DS

Danielle Strachman

Founder and General Partner at 1517

San Francisco Bay Area

Invests in

  • Min Investment:

    $50,000.00
  • Max Investment:

    $400,000.00
  • Target Investment:

    $250,000.00

Work Experience

  • Founder and General Partner

    2015

    1517 supports teams with grant, pre-seed, and seed funding for technology startups. Our focus is on makers, hackers, and scientists interested in working outside tracked institutions because we believe that the path geared towards higher education is not for all. We motivate people to work on what they’re passionate about, to learn by doing, and to create new technologies. http://www.1517fund.com/

2010 - 2015

  • Founding Team Member and Program Director for the Thiel Fellowship

    2010 - 2015

    I led the design and operations of the Thiel Fellowship. When I started a month after the program launched I had the opportunity to build this program with my team from an idea into a full fledged program that is recognized worldwide for its innovative stance on education and furthering technical innovation. As an architect for the program I spent a majority of my time building out the Thiel Fellowship, as well as the Thiel Foundation Summit Community which is made up of over 1,000 young visionaries. The Thiel Fellowship gave me a great platform for implementing novel approaches to working with young visionaries and inspiring (and helping) others to realize their passions.

  • Event Coordinator

    2010 - 2010

    Organized Breakthrough Philanthropy, a successful year-end awareness and philanthropic event for a coalition of nonprofits that brought in $700,000 in donations. Collaborated on high-level planning between multiple organizations. Facilitated meetings for strategic planning. Managed communications, deadlines, and task completion between all parties.

  • Founder & Director

    2007 - 2010

    Successfully launched a new charter school nonprofit with over 160 students in its first year. Co-guided organizational strategy, leading to student enrollment growth from 160 to 245 students and improvement of our Academic Performance Index by 80 points over two years. Strategically & successfully navigated the school through California's 2009/10 state budget crisis which left us with an unexpected budget shortfall of 30% at the beginning of the school year. Coordinated between Innovations Academy and San Diego Unified School District. Ensured daily operations flowed smoothly (budget, parent communication, student discipline, staff support, overall management, etc.)

  • Director

    2003 - 2010

    Consult with charter schools on organizational structure and administrative tasks. Facilitate Special Education/school specific meetings. Enhance children's educational experiences through the use of brain based learning techniques. Mentor gifted children who struggle with motivational issues.

  • Psychometrician and Research Assistant

    2001 - 2003

    Assessed client's cognitive abilities, used statistical data to write reports, assisted doctors with patients, noted behavioral observations. Assisted with an NIH study with ALS patients to test pharmaceuticals.