ST. LOUIS, MO. — November 13, 2023 – SSM Health is enhancing its Professional Development Program, which empowers team members to pursue education and career advancement, with a new program that offers upfront tuition to employees. 

The new initiative, FlexPath Funded, will offer eligible team members up to $5,250 per calendar year in up-front tuition towards an array of online programs and courses from top-tier academic institutions. 

It aligns with SSM Health’s commitment to develop a diverse team of lifelong learners and fosters a culture of opportunity – where everyone has the potential to fulfill their calling at SSM Health. 

By removing the financial barrier to academic achievement by prepaying for tuition, the program provides easier access to learning opportunities that empower the organization’s diverse team of lifelong learners to deliver exceptional health care, today and in the future. 

“At SSM Health, we are passionate about offering flexible, alternative education paths for team members without having them incur upfront, out-of-pocket expenses,” said Janet Smith-Hill, Chief Human Resources Officer at SSM Health. “FlexPath Funded achieves just that, while also focusing on increasing talent retention and preparing our workforce for high-requested roles to meet patient care needs. This is just one of the components of our robust professional and career development programming at SSM Health.” 

FlexPath Funded complements SSM’s existing Tuition Reimbursement Policy and is a powerful way for SSM Health team members to pursue accessible online education opportunities that advance their careers. 

SSM Health also has a deep commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The new program is designed to create equal access to education opportunities that increase representation at all levels and provide mobility pathways, enabling front-line employees to elevate their lives and careers. 

SSM Health has partnered with InStride, a tech-enabled services company that delivers workforce education solutions, to launch FlexPath Funded based on a commitment to a shared partnership approach and a demonstrated understanding of the relationship between DEI and workforce education. 

"SSM Health and InStride are mission-first organizations that share a vision for social and business outcomes,” said Craig Maloney, CEO of InStride. “SSM Health is an employer of choice and we are honored to deliver a workforce education program where every SSM team member has the opportunity to reach their full potential through equitable access to learning.” 

SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit health system serving the comprehensive health needs of communities across the Midwest through a robust and fully integrated health care delivery system. The organization’s 40,000 team members and more than 12,800 providers are committed to providing exceptional health care services and revealing God’s healing presence to everyone they serve.

With care delivery sites in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, SSM Health includes 23 hospitals, more than 300 physician offices and other outpatient and virtual care services, 12 post-acute facilities, comprehensive home care and hospice services, a pharmacy benefit company, a health insurance company and an accountable care organization. It is one of the largest employers in every community it serves. For more information, visit ssmhealth.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter.  

InStride, in collaboration with top academic institutions, enables employers to provide career-aligned, debt-free education through a personalized, digital platform and a consultative service model. InStride empowers forward-thinking, talent-focused corporate partners to innovate their human capital management strategies. Visit instride.com or follow InStride on Twitter and LinkedIn for more information and up-to-date news. 

FlexPath Funded makes education more accessible to elevate careers, champion diversity, and recruit/retain talent

SSM Health removes barriers to education with program that provides upfront tuition funds

LOS ANGELES — September 12, 2023 — The Employee Benefits News Excellence in Benefits program honors changemakers in the benefits and HR community, including employers with top benefits programs, innovators providing tech-driven solutions and leading advisers who connect the dots. Now in its third year, the annual initiative shines a spotlight on the community’s brightest, most forward-thinking leaders.

Michelle Hamilton, InStride’s VP of People & Talent, has earned a spot on this year’s list of HR/benefits leaders who are supporting employee needs through cutting-edge benefits while driving business forward. Michelle was InStride’s first HR hire, and has helped grow the InStride team from 35 staff to 165 in three years.

Michelle has helped InStride stand out with policies like a generous parental leave; programs like an employer-matched 401K; company-wide wellness days to ensure that InStriders are taking care of themselves; and a supplemental caregiver benefit that helps employees take care of their children and older family members who require assistance and supervision. 

“During a time of sweeping transformation in the HR and benefits landscape, these individuals are finding creative ways to build better employee experiences,” says Stephanie Schomer, Editor-in-Chief at Employee Benefit News. “They’re putting people first by creating better (and more affordable) benefits programs around healthcare and mental health, and changing the conversations around vital needs such as child care and financial wellness.”

