Let's build San Diego's next generation of talent, together.

For talent acquisition, CSR, philanthropy, and community engagement leaders.

Every organization invests in early-career talent and community in its own way. We'll work with you to design a strategy that fits your goals, your people, and the first-gen students who want to build their careers here.

Start with one piece, or combine several: talent pipelines, employee volunteering, giving campaigns, and workshops on hiring Gen Z.

Start a conversation

Talent accelerator overview

15–20
First-gen business students
3
Days on your challenge
30
Volunteer coaches
2–4
Real business projects

Four ways we build together

A strategy that fits your goals.

Talent acquisition

Early-career talent pipelines

Bring a real business challenge to a student team, meet first-gen talent through their work, and build a pipeline into your next internship and new-grad cycle.

Community engagement

Volunteer programs that grow your people

Engage your professionals as coaches, mock interviewers, and judges. Skills-based volunteering that develops your team while it develops next-gen leaders.

Philanthropy & CSR

Giving campaigns with visible impact

Individual and employee giving campaigns, matching gifts, or underwriting a program day or cohort, with outcomes we measure and report back.

Talent & people leaders

Workshops on hiring Gen Z

Collaborative sessions where your hiring managers and first-gen students work through what early-career talent looks for, and how to attract, hire, and keep them.

Why partner with us

Meet early-career talent through their work. See how students think and collaborate before you hire.

Give your people meaningful ways to serve. Coaching and mock interviews build their skills, too.

Invest in talent that stays. These students want to build careers in San Diego.

Show up visibly for the region. Your commitment reaches first-gen talent across campuses.

  • We learn what your team is working toward and where early-career talent and community engagement fit your plans for the year.

  • We co-create the right mix of talent pipeline, volunteer, giving, and workshop pieces for your calendar and budget. Challenge Partnerships start at $2,000 per student team.

  • We report back on outcomes after each cohort and adjust together as Future Ready SD grows in 2027.

“I hadn’t done anything like this before. It reminded me of sorority recruitment, I felt the same way: it was fun, stressful, but exciting.”

 UCSD Designathon Student
Group of diverse students working together around a table in a modern classroom with laptops, whiteboard, and glass walls.

Inside a Challenge Partnership.

1. Bring a challenge. Something real your team is working on. We'll help scope it so students can make progress in three days.

2. Meet your team. Brief them at the start of Day 3, then check in as much as you like.

3. See the results. On Day 5, students present their insights, ideas, and next steps.

4. Stay connected. Invite the students you want to know better into your early-career pipeline.

Your investment pays students for their project work through Future Ready SD.

Impact you can report on

Built to support your community, ESG, and early-career goals.

First-gen graduates earn $36,200 less a year than peers whose parents went to college. We work on that gap where it starts: with stories, networks, and real experience.

We measure and share what matters: student confidence before and after, connections made, internship and job outcomes at 6 and 12 months, and how many students stay in San Diego.

Want your leaders involved personally? Invite them to give 1% of their time →

Six diverse young people standing together in front of a whiteboard covered with colorful sticky notes, smiling at the camera.

Let's design it together

Tell us what you're working toward: filling an early-career pipeline, engaging employees, growing community impact, or understanding how to attract and keep Gen Z talent. We'll come back with a plan that fits.

Brian LeDuc has spent 15 years at the intersection of education and workforce, translating what employers need into programs that help students launch, including building career growth programs at Intuit.

brian@futurereadysd.org

More About Brian
A man speaking on a stage during a TEDx event at UC San Diego, with large red and white letters spelling 'TEDxUC San Diego' behind him.

A Preview of What to Expect

  • When we finished I feel a lot of achievement (I can do something actually). There are times that I’ve wanted to pursue an idea, but sometimes life or other priorities get in the way. This built the confidence of if I want I can go out there and do it.”

    UCSD Designathon Student

  • Your lecture was one of the best I've attended this semester! I loved how interactive it was, and it was really good for laying a good foundation for knowing what you want and one of the first steps to attaining what exactly you want. One piece that really stuck with me was that you may not start where you want to and keep an open mind.

    SDSU Marketing Student

  • Brian did a fantastic job really getting to know me and my goals before trying to give me any advice. At first, I assumed coaching sessions would be the generic career advice I’ve been hearing my whole student life, but it wasn’t that at all. I feel like Brian really understood my goals, thus giving me specific advice to reach those specific goals

    CSUSM College of Business Student

  • Brian was amazing to communicate with throughout the semester, he gave great advice and our talks flowed and never felt awkward.

    CSUSM College of Business Student

  • I really liked the overall message of reaching out to people and building relationships with others to build your network. It showed me how important building connections can be.

    SDSU College of Business Student