Sarah Lockridge-Steckel

THE COLLECTIVE BLUEPRINT | MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

Sarah with Collective Leader Michael Rice Jr.; Source: The Harvard Gazette, Justin Saglio/Harvard Staff.

THE CATALYST COLLECTIVE PROGRAM is incredibly unique and invaluable, and has provided a necessary community for me. Over our time together, I have learned so much from these leaders. During these especially challenging times, leaders of color urgently need support, community, and the space to care for each other and ourselves. Our work cannot happen alone.

I’m excited to witness philanthropy and foundations not only shift but also commit to investing more flexibly and more substantially to People of Color. With the learnings from the Catalyst Collective program, I would love for philanthropic decision-makers to think from a lens of designing systems that make high-impact work easier to do and build trust with those most proximate to these issues.

Leaders of The Collective Blueprint practicing networking.

Sarah and members of The Collective.

Leader class of The Collective Blueprint.

“The ‌ Catalyst Collective program is incredibly unique and invaluable, and has provided a necessary community for me.”

ABOUT Sarah Lockridge-Steckel is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Collective Blueprint in Memphis, Tennessee. The Collective Blueprint strives to eliminate barriers and create new avenues towards economic self-sufficiency for the 45,000 youth out of school and work in Memphis. The Collective Blueprint has had tremendous successes in its first few years of operation. As the Collective Blueprint moves into its fourth year, Sarah is leading a compelling strategy to provide direct support to young adults and to change the educational and career systems in Memphis to lead to more opportunity.