Preparing San Diego's first-generation college students to launch successfully in the community they love.

Future Ready SD is a nonprofit initiative helping first-gen students turn their stories, networks, and real experience into careers right here. What happened for some of us by accident should happen on purpose.

Hi, I'm Brian

I grew up in a central Massachusetts town of about 7,000 people. My dad went to a trade high school for welding, and my mom went from typist to small-business owner. I was the first in my family to go to college, at Roger Williams University.

I started as a marketing major. What changed my path wasn't a class. It was the people: a mentor named Chuck who invested in me, an advisor who said "you could be on this side of the desk," and a national board role that put me in rooms I never expected to be in. A lot of that was luck. It shouldn't have to be.

Since then I've spent about 15 years helping students launch their careers: at Kennesaw State, EAB, The Iron Yard, Education Design Lab, and Intuit, where I built career growth programs. I've consulted with universities like ASU, the University of South Carolina, and Marshall University. Today I'm an Executive in Residence at CSU San Marcos, a Designer in Residence at the UCSD Design Lab, and board secretary at Project Next.

I live in Escondido with my wife Grace and our golden retriever, Finley. I want more San Diego students to see a future for themselves right here.

— Brian LeDuc, Founder

A man with glasses and a beard is sitting on a wooden bench outdoors, smiling at the camera. He is wearing a dark blue jacket, beige pants, and brown shoes. There are empty benches beside him, and a building with windows and trees reflected in the glass behind him.

The gap

First-gen students bring the hustle. What they're missing turns it into a career.

$36,200
Yearly income gap vs. peers with a college-educated parent · Pew
25%
Of employers say grads are proficient in the skills they need most · NACE
9%
Of grads say their alumni network helped them get a job · Strada-Gallup

What we believe

01

Networks are place-based

Students build careers where they build relationships. If we want talent to stay in San Diego, students need San Diego people in their corner.

02

Encouragement beats structure

Not one perfect mentor. A set of people rooting for them, who help when it counts, often with one good introduction.

03

Experience in any form counts

Internships are scarce, and first-gen students are most likely to be left out. Real work and the story behind it are what matter.

04

Engagement over major

Employers keep telling us the same thing: they want students who show up, hustle, and try new things.

Where it came from. Future Ready SD builds on 15 years of work at the intersection of education and workforce, translating what employers need into programs that help students launch, plus about two and a half years of listening to first-gen students, career centers, business schools, and employers across San Diego. The model borrows from San Diego Service Jam, which Brian launched in 2019: volunteer-powered and community-funded.

Help us launch San Diego's next generation.

Students: Apply for Cohort 1 →

Employers: Become a Challenge Partner →

San Diego leaders: Take The First 42 pledge →

Or send a note below. We'd love to hear from you.

You are a designer (of your career).

Learn skills, mindsets, and tools to help prepare you for a future none of us can predict and only curiosity, possibility, and adaptability in the face of uncertainty can help us navigate.