This year, for the first time ever, the winners of the Excellence in Benefits Awards will be recognized live and in person at EBN's new BENEFITS AT WORK conference, Sept. 27-29 in San Diego. The dedicated luncheon at this premiere event will give the honorees a chance to celebrate their accomplishments and connect with other award recipients.

Employee Benefit News (EBN) is the primary media resource for decision makers in the worlds of employee benefits, human resources and workplace culture. As the dynamics of these spaces continue to shift and become increasingly complex, EBN delivers expert insights to allow business leaders to navigate their industries with agility. From helping benefits managers meet the challenges of reducing care costs and improving retirement plans to providing HR leaders with guidance on building a talented and diverse workforce, EBN drives the conversation and delivers the research and analysis to help readers support their companies’ objectives.

Employee Benefit News names InStride’s Michelle Hamilton as one of 2023’s Excellence in Benefits Awards honorees

The Employee Benefits News Excellence in Benefits program honors changemakers in the benefits and HR community, including employers with top benefits programs, innovators providing tech-driven solutions and leading advisers who connect the dots. Now in its third year, the annual initiative shines a spotlight on the community’s brightest, most forward-thinking leaders.

LOS ANGELES – September 13, 2023 – InStride, a tech-enabled services company that delivers workforce education solutions, today announced the launch of InSkilling™, a consultative service that broadens the pool of qualified talent for in-demand jobs through skills-based hiring. Providing companies with the expertise and tools needed to implement skills-based hiring, InSkilling determines how to replace traditional degree requirements for job descriptions, with necessary skills for specific entry- and mid-level roles. 

InStride has created a robust framework for InSkilling through skills taxonomy mapping and extensive research. The multi-stage process includes in-depth interviews with subject matter experts, skills extraction from job descriptions, and alignment of both soft and hard skills across job families.

Since the 1980s, many job descriptions have included degree requirements, a practice that left behind skilled candidates who did not have degrees. This created equity barriers for communities disproportionately underrepresented in the traditional academic system as well as workers with credentials from international education systems. However, there’s been a reverse trend. Currently, about one in five U.S. job postings do not require a college degree, a 15% increase since 2021. 

Craig Maloney, CEO of InStride, commented: "InSkilling is our response to our clients who have asked InStride to help them implement skills-based hiring to widen their talent pool and embrace inclusive hiring practices. InSkilling begins to unwind the previous trend of adding degree requirements for entry- and mid-level roles and broadens opportunities for individuals who have acquired skills through alternative routes.”

To refine InSkilling, InStride collaborated with Medtronic, a global healthcare technology company employing over 90,000 people, to replace degree requirements with appropriate skill requirements for 60 roles across 15 job families to meet Medtronic’s goals of opening access to a wider pool of talent that could be incorporated into existing corporate talent recruitment processes.

Amy Wilson, Medtronic's director of global talent acquisition programs and employment brand, said of skills-based hiring at Medtronic, “A degree is just one indicator for job readiness. If we can create more pathways to jobs at Medtronic, we can bring our mission as an employer to more people who are a great fit for Medtronic.”

After an InSkilling implementation, InStride helps companies take the next step with constructing Career Education Paths, which link skill requirements for filled roles to relevant learning options, including degree and non-degree options, available through InStride’s strategic workforce education solution. Career Education Paths provide employees with valuable skills and knowledge they need to take the next step in their career, paired with access to the debt-free and robust educational programming they need to do so. 

InStride, in partnership with top academic institutions, enables companies to provide career-aligned, debt-free education through a personalized digital platform and consultative service model. InStride empowers forward-thinking, talent-focused corporate partners such as Amazon, Labcorp, Medtronic and Magna to drive meaningful social and business outcomes by unlocking access to life-changing education. InStride and its partners are leading the movement to innovate human capital management strategies with career and company growth through boundless education opportunities. Follow InStride on Twitter and LinkedIn for more information and up-to-date news.

InSkilling, launched with Medtronic, empowers companies to replace traditional degree requirements hiring.

