Propel America

What Propel America does

Propel America is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2018 by Paymon Rouhanifard and John White that operates a "jobs-first higher education" model, delivering tuition-free healthcare career training to young adults aged roughly 17–26 from lower-income backgrounds. Its core product portfolio comprises the Medical Assistant Fellowship (offered online and in-person across Philadelphia, Camden, Newark, Baton Rouge, and Los Angeles), the Sterile Processing Technician Fellowship (in-person at Baton Rouge Community College), and a Medical Assistant Apprenticeship earn-and-learn model in Los Angeles. Programs combine industry-recognized credentials, clinical externships, personal career coaching, stipend support, and guaranteed job interviews with employer partners.

The organization generates revenue from four streams: foundation and individual donations (Bloomberg Philanthropies, Walton Family Foundation, Dell, ICONIQ, BRAF, Broad Foundation, YieldGiving, New Profit, Ascendium, Catalyze, ECMC, and others), public/government grants (including $1.5M from Camden in 2021 and $250K from the City of Philadelphia in 2024), employer partnership fees through its Propel Recruit flat-fee hiring product, and Pell Grants for eligible participants. Its technology stack is intentionally lightweight — Salesforce for CRM and Cengage Ed2Go for online coursework — with no proprietary AI/ML product; the operating model is relationship- and coaching-intensive rather than technology-driven.

Propel serves a dual customer base: young-adult fellows seeking debt-free entry into healthcare careers, and healthcare employer partners (Temple Health, Cooper Hospital, RWJ Barnabas Health, Ochsner Health, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, and the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County) seeking reliable, pre-trained, high-retention talent pipelines. Under CEO Chad Rountree, who was promoted from Chief Program Officer in October 2022, the organization has professionalized its leadership bench and expanded into employer-facing services (Propel Recruit, Propel Coach, Registered Apprenticeship) to diversify away from pure philanthropic dependence.

Name

Propel America

Legal name

Propel America

Website

https://propelamerica.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Propel America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing tuition-free Medical Assistant and Sterile Processing Technician fellowships for young adults, pairing training with healthcare employer partnerships across five U.S. metros to place graduates into allied-health roles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Workforce Development Training

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Community College / Training Provider Workforce Pathways Programs (EDAAAOAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career Coaching, Mentoring & Placement Support Services (EDAAAKAO), Home Health Aide (HHA) & Personal Care Aide (PCA) (EDAOAJAM), Healthcare Clinical Direct Hire (Nursing/Allied/Physicians) (BPACAFAH)

Keywords

• Workforce development
• Healthcare training
• Medical assistant training
• Tuition-free education
• Apprenticeship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Individual Donations: Propel exists through generous support from foundations, individual donors. Major funders include BRAF, Broad Foundation, Catalyze, ECMC, Dell, ICONIQ, Andrew Carnegie, Bloomberg, Walton Family Foundation, WilliamPenn, YieldGiving, Ascendium, CEF, Ceres, and others.
2. Public/Government Funding: Propel receives public funding including grants from government workforce programs. Received $250,000 Philadelphia Mayor Workforce Solutions Grant (2024) and $1.5 million grant for Camden (2021).
3. Employer Partnership Fees: Propel Recruit model charges employers a flat, predictable fee for pre-vetted, hire-ready talent. Registered Apprenticeship covers tuition, training partner, and coaching costs with employers providing wages and on-site mentors.
4. Pell Grants: Some Propel programs utilize Pell grants for eligible participants to cover training costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Propel America runs tuition-free healthcare career training fellowships (Medical Assistant and Sterile Processing Technician) for young adults aged 17-26, combining online/in-person instruction, clinical externships, personal career coaching, and guaranteed job interviews with healthcare employer partners. The organization also offers employer-facing talent solutions including Propel Recruit (flat-fee pre-screened candidate placement), Registered Apprenticeship programs, Clinical Externship hosting, and post-hire retention coaching.

