
Braven
Model & Strategy
Braven empowers promising young people on their path to college graduation and strong first jobs. We believe that our next generation of leaders will emerge from everywhere, so we take a particular interest in ensuring our talent network is filled with people from underrepresented backgrounds. To do so, Braven partners with educational institutions, volunteer professionals, and employers to offer The Braven Accelerator–a rigorous and relevant career readiness course–followed by robust campus-based alumni programming. The hybrid online and in-person course is targeted as a part of the sophomore or transfer junior experience.
Braven Fellows will learn the hard and soft skills companies and organizations want and practice them in mock professional settings; apply skills to solve real-world challenges with a cohort of peers; receive small group and one-on-one coaching from a local professional to achieve personal and professional goals; and expand their circle of champions to include motivated peers, supportive adults, and respected thought leaders.



Aimée Eubanks Davis was inspired to start Braven based on her deep passion and belief that our next generation of leaders will emerge from everywhere. Growing up in low-income and underrepresented communities and working with young people from similar backgrounds have driven her mission to discover, develop, and connect extraordinary, diverse young people who can become tomorrow’s leaders. Aimée’s background and experiences have made it clear to her that education alone is not enough to reach your fullest potential in life; mentors, peers, and opportunities are also critical. She has witnessed firsthand the many dreams deferred by the realities of growing up in low-income communities, as well as what we all lose without diverse teams and leadership in the workplace.
Aimée spent the majority of her career at Teach For America, which she joined in 1995 as a corp member in New Orleans. In 2002, she joined the TFA staff as Vice President of New Site Development, helping to grow the organization’s presence into Miami and Philadelphia, as well as doubling TFA’s presence in New York City. In 2005, Aimée became the Chief People Officer and oversaw the organization’s staff growth from 200 to over 2500 staff members. In 2011, Aimée took on the expanded role of Executive Vice President of People, Community and Diversity, leading TFA’s work to uphold its commitment to diversity and to build an organization that is a model of fairness and equality. From 2013 to early 2015, she led TFA’s Public Affairs and Communications teams before departing to devote her full energies to Braven. Aimée is a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College.
IMPACT
Braven Fellows continue to outpace the national average for strong job attainment. Within six months of graduation, 71% of Fellows secured quality full-time jobs worthy of their degrees or enrolled in graduate school compared to 56% of all students and 49% of Black and Latinx students from public universities.
49% of Braven graduates are out-earning their parents in their first job out of college and achieving the American Dream in economic terms. By comparison, by age 30, Americans have only a 50-50 shot of out-earning their parents.
Internships and College Persistence: 73% of Braven college graduates completed at least one internship in college, compared to 49% of all first-generation graduating seniors at large state schools. 95% of Fellows, who typically join us during sophomore or junior year, are persisting or have graduated from college.
Braven News
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How To Make Good on the American Promise For All, Not Just SomeThere are only some winners in today’s job market—and then everybody else, writes Aimée Eubanks Davis, CEO of Braven. To share prosperity equitably, we must…Apr 2022
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The Unexpected Value of the Liberal ArtsBraven, a nonprofit founded by Aimée Eubanks Davis, a former Teach for America executive, is offering career-readiness programs to students on campus. Making its debut in 2014,…Aug 2017
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This Accelerator Empowers Low-Income Students to Jump the College-to-Career DivideOnly one in four of the 1.2 million low-income or first-generation college enrollees each year will graduate and land a strong first job or enter…May 2017
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Why Getting Out of College Can Be As Hard As Getting InAimée Eubanks Davis conceived of the idea for Braven while working on the senior leadership team at Teach for America. Once a sixth-grade teacher through…Jan 2017
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NPR Spotlight on BravenAimée Eubanks Davis founded her organization, Braven, in order to help her students graduating from college find their first good job. To accomplish this task,…Aug 2016
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Aimee Eubanks Davis: Re-imagining College-to-Career SuccessIt is often said that college education is the ticket to upward mobility, the American Dream. While some believe that the American Dream still exists,…Nov 2015
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Happy #PrideMonth! At Braven, we encourage leading authentically through the sharing of your personal story and emb… https://t.co/Jywb4iCsGL
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On behalf of the Braven community, thank you to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Ma… https://t.co/zMkKU7eA6Y
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Early bird tickets are still available for the 2023 Braven Summit! Join us on Thursday, October 26 for a day of ins… https://t.co/9p0kxhbx6j
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Braven NYC and LinkedIn recently co-hosted their first virtual trek, Navigating LinkedIn: Finding Strong Opportunit… https://t.co/M4JEXiDgjL
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Empower the next generation of leaders by joining our staff! Learn more and apply today at https://t.co/cwMnjrwhuO.
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RT @TheCAFEGroup: Aimée Eubanks Davis, Founder & CEO of @BeBraven, has been named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Illinois for 2023. Rea…
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Congratulations to all of our graduating Braven Fellows and Post-Accelerator Fellows! You have worked incredibly ha… https://t.co/qqx9EbZmS7
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Thank you to @bhspecialty for participating in our Mock Interview nights. 20+ BHSI employees volunteered to equip o… https://t.co/5nIBztM9qK
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It is Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, a time to celebrate and amplify the stories of the AAPI community.… https://t.co/MknQQIeHrs
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RT @America_Forward: Have you read our April blog yet? Check out the incredible work and resources from our coalition members @ffrp_ca @BeB…
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Since Braven’s founding, we’ve had over 8,700+ volunteers across our regions. Whether you volunteered as a Leadersh… https://t.co/CxYEidqe0L
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Fellows, educators, working professionals, nonprofit partners, leaders, friends -- registration for the 2023 Braven… https://t.co/aCtiYTWz2C
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Thank you to @Rakuten, one of our employer partners, for participating in our Mock Interview events. Nearly 20 Raku… https://t.co/V4DADof42f
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Last month, Braven hosted Mock Interview events across our regions, providing our talented Fellows with best practi… https://t.co/tIkTFixYcT
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“Braven gave me a venue to share my experiences and identity as an autistic Black male and how it has positively sh… https://t.co/wYPIABgfg0
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Are you looking to inspire and mentor a promising college student who wants to enter your career field? Join our Pr… https://t.co/lApnkwioQP
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Big thank you to everyone who attended our first-ever Business Etiquette Luncheon alongside Northern Illinois Unive… https://t.co/aQttgtD3ku
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Meet Vicki A. Walia from Braven's Board. Her advice to women navigating their career paths is to feel empowered in… https://t.co/aXz0ElKB5W
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Braven’s CEO & Founder Aimée Eubanks Davis participated in McKinsey’s Women’s History Month panel in their Chicago… https://t.co/2qfnsyU7l4