InStride Launches Solution That Expands Talent Pools with Skills-Based Hiring

InStride launches InSkilling, a solution that helps organizations expand their talent pools through skils-based hiring.

LOS ANGELES – June 26, 2023 – InStride, a strategic workforce education company leading the movement to advance social and business impact through academic attainment, today announced the appointment of Craig Maloney as its new Chief Executive Officer. Maloney will be stepping into this leadership role effective immediately.

Maloney brings over 30 years of experience across relevant industries and business models including benefits, employee engagement and SaaS/tech-enabled services. With a historical focus on growth programs and value-based solutions, Maloney has held numerous leadership positions at prominent companies including Hewitt Associates (Divisional CEO), Aon / Univers (President / COO), Maestro Health (CEO) and Benefitfocus (Executive Vice President). Throughout his career, Maloney has established himself as an inspirational executive who is deeply committed to the servant leadership model and a relentless pursuit of stakeholder success.

"Craig's strong track record of leading companies in the benefits and technology space alongside his experience working with major employers to attract and retain talent make him the ideal choice to lead InStride into its next phase of innovation and expansion," said Doug Becker, Chairman of the InStride Board of Directors. "His deep understanding of SaaS and tech-enabled services, combined with his passion for education which emanates from his own personal experiences, align perfectly with our mission at InStride.”

At InStride, Maloney will be responsible for leading the company's vision of driving business and social impact through strategic workforce education, working with corporate partners to provide their employees access to top-tier academic institutions, strategic learning paths and life-changing career development.

"I am honored to join InStride, a company that is at the forefront of the movement to advance social and business impact through workforce education," said Maloney. "I am excited to build on InStride’s strong foundation and continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in education technology for all of our clients, partners and stakeholders."

InStride drives business and social impact through strategic workforce education. As the global leader in these programs, InStride works with corporate partners like Amazon, Labcorp, Medtronic, Magna and more, providing their employees with access to top-tier academic institutions, strategic learning paths and an innovative technology platform. Follow InStride on Twitter and LinkedIn for more information and up-to-date news.

Maloney brings 30+ years of technology, benefits and growth experience to CEO position

InStride appoints Craig Maloney as Chief Executive Officer

ROCHESTER, NY & LOS ANGELES, CA — April 4, 2023 — Rochester Regional Health has launched a new strategic workforce education program for its more than 19,000 employees. The Advance U Education Program will support career mobility for Rochester Regional employees, with tuition paid upfront by the health system. This latest addition to Rochester Regional’s robust array of workforce development programs reflects the health system’s commitment to creating career-long advancement opportunities for its employees. In its vision to “lead the evolution of healthcare to enable every member of the communities we serve to enjoy a better, healthier life,” Rochester Regional understands that its most powerful asset is an educated, engaged workforce.

Starting April 4, Rochester Regional’s Advance U will be available to employees across the health system’s hundreds of New York locations. The program will support Registered Nurses (RNs) to obtain BSN degrees (bachelor’s of science in nursing), and will provide entry-level employees the opportunity to gain skills and earn certifications in in-demand career fields such as Medical Assisting or Medical Coding. In the future, Advance U will grow to include additional education opportunities to help Rochester Regional team members advance their careers with the organization.

Advance U is the newest addition to Rochester Regional’s continuing investments in workforce education and career development. The health system’s Isabella Graham Hart School of Practical Nursing since 1964 has prepared students to launch careers as Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs). The College of Health Careers Associates in Nursing Program opens an LPN-to-RN pathway. In addition, Rochester Regional continues its longstanding Clinical Laboratory Technology Program at Rochester General Hospital, and its Certified Nursing Assisting and Certified Home Health Aide Training programs.

For Rochester Regional team members, Advance U removes the financial burden of education for career advancement. The health system will cover 100% of tuition for degrees and certifications earned through Advance U. The cost of higher education can be a significant barrier to healthcare jobs, particularly for employees in entry-level roles with limited discretionary income to invest.

“The first step to any career is getting that first opportunity. At Rochester Regional Health, we want our employees to grow and advance with us, so that whatever role they start in can be a stepping stone to a lifelong career with our health system,” said Dr. Richard “Chip” Davis, Rochester Regional Health CEO. 

