General Assembly is excited to announce year two of our partnership with the Jessica Vollman Foundation (JVF), a sponsorship opportunity for women entrepreneurs in the NYC area looking to gain technology skills to take their business to the next level. In addition to fully covered access to GA supplemental skills training, the recipients will join the JVF community of like minded women entrepreneurs. JVF offers specialized mentorship, including specific course support. The foundation is committed to investing in each individual who participates in these opportunities, whatever their stage of entrepreneurial business development. Interested candidates can apply here.
An Entrepreneurial Legacy
Jessica (Jess) Vollman was a tireless advocate for empowering women throughout the workforce.
As one of GA’s first employees and the former Director of New Market Expansion, Jessica helped us scale to 700 employees and 14 cities across the world. After leaving GA, Jessica founded The Vollman Group, a consultancy to help startups scale internationally, and served as CEO of Fluent City, a language learning startup specializing in natural language processing.
While Jessica was a CEO, she served an all-male board and consistently noticed the lack of opportunities for women to ascend to the next level of entrepreneurship. It was her overarching goal to be the woman on the other side of the table for the women who succeeded her, striving to eliminate as many barriers to entry as possible.
Jess’s life directly inspired JVF’s mission — to globally promote career advancement for women through three central tenets:
- Access to Education: We invest in mentorship and professional development programs that provide women with tools to become effective leaders.
- Closing the Skills Gap: Gender parity can be addressed through opportunities to upskill, reskill, and aid job transition for women in the rapidly evolving marketplace.
- Job Flexibility: Flexibility at work can allow a life balance that retains women in the workforce and encourages a more diverse hiring environment.
2022 JVF Sponsorship Recipient Highlights
Victoria C.
Discipline: Software Engineering
Goal: Develop the skills to manage and design the back-end process of her nonprofit start-up.
“For years, I wanted to attend General Assembly but the price seemed out of reach. I received a wonderful opportunity through the Jessica Vollman Foundation, and I couldn’t turn it down. My software engineering course gave me the skillset to be a better founder and creator. My capstone was a tech prototype for Black Web Fest, my nonprofit organization. I am now building out the platform which will democratize emerging media and tech for underrepresented communities. Joining GA has made a positive change not only for me but a ripple effect that will benefit my community.”
Jean B.
Discipline: Data Science
Goal: Develop advanced data science skills to expand and improve her independent consulting company, Garth Group.
“Over the years, I tried to learn data science sporadically through YouTube and other online courses, but those methods only allowed me to scratch the surface of a rapidly evolving field. I knew I had to learn the new methodologies, coding languages that had taken over the data landscape… Then in December 2021, I saw an opportunity that became pivotal in my journey. It was an application to become an inaugural grant recipient.”
Read more about Jean’s journey in her own words via her blog post.
Investing in Female Tech Talent
Through our partnership with JVF, GA is investing in alleviating systemic issues affecting women in business today.
If you’d like to become part of the community of committed learners a