Achieving the Dream - National Initiative

Achieving the Dream Partner Organizations

These organizations provide management, research or public relations support to the national Achieving the Dream Initiative. You may peruse the links to your left or view the Partner Profiles directly at the Achieving the  Dream National site.

Houston Endowment
Houston Endowment, Inc. improves the life for the people of the greater Houston area though its contributions to charitable organizations and educational institutions. Mr. and Mrs. Jesse H. Jones established Houston Endowment on September 25, 1937, with a broad mandated that has enabled the Foundation to respond throughout the years to ever-changing needs of the communities it serves. Since inception, the Foundation has distributed over $1.2 billion to charitable organizations in Houston and beyond.

MDC
MDC is a nonprofit headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC. Founded in 1967 to identify and help remove barriers to progress for the South, MDC has been publishing research and developing policies and programs focused on expanding opportunity, reducing poverty, and promoting equity in the American South for the past 40 years.
MDC's mission is to help organizations and communities close the gaps that separate people from opportunity.

American Association of Community Colleges
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is the primary advocacy organization for the nation's community colleges. The Association represents more than 1,100 associate degree-granting institutions and some 10 million students.

Formed in 1920, AACC is a national voice for community colleges, which marked their 100th year of service to the nation in 2001. AACC's mission is to building a nation of learners by advancing America's community colleges.

The Community College Research Center
The Community College Research Center (CCRC) is the leading independent authority on the nation's more than 1,200 two-year colleges. Since its inception, CCRC's consortium of researchers has strategically assessed the problems and performances of community colleges.

CCRC's mission is to conduct research on the major issues affecting community colleges in the United States and to contribute to the development of practice and policy that expands access to higher education and ensures success for all students. CCRC's extensive body of research provides a strong foundation on which to build new policies and initiatives to improve the outcomes of these institutions so integral to the higher education system, employment landscape, and national economy.

The Community College Leadership Program
The Community College Leadership Program (CCLP), established in 1944 in the Department of Educational Administration at The University of Texas at Austin , is the nation's oldest doctoral program, with a primary focus on the preparation of key community college leaders.

More than 600 students have graduated from the program since its inception, with over 508 in the past 40 years. More than 60 doctoral students are currently enrolled.

Jobs for the Future
Jobs for the Future is a non-profit research, consulting, and advocacy organization that works to strengthen our society by creating educational and economic opportunity for those who need it most. Through partnerships with states and communities, national and local foundations, and other organizations, JFF accelerates opportunities for people to advance in education and careers through:

• research, analysis, and policy development: We identify and address the challenges that prevent many people from succeeding in a family-sustaining career;
• practical, on-the-ground projects: We develop effective models for helping youth and adults acquire the skills that employers require;
• advocacy, communications, and peer learning: We influence the policies and practices driving our nation's educational and workforce development systems.

MDRC
MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan social policy research organization dedicated to learning what works to improve the well-being of low-income people. Through its research and the active communication of its findings, MDRC seeks to enhance the effectiveness of public policies and programs.

Public Agenda
Public Agenda is an opinion research and civic engagement organization that helps Americans explore and understand critical issues. Public Agenda provides unbiased research that bridges the gap between American leaders and what the public really thinks about issues ranging from education to foreign policy to immigration to religion and civility in American life.

Nonpartisan and nonprofit, Public Agenda was founded by social scientist and author Daniel Yankelovich and former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in 1975. Public Agenda's two-fold mission is to help:

• American leaders better understand the public's point of view; 
• citizens know more about critical policy issues so they can make thoughtful, informed decisions.