Rochester Regional is the second largest employer in Rochester and provides essential care for communities across New York. For many of its entry-level employees, their job with Rochester Regional is their first; by offering upfront tuition coverage for skills and certification courses, the organization hopes that the first job marks the beginning of a long and robust career at Rochester Regional.

Advance U was designed in partnership with InStride, a global leader in strategic workforce education.

“In healthcare, unlike many other industries, a significant number of roles require professional certification,” said InStride co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Jonathan Lau. “Rochester Regional Health is investing in their employees by providing the education they need to earn those certifications at no cost to them while they work. With the Advance U Education Program, Rochester Regional Health is not only filling the roles they need today, they are also building the workforce their system will need in the future.”

Advance U Education Program will provide education and upfront tuition coverage  for critical roles across the health system

Rochester Regional Health launches Advance U Education Program to fill clinical roles and deliver best-in-class patient care

Rochester Regional Health's Advance U Education Program will provide education and upfront tuition coverage for critical roles across the health system.

LOS ANGELES — March 2, 2023 — InStride has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023. 

This year’s list highlights the businesses at the forefront of their respective industries, paving the way for the innovations of tomorrow. These companies are setting the standard with some of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world. In addition to the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, 540 organizations are recognized across 54 sectors and regions. 

“InStride is leading the movement to transform businesses and their employees' lives through workforce education,” said Vivek Sharma, CEO of InStride. “We are thrilled to be recognized by Fast Company as an organization moving the world forward by driving meaningful business and social impact through employer-sponsored education.”

Legacy approaches to workforce development such as tuition reimbursement are no match for today’s evolving workplace environment and the scale of the reskilling challenge. Approaching workforce education in a new way, InStride enables companies to realize the full potential of employee education. Since its founding in 2019, InStride has provided 57,000+ employees with access to life-changing, employee-sponsored education programs from top academic institutions while helping prevent employee learners from accruing $628.7+ million in student loan debt. 

Fast Company’s editors and writers sought out the companies making the biggest strides around the globe. They also judged nominations received through their application process.

The World’s Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides a firsthand look at the inspiring and innovative efforts of companies across all sectors of the economy.

“What a strange and thrilling year it has been to honor this year’s Most Innovative Companies. This year’s list compiles some of the most cutting-edge groundbreakers who are changing our world every single day, from legacy organizations like McDonald’s to upstarts like MrBeast and institutions such as NASA. Everyone on this list does something completely, uniquely different, yet, they all have one thing in common: innovation,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan.

Fast Company will host its third annual Most Innovative Companies Summit on April 19 and 20. The virtual summit celebrates the Most Innovative Companies in business, and provides an inside look at cutting-edge business trends and what it takes to innovate in 2023. Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2023) is available online here, as well as in-app form via iTunes, and on newsstands beginning March 14. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative.

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com. 

InStride, the leader in strategic workforce education programs, joins the ranks of OpenAI, Disney, Tiffany & Co. and more

InStride Named to Fast Company’s Annual List of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023

InStride has earned a spot on Fast Company's 2023 list of Most Innovative Companies in the Education category.

LOS ANGELES — January 11, 2023 — Built In today announced that InStride was honored in its 2023 Best Places To Work Awards. Specifically, InStride earned a place on two of Built In’s Los Angeles lists: Best Places to Work and Best Midsize Companies. The annual awards program includes companies of all sizes and honors both remote-first employers and companies in large metropolitan markets across the U.S.

“InStride is thrilled to be recognized as an employer of choice by Built In LA,” said Stephen Chu, Chief Legal and People Officer, InStride. “Creating a positive culture where our employees can thrive is a crucial step for us to accomplish our mission of bringing high quality, tuition-free education to working adults.”

Built In determines the winners of Best Places to Work based on an algorithm, using company data about compensation and benefits. To reflect the benefits candidates value most, the program also weighs criteria such as remote and flexible work opportunities, EDI programs and other people-first cultural offerings.