Product overview

Propel America is a jobs-first higher education nonprofit offering a portfolio of tuition-free healthcare career training programs for young adults aged 18-26. The core product portfolio includes three main training pathways: the Medical Assistant Fellowship (offered via online and in-person formats through partner institutions), the Sterile Processing Technician Fellowship (in-person at Baton Rouge Community College), and the Medical Assistant Apprenticeship (a paid earn-and-learn model). These programs are complemented by employer-facing talent solutions including Propel Recruit (flat-fee hiring of pre-trained candidates), Propel Coach (post-hire retention support), Clinical Externship hosting, and Registered Apprenticeship programs. All offerings provide personal career coaching, industry-recognized credentials, guaranteed job interviews, and stipend support during training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medical Assistant Fellowship A tuition-free healthcare career training program that prepares young adults (18-26) to become certified medical assistants through online or in-person coursework, a clinical externship (e.g., 160-180 hours), and guaranteed job interviews with healthcare employer partners such as Temple Health, Cooper Hospital, RWJ Barnabas Health, Ochsner Health, and Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County.
• Sterile Processing Technician Fellowship A tuition-free, one-semester academic and clinical training program that prepares fellows to become certified sterile processing technicians, with courses taught at Baton Rouge Community College's downtown campus. Targets young adults seeking entry-level healthcare careers in medical equipment sterilization and surgical support.
• Medical Assistant Apprenticeship A paid earn-and-learn pathway where eligible applicants are hired as apprentices and start at a health center from day one while completing online medical assistant training, combining on-the-job experience with formal education. Targets healthcare employer partners in regions such as Los Angeles.
• Propel Recruit A hiring solution for healthcare employers offering pre-screened, trained candidates ready to work on day one for a flat, predictable fee. Propel sources, screens, and provides accelerator training to deliver hire-ready allied health talent to healthcare systems, hospitals, and clinics.
• Propel Coach On-the-job professional coaching and manager support service available as a standalone add-on to any hire, designed to protect employer investment and improve retention during the early months of tenure.
• Clinical Externship (Train to Earn) A clinical externship hosting program where Propel Fellows complete supervised clinical training (e.g., 160-180 hours) at employer facilities at no cost, allowing a try-before-you-hire pipeline for healthcare employers.
• Registered Apprenticeship A workforce development model combining on-the-job training with accredited technical instruction and certifications for growing Medical Assistants, Patient Care Technicians, Sterile Processing Technicians, and Surgical Technicians. Tuition, training partner, and coaching costs are covered; employers provide wages and on-site mentors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% higher retention rate after one year compared to national average
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Rosebud Healthcare and TrainingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024New partnership announced November 2024 to equip young adults from underprivileged backgrounds in Louisiana with high-demand caregiver skills.
• College of Healthcare Professions (CHCP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership launched in 2023 to support Medical Assistant training in Baton Rouge. CHCP has over a decade of experience training medical professionals online. The Medical Assistant Fellowship includes 30 weeks of academic and clinical training plus 180-hour clinical externship.
• Temple HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Philadelphia employer partner for Medical Assistant pathway. Fellows eligible for hire by Temple Health after completing the program.
• Cooper HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Camden employer partner for Medical Assistant pathway. MA fellows eligible for hire by Cooper Hospital after completing the program.
• RWJ Barnabas HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Newark employer partner for Medical Assistant pathway. Fellows complete 160-hour externship with RWJ Barnabas Health and are eligible for hire after completing the program.
• Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Baton Rouge clinical externship site for Medical Assistant fellows. Part of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System.
• Ochsner HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Baton Rouge employer partner offering Medical Assistant training and employment pathway.
• Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Los Angeles employer partner for Medical Assistant externships and hiring. Fellows placed for 160-hour externships with the association's member clinics.
• Cengage Ed2GocoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Online learning platform used for Medical Assistant training in Newark (6-month asynchronous program).
• Baton Rouge Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership offers Sterile Processing Technician Fellowship - tuition-free, one-semester academic and clinical training program. Courses held at BRCC's downtown Baton Rouge campus.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Year Up: Year Up is a workforce development nonprofit providing training and corporate internships to young adults from lower-income backgrounds seeking careers in technology and business operations. It directly competes with Propel for similar candidate populations, employer partnerships, and philanthropic funding in overlapping U.S. metro markets.
• Genesys Works: Genesys Works provides workforce training and corporate internship pathways for high school students from underserved communities, with a focus on launching careers at Fortune 1000 employers. It is a close peer in model, candidate demographic, and employer-paid internship mechanics, and has produced several of Propel's senior workforce partnership staff.
• OneGoal: OneGoal supports low-income high school students through college persistence and postsecondary success. Propel's CEO and CPO are former OneGoal leaders, and the organizations serve overlapping target populations with adjacent job-versus-college pathways, competing for similar school-district partnerships and donor dollars.
• Per Scholas: Per Scholas provides tuition-free technology training and career placement for adults from low-income communities, with a similar tuition-free-plus-coaching-plus-employer-partnership structure. While its primary focus is IT rather than healthcare, it directly competes for the same philanthropic dollars and policy support.
• Merit America: Merit America provides tuition-free career training and job placement for non-degreed adults seeking technology careers, with a similar tuition-free-plus-coaching-plus-employer structure. Multiple Propel staff previously worked at Merit America, and the organizations compete for the same underemployed adult candidates.
• NPower: NPower provides tuition-free technology training and career placement for young adults from underserved communities, with a similar tuition-free-plus-coaching-plus-employer model and similar target candidate demographic. It competes for both philanthropic capital and corporate employer partners in overlapping U.S. markets.

Broad incumbents

• AMN Healthcare: AMN Healthcare is a publicly traded healthcare staffing and workforce solutions company that places allied health and nursing professionals across the U.S. While it serves Propel's employer customers via traditional staffing, its staffing infrastructure represents an alternative talent pipeline that Propel's employer-side offering must displace to scale Propel Recruit revenue.
• Goodwill Industries International: Goodwill operates one of the largest U.S. workforce development networks, including healthcare career pathway programs in multiple states. Its broad portfolio and regional footprint make it a scaled incumbent competitor for municipal workforce contracts and employer relationships that Propel targets.
• Jobs for the Future (JFF): JFF is a national nonprofit that drives transformation of the U.S. education and workforce systems, including providing capital, research, and policy support to workforce intermediaries. JFF named Propel an Innovator to Watch and is broadly comparable as a sector shaper, but operates as an ecosystem funder and policy advocate rather than a direct training provider.

Regional players

• College of Health Care Professions (CHCP): CHCP is a for-profit allied health training school providing Medical Assistant and other healthcare certificate programs, primarily in Texas. CHCP is a current Propel training partner in Baton Rouge, comparable in program content but differing in funding model (tuition-based for-profit vs. grant-funded nonprofit).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/propelamerica
• Xx.com/PropelAmerica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Propel America