Headshot Photo of Jonah Bard
2022 Award Recipient

JonahBard

Project EdRise

Location Los Angeles, CA

Issue Area Education

When Jonah connected with a fifth grader who was struggling with virtual learning, he realized that the need for free, personalized tutoring in Los Angeles far outweighed the supply of those willing to help. Thousands of students in his city were falling behind in their classes due to a lack of affordable, individualized support, especially with distanced learning needed during the pandemic. Jonah founded EdRise to alleviate educational inequities by delivering free, virtual, personalized, one-on-one tutoring sessions to disadvantaged students in grades 3-8, as well as free online resources to help students succeed.

EdRise recruits high school and college-aged tutors, provides a rigorous training process, and pairs tutors with students for weekly sessions. Jonah believes his chutzpah, a bold willingness to detach from the norm, has pushed him to revolutionize personalized support in education. As someone who believes deeply in his responsibility to repair the world, he hopes that his work will contribute to ending educational inequity.

I strongly believe it is my responsibility to leave the world a better place than it was when I first entered it through pursuing social justice, alleviating economic disparities, and caring for the environment.

Jonah Bard
Jonah sits with a younger student at a table with a laptop and textbooks.

Through EdRise, a free one-on-one tutoring initiative, Jonah has fused his love of learning with the urgent needs of his community to give students the personalized support they need to excel. By building relationships with schools and parent groups, and recruiting older students as tutors, EdRise helps children in grades 3-8 with English, math, and other subjects, helping them raise their grades and change their learning approaches. Jonah’s work connects with Jewish tradition and fosters a set of values that inspires the community to erase inequity in education.
The logo is the word EdRise in black with a golden sun above it and a golden line below.