“It’s my honor to congratulate this year’s Best Places to Work winners,” says Sheridan Orr, Chief Marketing Officer, Built In. “These exemplary companies understand their people are their most valuable asset, and they’ve stepped up to meet the modern professional’s new expectations, including the desire to work for companies that deliver purpose, growth and inclusion. These winners set the stage for a human-centered future of work, and we can’t wait to see that future unfold.”

About Built In
Built In is creating the largest platform for technology professionals globally. Monthly, millions of the industry’s most in-demand professionals visit the site from across the world. They rely on our platform to stay ahead of tech trends and news, learn skills to accelerate their careers and find opportunities at companies whose values they share. Built In also serves 2,000 customers, innovative companies ranging from startups to those in the Fortune 500. By putting their stories in front of our uniquely engaged audience, we help them hire otherwise hard-to-reach tech professionals. www.builtin.com

About Built In’s Best Places to Work
Built In’s esteemed Best Places to Work Awards, now in its fifth year, honor companies across numerous categories: 100 Best Places to Work, 50 Best Startup Places to Work, 100 Best Midsize Places to Work, 100 Best Large Places to Work and Editor’s Choice: 100 Best Hybrid Places to Work. The program honors companies – remote, hybrid and in-office – with the best total rewards packages across the U.S. and in the following tech hubs: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC.

InStride Earns Multiple Spots on Built In’s Best Places to Work List for Four Years Running

Built In Honors InStride In Its Esteemed 2023 Best Places To Work Awards

InStride earns a spot on Built In's Best Places to Work Awards list for the fourth year running.

DETROIT & LOS ANGELES — December 13, 2022 — Piston Group today announced the expansion of its strategic workforce education program in partnership with InStride. Following the success of the initial launch of the Future-Ready Education Program, Piston Group has now added employer-funded graduate degrees and certificates to the program. The expansion also adds courses from Spanish-language institutions, such as Universidad Tecmilenio, to meet demand from the company’s multi-lingual employee population. 

The Piston Group’s Future-Ready Education Program offers full-time employees tuition-free access to courses towards earning high school diplomas, skills certificates, associate degrees and bachelor’s degrees.The Future-Ready Education Program was designed to include a wide variety of course offerings selected to meet employees where they are in their learning journey and career. Piston Group covers tuition upfront for eligible employees, allowing them to focus on career advancement and achievement instead of being saddled with student debt or worrying about how long tuition reimbursements might take. 

The Future-Ready Education Program was first launched in 2022 in the company’s U.S.-based plants in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Texas. It has made a measurable impact on employee engagement and retention, prompting Piston Group to increase their tuition coverage for graduate degrees and certificates. 

As one Piston employee shared in an employee survey, "The Future-Ready Education Program is flexible enough to balance school and work and has provided me with an opportunity to increase my knowledge base which in turn will benefit both myself and my employer."

“Enabling our employees to develop professionally helps them progress in their career, benefits the company through their increased skills, and it’s good for our communities,” said Piston Group CEO Gordon Fournier. “Knowledge and employment are power.”

“Workers have a lot of choice on who they work for right now. Piston Group invests in the people who make the organization the market leader it is,” said InStride CEO Vivek Sharma. “The leaders Piston Group is educating today will future-proof the company for whatever challenges may lie ahead in the manufacturing sector.”

Future-Ready Education Program offers more degree programs, greater tuition coverage and Spanish-language options

Piston Group adds upfront tuition coverage for graduate degrees and dual-language learning

LOS ANGELES – October 6, 2022 – InStride, the premier provider of strategically designed workforce education programs, today announced that it has won a “Best Company Perks & Benefits” Award from Comparably.

Comparably Awards are based on survey responses provided by employees anonymously through Comparably.com. Winners are determined using sentiment ratings over a 12-month period across categories such as compensation, professional development, work-life balance and leadership. 

InStride is a public-benefit company that designs workforce education programs that help attract and retain employees and advance their careers, while accomplishing wide-ranging business objectives at the same time. InStride’s unique approach and technology are leading a movement that makes workforce education and lifelong learning a possibility for all. 

“Our mission is to enable businesses to create the workforce of the future by offering their employees access to higher education,” said Vivek Sharma, CEO and Founder of InStride. “This applies to our people as well. Step Forward is the crown jewel of InStride’s best-in-class offerings to support our employee wellness and growth, both personal and professional. Through this internal program, we demonstrate how investing in your people through employer-sponsored education can drive success for companies and their employees.”

