Episode #55: Eric Schwarz - College for Social Innovation, Boston, MA

MICROCOLLEGE: The Thoreau College Podcast

In this episode of the Microcollege podcast, join me for a fascinating conversation with Eric Schwarz, Co-Founder and CEO of the College for Social Innovation (CFSI), which offers semester-long immersive service learning internships in partnership with community organizations in the Boston area, as well as on college campuses throughout the northeast and midwestern United States. CFSI participants are primarily current college students who receive a semester of college credit from one of several partner universities, while living with other CFSI students and participating in supportive workshops and courses. This year, CFSI is also launching a version of their programming for gap year students.

An experienced social entrepreneur, Eric is the Co-Founder and CEO of the College for Social Innovation (CFSI), which seeks to "educate and inspire the next generation of problem solvers for humanity's tough challenges.” CFSI seeks to build a bigger, better prepared, and more diverse talent pipeline for the social impact sector through its flagship Semester in the City experiential learning program in Boston and a new national Semester for Impact program launched in 2023. Eric is also Co-Founder and former CEO of Citizen Schools, an apprenticeship-based model for out of school time learning, which has had a positive impact on the after-school and extended learning time fields across the U.S.

Prior to starting Citizen Schools in 1995, Eric served as vice president of City Year, the national service program, and as a journalist at The Oakland Tribune and The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA) where he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Eric is a member of the board of Citizen Schools, College for Social Innovation, and Crimson Goes Blue. He is a past board member of First Night, The Breakthrough Collaborative, Do Something, Beyond12, the Harvard Outward Bound Project, and past chair of the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation and of Citizen Schools.

Eric is the author of the critically-acclaimed book, The Opportunity Equation, the co-editor of The Case For 21st Century Learning, and the author of numerous articles and book chapters, including “Calling All Citizens” in The New York Times best-selling Waiting For Superman.

Eric graduated from the University of Vermont (B.A.) in 1983 and from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (M. Ed) in 1997. He lives in Brookline, MA with his wife and two children.

College for Social Innovation: https://collegeforsocialinnovation.org/

CFSI Gap Semester: https://collegeforsocialinnovation.org/gap-semester

Citizen Schools: https://www.citizenschools.org/

Thoreau College: https://thoreaucollege.org/

Driftless Folk School: https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

The Microcollege Network: https://www.hylo.com/groups/microcollege-network