WHO WE ARE

A small but mighty team driven to leveling the (workplace) playing field.

WHAT WE DO

Belonging. Sharing. Community.

The first years of professional employment can be difficult. Success Cohorts provides a place of safety and belonging for early career individuals from diverse and historically underrepresented communities. Individuals are placed into small cohorts of 5-7 alongside a like-experienced coach. “Like-experience” is one aspect of an individual’s identity that provides a sense of belonging for the individual, e.g., first generation college graduate, BIPOC, working parent.

Outcomes of the three-month weekly program are to:

  • Ease the often-bumpy transition from school to work

  • Provide a safe space for open dialog and group problem-solving

  • Build confidence and development of members’ voices

  • Better understand the workplace environment

  • Encourage connections and networking

During and after the program, members and coaches are invited to join our LinkedIn community for additional programming and small group sharing.

Does it work?

The answer is a resounding “yes.” Reviews from cohort members average 4.7+ on a 5-point scale, while describing the program as “motivating,” “supporting,” and “confidence-building.”

Success Cohorts delivers a win-win.

New employees understand the workplace, find their voice, and have a support structure more quickly, while employers benefit from an inclusive, better-prepared workforce. It’s a wise investment in our changing demographics and the research that diverse teams can be more innovative and productive.

 

Meet the Founders

Betti Fujikado and Carla Corkern are founders, CEOs, board members, mentors, and mothers dedicated to leveling the playing field for early career individuals.

Betti Fujikado / Co-Founder

Betti is an experienced entrepreneur and recognized leader. She spent 10 years as Trustee at Western Washington University and mentors at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

 

Carla Corkern / Co-Founder

Carla is a board member of numerous businesses in the healthcare industry and franchise owner. She is also a dedicated Vistage CEO Peer Group Leader and experienced company advisor.

 

Meet Our Team

We believe in the strength of a team. We rely on the expertise, connections, support, and focus of our members, coaches, partners, and donors. They listen, teach, trust, and share to continually improve our work.

Linnea Soo , Program Manager
provides her consulting and coaching background as well as the important Millennial and Gen Z voice to our team.

Cohort members and coaches

Our members and coaches come from public and private companies, nonprofits, education, and government. Learn more about these outstanding alumni here:

Our Partners

Thank you to College Success Foundation as our founding partner, nonprofit fiscal sponsor, and for always willing to take a meeting with us.

Thank you to our other partners who provide expertise and share our work with their alumni networks!

Thank you to our donors who believe in our mission

 

Donate

We can’t do it alone. Our expenses include payments to coaches and program managers, as well as the software tools for our operations. We are grateful to the companies and organizations who pay directly for their employees to join a cohort.

College Success Foundation is our nonprofit fiduciary, and you can donate here to help pay for our expenses. Our co-founders have provided the majority of our funding to date and do not take compensation for their efforts.

*Be sure to designate your contribution to “Success Cohorts” (see example below)