InStride’s recognition in the Company Perks & Benefits Award category reflects the company’s commitment to supporting its employees to learn new skills and advance their careers through workforce education. The Step Forward program is available to InStride employees from the day they start with the company and offers them access to 2,300+ courses ranging from skills training to graduate degrees, all provided by InStride’s network of top-tier academic providers. Tuition is covered upfront by InStride so that employees can focus on their courses and not worry about accruing student loan debt.  

To learn more about InStride’s employee benefits, visit https://www.instride.com/careers/. 

Comparably is a leading workplace culture and compensation monitoring site that provides the most comprehensive and accurate representation of what it’s like to work at companies. Employees can anonymously rate their employers in 20 different workplace culture categories, providing the public a transparent and in-depth look at the experiences workers have based on their gender, ethnicity, age, department, experience, location, education, and company size. Since launching in 2016, Comparably has accumulated 10 million ratings across 60,000 U.S. companies. The platform has become one of the fastest-growing SaaS solutions for employer branding and trusted third-party site for workplace and salary data, including its annual Best Places to Work series.

InStride drives business and social impact through strategic workforce education. As the global leader in these programs, InStride works with corporate partners like Ascension, Medtronic, Labcorp, Magna and more, providing their employees with access to top-tier academic institutions, strategic learning paths and an innovative technology platform. Guided by its mission to change lives for working adults and cultivate the workforce of the future, InStride has been recognized with Fortune’s Impact 20 and Inc.'s Best in Business awards. Visit instride.com or follow InStride on Twitter and LinkedIn for more information and up-to-date news.

InStride receives a 2022 Comparably "Best Company Perks & Benefits" Award based on employee reviews

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 14, 2022 – Retail giant Amazon today announced that it will partner with InStride to provide sponsored education programs for the drivers of its Delivery Service Partners (DSP) through a new initiative called Next Mile. InStride, a leader in the movement to advance social and business impact through workforce education, offers employee-learners a wide variety of learning options provided by high-quality academic institutions.

The Next Mile program is a more than $19 million investment in education, skills training and career advancement by Amazon as they partner with InStride to provide DSPs and their drivers with access to more than 1,700 academic programs. Offerings include bachelor’s and associate degrees, high school diplomas, industry certifications, certificates that can stack to a degree, and English language proficiency courses. Tuition for these programs is paid upfront so that employee-learners can focus on excelling in school instead of worrying about how to pay for it. The vast majority of the 1,700 programs offered through InStride’s academic network would be completely free for the drivers within the $5,250 annual tuition coverage available. $5,250 is the tax-exempt limit set under section 127 of the United States Internal Revenue Code for education benefits.

“Our mission at InStride is to enable corporations to offer life-changing education opportunities to their employees and partners,” said Vivek Sharma, CEO of InStride. “The Next Mile program from Amazon opens up paid-up-front degrees, certificates, diplomas, and more to hundreds of thousands of hard-working delivery drivers. InStride is proud to partner with Amazon on this increased access to educational advancement and excited to witness the impact of this initiative.”

The Next Mile program enables DSPs to support and invest in their drivers who want to build new skills to help them achieve their career aspirations. The program provides access to curated career pathways to help participants identify educational programs and career options based on skills and interests. Next Mile will be available to all participating DSPs and their teams starting in January 2023, with Amazon reimbursing DSPs for tuition expenses for all eligible drivers.

"Through the DSP program, small businesses around the world have generated over $26 billion in revenue for their companies since launching four years ago," said Parisa Sadrzadeh, vice president of Amazon's Worldwide Delivery Service Partner Program. "We couldn’t have done that without DSPs and their incredible teams. We will continue to innovate with them and use our economies of scale and resources to help them provide best-in-class offerings to their employees. Investing in our DSPs means that we are continuing to invest in communities nationwide. I can't wait to see the future success stories of what these drivers achieve."

