About: A student-run high school writing program with ambitions for becoming a city wide workforce development program. The center provides students with the support necessary to become effective writers.
Leader: Lena Tashjian, Founder and Director
Connect: Website
Cohort Award Winner ($20,000):
From Tashjian: I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have been able to participate in SIL, and I am especially grateful to have been able to learn and grow alongside this year’s cohort of amazing innovators. While the field of education (and urban education, in particular) is deeply rooted in social impact work, the accelerator and entrepreneurial space were brand new territories for me. Participating in SIL felt like learning a new language. Rather than allowing me to feel unmoored or to sit in discomfort, my cohort generously offered encouragement, and unwavering community support. 
They allowed me to feel seen and heard in a new and unfamiliar space. I am forever indebted to them, the SIL team, and to Anthony Watters and Josh Ambrose for being willing to have all the conversations with me, even the difficult ones, and for pushing me to bridge the gap between my short-term and long-term goals. Because of this experience, we will be able to grow and expand in ways we had previously only been able to imagine and dream of. And that is a lasting gift.