Fall 2022 CONNECT Cohort Announced

The CONNECT program kicked off the fall 2022 cohort last week with 22 organizations, officially bringing the total number of CONNECT projects over 200. Of the organizations participating this semester, 13 are brand new to the program. The cohort also includes four new organizations that have received full scholarships to participate in the program for the entirety of their project. 

"CONNECT has consistently offered students a unique opportunity to gain consulting skills working with nonprofits who are in turn improving in their capacity to measure and improve programs which means more impact in our community," said Dr. Patrick Bixler, assistant professor at the LBJ School and faculty lead for the CONNECT project. "Truly, a win-win kind of engagement, which is not easy to come by."

One of the new organizations participating this semester is No More, No Más Inc., an Austin-based organization supporting healthy lifestyle choices and dedicated to rebuilding and reunifying those relationships torn apart by domestic violence, sexual assault, and substance abuse. No More, No Mas is led by mother-daughter duo Rev. Leah Walter Clark and Tyra Clark and was founded in 2010.  

“We serve such a vulnerable community who need services like ours to stay functional & savvy but tend to come across spaces and assistance that don’t serve them through a culturally competent lens,” explains Tyra Clark.

“The CONNECT program is quintessential in helping to create a mindful, innovative path to redesigning key programmatic infrastructure and effectiveness for a grassroots, Black/Woman-owned, domestic violence-focused nonprofit during these heightened times,” Tyra Clark said.

No More, No Más will work with a CONNECT fellow to improve its ability to track and measure the outcomes of two of its primary programming areas–counseling, education, and parenting and trauma-informed care education and training.

This fall, CONNECT fellow Abigail Grider-Reiff will be working with Austin Community Foundation on her third CONNECT project.

"I am excited to analyze data to inform charitable giving that empowers women in Central Texas,” said Grider-Reiff, who is a current MGPS candidate at the LBJ School. “In past CONNECT experiences, I've gained project management skills by designing evaluations to improve nonprofits' future programming."

Fellows in this cohort include students from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the School of Information, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, School of Architecture, College of Liberal Arts, Cockrell School of Engineering, and UTHealth School of Public Health. To date, CONNECT fellows have produced $1.9 million in value through project deliverables with organizations not only in Central Texas but across the country and internationally, as well.

"CONNECT fellows consistently prove exceptional and the value they deliver to the social sector in Austin and beyond is immeasurable," said Dr. Bixler.

Applications for organizations to join the spring 2023 CONNECT cohort are now open until November 4. Submit your project idea here.

Participating Organizations