Celebrating an Exciting New Chapter for Aneesh Sohoni and OMD

Volunteer Opportunities

From volunteer coaching to career panels, OMD has several ways our partners’ staff members can help support Chicago’s community college students while strengthening their own development and team cultures. 

Ways to Volunteer

01

Coach an OMD Scholar

OMD coaches are a major driving force behind student success. By volunteering for a few hours a month throughout the academic year, coaches make a lasting impact on OMD Scholars’ academic, personal, and professional lives—for them and for generations to come. 

Learn more about coaching
02

Join an OMD Career Panel

Share your first-hand professional experience with OMD Scholars during a career panel, held on City Colleges of Chicago campuses during OMD Saturday Development Sessions. Panel topics range from work-life balance to career planning, and feature professionals from varying industries.  

Learn more about career panels
03

Attend or Host an OMD event

OMD holds events for scholars, apprentices, alumni, and partners throughout the year. Visit our events page for an overview of upcoming and past events, or reach out to learn how you can get involved.  

Let us know you’d like to get involved

Learn more about how we partner with employers and corporations:

PARTNER WITH OMD

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OMD Works: Training & Workforce Development Programs

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Investments in the OMD Mission

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David Scherer

David Scherer, Treasurer

One Million Degrees Co-founder 

David is principal of Origin, co-chairs the Investment Committee, and oversees investment analysis, acquisition and asset management. He has more than 20 years of experience in real estate investing, finance, and asset management. In 2006, he co-founded One Million Degrees, which has raised $20 million to help low-income community college students graduate and successfully enter the workforce. David has served as the organization’s Board Chair for the past 12 years, as the organization has grown from 30 to 1,000 students served per year. He also serves as the President of the Harvard Club of Chicago and is on the Advisory Board of Invest for Kids.  

Rose Lizarraga

Rose Lizarraga

OMD CO-Founder & President & CEO, Lysa LLC

An award-winning documentary filmmaker and freelance writer, Rose’s career also includes 10 years spent developing new product and brand strategies as well as marketing and advertising campaigns at Leo Burnett, Foote, Cone & Belding, M&M/Mars and other small businesses.  More recently, she worked as a writer/editor for Modern Luxury Inc., publishers of magazines such as CS and Angeleno.  Rose graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with dual degrees in English and Political Science.  She is a founding member of the Daniel M. Kerrane, Jr. Foundation, former Board Vice President of the Fairy Godmother Foundation, and currently serves on the Chicago committee for Human Rights Watch.

Michael B Golden

Michael B. Golden

One Million Degrees Co-Founder 

A former national award-winning broadcast journalist, Michael Golden has also served as a political campaign manager and communications strategist for U.S. Presidential, Senate and Congressional races. Michael is a fellow at the British-American Project and the Open Society Institute. In 1999, Michael’s investigative and public affairs reporting for NBC earned him honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, the AP, and the Edward R. Murrow Awards. In 2011, Michael co-founded Newsbound, Inc., a media and software company based in San Francisco, CA. He is also a co-founder of the Complete the Degree back-to-college initiative in Chicago, Illinois. Michael serves on the board of the ADL and on the governing board of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, as well as the Illinois Commission to Eliminate Poverty. He received his B.A. from Indiana University, and his M.S. in Public Services Management from DePaul University.