Jennifer Carolan

Co-founder and General Partner at Reach Capital

Jennifer Carolan is an influential figure in the field of education technology and serves as an Advisory Council Member at Stanford Digital Education. Her career began as a history teacher in Chicago, where she taught for seven years before moving to Silicon Valley in 2000 to attend Stanford University. Inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit around her, she transitioned into venture capital, focusing on education technology.

She co-founded Reach Capital, a venture fund dedicated to supporting innovative education technology startups, and has been involved in various educational initiatives and boards, including Nearpod, Outschool, and Desmos. Carolan has also contributed to academia by co-creating and teaching a course on Innovations in Teaching at Stanford and currently teaches a course on Lean Launchpad at the university.1 4 3 5

Carolan's educational background includes a BA in Political Science and History from Loyola University of Chicago and a Master's degree in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University. Her work aims to address educational inequalities and empower underrepresented communities through technology.1 2 4

Highlights

Nov 6 · digitaleducation.stanford.edu

New Stanford Digital Education Advisory Council to help scale ...

Aug 28 · The Wall Street Journal

AI in Education Attracts Startups and Cash - Tech News Briefing ... - The Wall Street Journal

Aug 26 · The Wall Street Journal

AI in Education Attracts Startups and Cash - The Wall Street Journal

Experience

Co-founder and General Partner at Reach Capital since February 2015

Active board member at Seesaw Learning, Derivita, Stellic, Outschool, Desmos, and previously at Ellevation Education, Nearpod, FreshGrade, and more, Began as a History Teacher at Elm Middle School (1998 - 2000) and Palo Alto Unified School District (2001 - 2004)

Education

MA in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford University (2004 - 2006); BA in Political Science, History and Secondary Teaching Certificate from Loyola University of Chicago (1993 - 1997)