia’s largest university spanning 6 campuses and a community of nearly 53,000 students and 8,000 faculty and staff. Georgia State is the most ethnically and socioeconomically diverse Research-1 institution in the Nation. With more than 23,000 African-American students, the university graduates more African-American students than any other non-profit institution in the Nation.   Dr. Blake introduced a strategic vision for Georgia State that emphasizes four pillars: Identity, Placemaking, & Belonging, Research, Scholarship, & Creativity, Student Success, and College to Careers. Georgia State’s newly adopted strategic plan, “The Blueprint to 2033 – Our Place, Our Time”, sets a path for the university to continue to enhance its academic excellence and student success, scholarship and creativity, and campus vibrancy.   During Dr. Blake’s tenure, Georgia State University has set several new milestones. With its increasing reputation, the university received the largest number of applications ever for admission to its Fall 2023 entering class. In the same year, the research enterprise exceeded $200 million in sponsor awards – the highest in history. Dr. Blake oversaw the acquisition of more than $55 Million in government support for a new 120,000 square foot Research Tower that will break ground in 2024 and open in 2026.   In FY22, the university also raised a one-year amount of more than $100 Million in philanthropic gifts for the first time in history. An advocate for campus experience, Dr. Blake is leading the effort to establish new interconnected green spaces and enhanced facilities to activate the center of Georgia State’s downtown campus. Prior to Georgia State, Dr. Blake had over 22 years of faculty and administrative experience across 5 comprehensive research universities including Provost at George Washington University and Drexel University, dean at the University of Miami, and associate dean for research at the University of Notre Dame. During the first 10 years of his academic career, he was professor and later department chair of Computer Science at Georgetown University.   Dr. Blake serves on the Board of Directors for Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation, Metro-Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement of Georgia, and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. Dr. Blake has been included on the 2022 and 2023 lists of the Georgia 500 – The State’s Most Influential Leaders as well as recognized as a 2023 Most Admired CEO.   Dr. Blake has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Mercer University, and a Ph.D. in Software Engineering from George Mason University. Blake grew up in Savannah, Ga., and attended Benedictine Military Academy. He and his wife, Bridget, have two sons, Brendan and Bryce.
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Dr. Joanna Cannon, PhD

Fellow
Walton Family Foundation
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Dr. Joanna Cannon, PhD

Fellow

Walton Family Foundation

Joanna Cannon works on the K-12 education team, supporting grantmaking for both the K-12 program area and Alice Walton. Before joining the foundation, Joanna was the chief operating officer for PENCIL, an education non-profit. Prior, she was the chief strategic officer for the division of Talent, Labor and Innovation at the NYC Department of Education, the largest school system in the nation. Joanna holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Columbia University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago.
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Josh Elder

Vice President & Head of Grantmaking
Siegel Family Endowment
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Josh Elder

Vice President & Head of Grantmaking

Siegel Family Endowment

Joshua Elder is the Vice President & Head of Grantmaking at Siegel Family Endowment, which explores the impact of technology on society across learning, infrastructure, and workforce. Joshua oversees strategic investments and partnerships across each of SFE's portfolio areas. Prior to SFE, Joshua was Director of Strategic Initiatives at CSforALL, one of SFE's partner organizations, where he led strategic efforts to help build the capacity of school districts and other education agencies to provide computer science education to all students. Prior to that, Joshua spent 10+ years in domestic and international education with a focus on science education, instructional leadership, and pedagogy. Joshua is a co-founder of a network of low-cost private schools operating in South Africa and Kenya. Joshua has a Master's in Public Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, an M.Ed. from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BS from Longwood University.
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Alvin Irby

Founder & Executive Director
Barbershop Books
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Alvin Irby

Founder & Executive Director

Barbershop Books

Alvin Irby is an early childhood educator and social entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience designing and implementing reading curriculum and programs as a kindergarten and first grade teacher, as a nonprofit Education Director, and as the Founder of Barbershop Books. Irby's work as the Chief Learning Architect for Reading So Lit focuses on cultivating the reading identity of children and improving non-academic levers of reading success. Alvin Irby earned an M.S. in Childhood Education from Bank Street Graduate School of Education, an MPA from the Wager School of Public Service at New York University and a BA in Sociology from Grinnell College.
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Sherry Lachman

Head of Social Impact
OpenAI
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sherry profile

Sherry Lachman

Head of Social Impact

OpenAI

Sherry Lachman is the Head of Social Impact at OpenAI.
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Snow Li

Program Officer, Early Learning
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
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Snow Li

Snow Li

Program Officer, Early Learning

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Snow Li is a Program Officer on the Early Learning team, where she focuses on data systems and assessments. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, Snow worked as a Management Consultant with Boston Consulting Group, completing projects in their Social Impact and People and Organization practices. Snow was also an elementary special education teacher and a member of the Assessment Team at ANet, where she designed early elementary assessments, instructional resources, and PD. Snow earned her BA from Princeton University and MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Katie McCarthy

Assistant Professor
Georgia State University
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Katie McCarthy

Assistant Professor

Georgia State University

Kathryn S. McCarthy is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Learning Sciences at Georgia State University. Her research explores the higher-order processes involved in learning from content-rich text with emphasis on how these processes vary across disciplines and across learners. She is interested in how we can use technology to study and support learning and how educational technology can be leveraged to make learning more effective and equitable.
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Bryan Richardson

Senior Program Officer
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
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Bryan Richardson

Bryan Richardson

Senior Program Officer

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bryan Richardson is a Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where he leads investments for the K-12 Education R&D focused on education technology and increasing the availability of data critical to R&D, analytics, and personalization. Previously, Bryan co-founded UPD Consulting, a management and technology consulting firm focused on organizational reform in K-12 Education across the US. From 2004-2007, Bryan served as the Director of SchoolStat for the Baltimore City Public School System and from 2001-2003 served on the US Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works. Bryan is a native of Oklahoma, received a B.A. in International Studies from Emory University and a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
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Kavindya Thennakoon

Co-Founder & Head of Product
Tilli
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Kavindya Thennakoon

Co-Founder & Head of Product

Tilli

Kavindya is the Co-Founder/Head of Product at Tilli. She obtained her MSc. in Learning, Design, and Technology from Stanford University where she was awarded the Dean’s Fellowship, and her BA from Wellesley College, MA in Anthropology. Prior to Tilli, she worked for companies like Meta, 2U, MIT Media Lab, and Coursera, researching and building high-impact learning tools that have reached over a billion learners.

Additional speaker announcements forthcoming

More About the Tools Competition

In 2020, the Tools Competition first solicited individuals and organizations worldwide to fund edtech tools, technologies, and platforms to address pressing problems and opportunities in education and to build the field of learning engineering.

Now in its fourth annual cycle, the Tools Competition has funded nearly $10 million to edtech innovations that leverage digital technology, data, and learning science to meet the urgent needs of learners around the world. To date, 80 previous winners—composed of entrepreneurs, researchers, educators, and students—from 35 countries are poised to impact more than 107 million learners by 2026.

The Tools Competition invites participation from individuals and teams from all backgrounds and phases of development—from early stage ideas to established products. Join us for this year’s cycle and bring your impactful idea to life!

Phase II of the 2025 Tools Competition is open. Proposals are due Jan 16, 2025.