Level Playing Field Institute

History

Frustrated by the inability of the for-profit world to foster diversity, Freada Kapor Klein created a non-profit to rigorously and creatively address not just why diversity efforts had failed, but how diversity could succeed. Freada was also concerned about the plight of underserved,underrepresented students of color in higher education. During her tenure on the Executive Board of the College of Letters and Science at UC Berkeley, Freada and three colleagues founded the Bay Area Scholarship Awards (IDEAL) in response to the passage of Prop 209. In 1994 our hallmark Summer Math and Science Honors Academy (SMASH) began on the campus of UC Berkeley. SMASH is a 3 year STEM enrichment program for high achieving high school students of color, from groups underrepresented in STEM fields. Scholars spend 5 weeks each summer as residents on a college campus. Now in its 9th year, SMASH is at Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC campuses and is expanding nationwide.

Specialties

Level Playing Field Institute is committed to eliminating the barriers faced by underrepresented people of color in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and fostering their untapped talent for the advancement of our nation.