Fundraising Fox

Jennifer Carolan

Investor

General Partner at Reach Capital

Palo Alto, California

Writes $50K – $10M checks · typically $5M

About

Former K–12 history teacher, co-founder of an edtech VC using venture capital to address educational inequality; disciplined investor focused on scalable personalized-learning tools, 7–10 year K–12 timelines, rejecting mercenary founders.

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningEdTechFuture of WorkHealthtechSaaS

Experience

  1. Loyola University ChicagoMember Board of Trusteescurrent2023 — presentChicago, Illinois, United States
  2. Reach CapitalCo-founder and General Partnercurrent2015 — presentPalo Alto
  3. Seesaw LearningBoard Membercurrent2021 — present
  4. DerivitaBoard Membercurrent2021 — presentProvo, Utah, United States
  5. StellicBoard Membercurrent2021 — present
  6. Stanford Digital EducationAdvisory Council Member2023 — 2025Palo Alto, California, United States
  7. OutschoolBoard Member2018 — 2023
  8. DesmosBoard Member2019 — 2022
  9. Ellevation EducationBoard Member2018 — 2021
  10. NearpodMember Board of Directors2015 — 2021Menlo Park
  11. FreshGradeMember Board of Directors2014 — 2021Kelowna, CA
  12. EdSurgeMember Board of Directors2014 — 2020San Mateo
  13. PeopleGroveBoard Member2017 — 2019San Francisco Bay Area
  14. BetterLessonMember Board of Directors2012 — 2019Cambridge, MA
  15. WriteLabMember Board Of Directors2016 — 2018Berkeley, California
  16. Broadway AngelsInvestor2013 — 2018San Francisco
  17. Bullis Charter SchoolMember Board of Directors2013 — 2017Los Altos, California
  18. Education ElementsMember Board of Directors2013 — 2017San Carlos, CA
  19. Equal Opportunity SchoolsMember Board of Directors2010 — 2015Seattle, Washington
  20. NewSchools Venture FundCo-Founder and Managing Director Seed Fund2006 — 2015Palo Alto

Education

  1. Stanford UniversityMA, Curriculum and Teacher Education2004 — 2006
  2. Loyola University ChicagoBA, Political Science1993 — 1997

Skills & more

Supports5Program Development21Educational Technology99Non-profits18Grant Writing21Staff Development22Curriculum Design36Nonprofits63Higher Education7Venture Capital58Grants10Start-ups90
+12 moreEducational LeadershipSocial EntrepreneurshipPublic PolicyFundraisingStrategyProgram EvaluationManagementPhilanthropyLeadershipPublic SpeakingTeachingManagement Consulting

From Jennifer's professional profile.

Same school

Shared employers

Deals · 2

EduvueBoard seat

via Reach Capital · filed Oct 2024 · $4M raise

AfterSchool HQBoard seat

via Reach Capital · filed Oct 2024 · $1.5M raise

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Colleagues at Reach Capital

Network5

Investors connected to Jennifer in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.