"As a small business owner, being able to offer my team these industry-leading benefits and services is amazing," said Nicole Kelso, an Amazon DSP and owner of Rainforest Routes. "Providing additional training paths and empowering my team to pursue their dreams will help them achieve success within my organization and elsewhere. Investing in their future helps my business provide an even more compelling employment experience."

InStride is reimagining workforce education by helping innovative employers provide career-boosting, debt-free credentials to their employees through partnerships with leading academic institutions. Working with InStride, organizations can offer employees high school diplomas, English-language courses, associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees along with a wide range of skill offerings in high-demand fields across industries. InStride’s curated academic network includes high quality universities such as Arizona State University, City University of New York, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Universidad Tecmilenio, the University of Memphis and Central State University. To date, InStride’s network has helped more than 52,000 working adult learners access higher education, preventing $570 million in student debt.

View Amazon's press release about this announcement: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220913006132/en/

InStride’s network of academic partners will offer college degrees and over 1,700 academic programs to participating DSPs, with tuition paid up front by Amazon for each eligible driver

Amazon partners with InStride to launch groundbreaking workforce education program for Delivery Service Partners

LOS ANGELES, CA – August 22, 2022 – InStride, the premier global provider of Strategic Enterprise EducationTM programs, announced the addition of Mark Laret and Nancy Schlichting to the InStride Advisory Board. Both have decades of experience in the healthcare sector, with Laret being the former President and CEO of UCSF Health and Schlichting the former CEO of the Henry Ford Health System. Laret and Schlichting join George Barrett, former Chair and CEO of Cardinal Health, as healthcare leaders on the InStride Advisory Board. This added expertise will amplify InStride’s leading capability to provide strategic education programs to healthcare partners, including for high-demand clinical roles.

“With disruption from both the pandemic and shifting care models, the healthcare sector is facing unprecedented challenges in talent attraction, retention, and readiness,” said Vivek Sharma, CEO of InStride. “The first-hand experience Mark Laret and Nancy Schlichting bring as leaders of major healthcare systems will be invaluable as InStride partners with healthcare organizations to help them build the pipeline needed for improved employee, business, and patient outcomes.”

The addition of two healthcare leaders to the InStride Advisory Board will bolster InStride’s position as the top choice in strategic workforce education among healthcare systems. Already, InStride serves the most healthcare learners of any workforce education provider, delivering programs to 445,000 healthcare professionals – more than three times as many as the next leading competitor.

These InStride healthcare learners also enjoy the broadest array of clinical and non-clinical offerings available in the sector, with options from high school completion, English Language Learning, medical Spanish and credit-bearing stackable industry certifications to associate degrees, bachelor's degrees and even graduate degrees. Learners also benefit from InStride’s innovative approach to building clinical and non-clinical pathways, from allied health, nursing and post-licensure nursing, to health administration, medical billing and coding and much more. Taken together, these pathways and the volume of learners InStride serves have lent the company a wealth of experience in building clinical workforces at scale across multiple geographies.

Mark Laret joins InStride after 21 years at the helm of UCSF Health, long regarded as one of the best healthcare systems in the country thanks to its cutting edge biomedical research and rigorous education programs. His leadership has been characterized by a focus on high-quality patient care, employee engagement and driving health equity in the communities UCSF Health serves across the San Francisco Bay Area.

Prior to joining UCSF in 2000, Laret served as CEO of UC Irvine Medical Center, after spending 15 years at UCLA Medical Group. He has served on the boards of Nuance Communications and Varian Medical Systems and has chaired the Board of Directors of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the California Hospital Association. He currently serves on various boards including Collective Health, Viz.ai, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Regard, Inc.

Nancy Schlichting is the former President and CEO of the Henry Ford Health System, a $5 billion healthcare organization based in Detroit. She is credited with leading it through a dramatic financial turnaround and for award-winning patient safety, customer service and diversity initiatives. In 2015 she chaired President Obama’s Commission on Care to improve how the Veterans Health Administration delivered care to veterans.

Schlichting began her career in healthcare as a Fellow at the American Hospital Association, then took on leadership roles with Summa Health, Riverside Methodist Hospital and Catholic Health Initiatives before joining Henry Ford Health System in 1998. She is now a corporate director of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Baxter International, Encompass Health, and Pear Therapeutics; a trustee of Duke University; and vice-chair of the Duke University Health System Board.

