Our Story
The Starfish Institute emerged from 100Kin10 (now Beyond100K), a non-profit aimed at solving the STEM teacher crisis, which successfully coordinated a national network that grew from 28 organizations to over 300, collectively preparing nearly 110,000 STEM teachers over a decade.
100Kin10’s success stemmed from its ability to mobilize, coordinate, focus, and amplify the efforts of more than 300 leading organizations in the STEM and education fields. Together, those partners catalyzed change for schools, teachers, students, and families on a level they could not have achieved alone.
You can read more about our journey and what we learned along the way at Path to 100K. We are now applying what we learned through this effort to help other visionary organizations develop strategies and tools to achieve their own goals.
We seek to partner with exceptional organizations with the potential to create systemic impact or who are at critical inflection points in their growth and in need of outside support or creative solutions to realize their ambitions.
“100Kin10’s success in simplifying a vastly complex problem and galvanizing action across the country accelerated positive shifts in the STEM education field that will better equip students to address current and future threats to our health, planet, and economy.”
Our Approach
A Proven Track Record
Our approach is informed by over a decade of experience bringing together diverse players around a common purpose. We’ve led bold, field-wide efforts like Beyond100K that turned ambition into action. We know what it takes to move from insight to impact, even when navigating complex systems.
Innovative Problem Solving
We ground our work in research and build on others’ insights. We explore, test new ideas, and push the envelope to improve and bring fresh thinking to bear on old problems.
Human-Centered
We blend systems thinking with human-centered design and deep listening. The principles of equity and belonging are core to our work and embedded in our approach, making sure that those closest to the issues – especially those too often left out of the conversation– shape the projects we develop.
Practitioner-Based
We’re not career consultants — we’re experienced field leaders who have built and led real-world change efforts. That gives us practical wisdom, empathy, and skills that help when clients want authentic guidance from someone who's "been there."
Leveraging Networks
No single organization can solve today’s biggest challenges alone. We specialize in unlocking the power of networks. Whether you're building a field-wide movement, developing a partner ecosystem, or trying to better understand your organization’s own internal communities – we are here to help you achieve networked impact.
Impact Focus
As a 501(c)3 organization, we’re driven by our client’s mission’s, not profit. That means we’re deeply invested in helping them positively impact the world, and pursue projects with the potential to affect systemic change.
The Starfish Institute is fiscally sponsored by Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Please visit tides.org for additional information.
More Information
Connect