InStride Advisory Board Members as of August 22, 2022 include:

George S. Barrett, former Chair and CEO of Cardinal Health, Inc

Barbara J. Desoer, former CEO of Citibank, N.A.

Lynne Doughtie, former U.S. Chair and CEO of KPMG

Mark Fields, former President and CEO of Ford Motor Company

Mark Laret, former President and CEO of UCSF Health

Amy E. Miles, former Chair and CEO of Regal Entertainment Group

Clarence Otis, former CEO of Darden Restaurants

Chuck Rubin, former Chair and CEO of The Michaels Companies, Inc.

Nancy Schlichting, former President and CEO of Henry Ford Health System

Thomas O. Staggs, former COO of The Walt Disney Company

Addition of Mark Laret and Nancy Schlichting to InStride’s Advisory Board bolsters position as leading provider of workforce education to the healthcare sector

InStride strengthens healthcare leadership with two industry veterans

Healthcare industry veterans Mark Laret and Nancy Schlichting join the InStride Advisory Board. Laret is the former President and CEO of UCSF Health and Schlichting is the former President and CEO of Henry Ford Health System.

LOS ANGELES – June 9, 2022 – InStride, leading the movement to advance social and business impact through workforce education, today announced that its Career Education Paths has been selected as “Corporate Learning Solution of the Year” in the fourth annual EdTech Breakthrough Awards program conducted by EdTech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies and solutions in the global educational technology market.

InStride's Career Education Paths prepares learners for careers in high-demand fields such as IT, logistics, technology and healthcare. InStride designed the solution to meet the most urgent priorities corporate leaders are facing today and create tangible career opportunities for their employees.

Through analysis of industry trends and InStride’s own skills taxonomy, specifically designed, relevant and high-quality learning options support the core skills and competencies needed to achieve business objectives. InStride’s Career Education Paths enables more people to enroll in career-boosting education by addressing company-specific needs and giving employees a clear path for career advancement. This helps to align company and employee goals.

“Workforce education, when done right, promotes innovation and a strong work culture, and addresses the desire for meaningful career progress. Unfortunately, the multitude of learning solutions on the market often miss the mark when it comes to fulfilling the unique requirements of both businesses and the individual,” said James Johnson, managing director, EdTech Breakthrough. “InStride’s Career Education Paths elevates personalized learning to a ‘breakthrough’ level, bringing higher education and corporate leaders together in innovative ways. We are thrilled to congratulate the InStride team on winning our ‘Corporate Learning Solution of the Year’ award in the 2022 EdTech Breakthrough Awards program.”

The mission of the EdTech Breakthrough Awards is to honor excellence and recognize the innovation, hard work and success in a range of educational technology categories, including Student Engagement, School Administration, Adaptive Learning, STEM Education, e-Learning, Career Preparation and many more. This year’s program attracted more than 2,250 nominations from over 18 different countries throughout the world.

“More than one billion people worldwide need to reskill by 2030, as jobs are transformed by emerging technologies. We remain focused on unlocking the potential of workforce education to prepare today’s workforce for tomorrow’s challenges,” said InStride CEO Vivek Sharma. “Key to preparing employees is a united, strategic effort between corporations and academic providers that ties education to in-demand, relevant skills and career mobility. InStride enables companies and academic providers to partner in innovative ways to achieve this.”

Additionally, by simplifying processes and increasing participation, InStride’s platform is optimized for ease of use by all stakeholders. InStride’s platform also closes the skills gap and combats student loan debt. The strategic investments InStride’s corporate partners have made in educating their employees have collectively saved $570+ million in student debt.

For Third Year in a Row, Prestigious International Awards Program Recognizes InStride for Its Strategic Approach to Workforce Education

InStride Wins “Corporate Learning Solution of the Year” Award in 2022 EdTech Breakthrough Awards Program

For the third year in a row, InStride earns an EdTech Breakthrough Award. InStride was named the 2022 Corporate Learning Solution of the Year.

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InStride is the premier global provider of strategic enterprise education for companies that need to align their talent & workforce needs with business objectives.