The LEAH Project

What The LEAH Project does

The LEAH Project is a nonprofit STEM education program founded in 2005 that serves BIPOC high school youth in the Boston area through paid internships, college access support, and career readiness training. Its program portfolio comprises three tracks: STEM Teaching (the founding program), LEAH Knox (hosted at MIT), and LEAH Daly (hosted at Biogen), each pairing participants with structured STEM exposure and mentor relationships. The organization reports cumulative reach of 7,500+ students impacted and 225+ high school youth trained since inception.

Since 2013, The LEAH Project has operated under the fiscal and administrative sponsorship of Health Resources in Action (HRiA), a move that has provided operational infrastructure while preserving program autonomy. The organization runs with a lean staff of approximately five and is funded by donations from foundations and corporate contributors. A stated sponsorship level of $5,250 supports one youth through a year-long STEM internship, indicating a relatively low per-participant cost base consistent with a pass-through nonprofit model that leverages host-institution (MIT, Biogen) in-kind contributions.

The LEAH Project's go-to-market is community-rooted rather than commercial: participants are recruited through partnerships with Boston-area after-school programs and the FamiLEAH alumni network, while program differentiation comes from anchor placements at elite STEM institutions (MIT) and industry partners (Biogen). The organization does not disclose revenue or financial statements, and its small scale plus donation-based funding model place it firmly in the small-community-nonprofit segment rather than the venture- or grant-scaling nonprofit tier.

Name

The LEAH Project

Legal name

Health Resources in Action, Inc.

Website

https://leahproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The LEAH Project is a Boston-area nonprofit founded in 2005 that provides paid STEM internships, college access, and career readiness programming for BIPOC high school youth, anchored by partnerships with MIT and Biogen.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth STEM Education and College Access Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Internships, Externships & Work-Based Learning Placement (EDAMAKAB), STEM & Maker Education (Makerspaces, Coding Clubs, Robotics) (EDAAAFAL), Leadership, Service Learning & Volunteer-to-Career Pathways (EDAMAKAJ)

Keywords

• Youth STEM programs
• College access services
• Career readiness training
• Paid internship programs
• Nonprofit mentoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Corporate Donations: LEAH receives funding from corporate and foundation donors to support its programs. Funders enable the organization to achieve goals of closing the STEM achievement gap, increasing access to post-secondary education, and promoting job-readiness.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The LEAH Project provides paid STEM internships, college access support, and career readiness programming to Boston-area high school students, particularly BIPOC youth historically excluded from the STEM workforce. It runs three internship tracks (STEM Teaching, LEAH Knox at MIT, and LEAH Daly at Biogen) and pairs them with college readiness, mentorship, and alumni persistence support through the "FamiLEAH" network.

Product overview

The LEAH Project is a non-profit educational organization offering a portfolio of three paid STEM internship programs for Boston-area high school students: the school-year STEM Teaching Internship (placing youth as near-peer teachers in afterschool programs), the summer LEAH Knox Data Science & Biomedical Research Internship (featuring MIT lab work followed by corporate/academic lab placement), and the summer LEAH Daly Biological Research Internship (wet lab at Biogen). Complementing these internships are college access and career readiness programming providing academic support, college preparation, mentorship, and job skills training. The programs serve BIPOC youth from marginalized communities to diversify the STEM workforce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LEAH Knox: Data Science & Biomedical Research Internship - An intensive lab program at MIT for high school students, with subsequent placements in academic, organizational, or corporate labs.
• LEAH Daly
• STEM Teaching Internship

Products and services

• STEM Teaching Internship A school-year paid internship placing high school students ages 16+ in Boston out-of-school time programs to teach STEM curricula to elementary school students. Includes training on classroom management, lesson planning, and professionalism, with paid stipends (up to $2,000 during the school year).
• LEAH Knox: Data Science & Biomedical Research Internship A summer paid internship featuring an intensive biology lab experience at MIT after 10th or 11th grade, followed by subsequent summer placements in academic, organizational, or corporate labs. Includes STEM event participation throughout the school year and mentorship from STEM professionals, with summer stipends up to $2,250.
• LEAH Daly: Biological Research Internship A five-week paid summer biological research internship at Biogen's Community Lab, introducing high school students to biology research through wet lab work and job shadowing at the biotech company to explore STEM career paths.
• College Access Programming College readiness support provided to LEAH Youth Leaders, including individualized academic and college application assistance, college visits, interview practice, financial aid workshops, and preparation for campus life (resources, roommates, majors, time management). Continued support during college is provided through the LEAH peer mentorship program.
• Career Readiness Programming Job readiness training for LEAH Youth Leaders, including on-the-job internship experience, weekly workshops on public speaking, communication, classroom management, debates, and STEM events that expose youth to STEM professionals and careers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 7,500 students impacted since 2005
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Health Resources in Action (HRiA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013LEAH is housed at Health Resources in Action, a non-profit public health organization with a mission to help people live healthier lives and create healthier communities. HRiA assumed oversight of LEAH in 2013.
• Boston Afterschool ProgramscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLEAH places high school youth at Boston out-of-school time programs for near-peer teaching internships. Youth teach fun, hands-on science lessons to elementary school students. Partners sign MOUs, provide on-site supervision, and contribute $800 per site towards training costs.
• MITcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT hosts the LEAH Knox Data Science & Biomedical Research Internship. High school students participate in an intensive biology lab at MIT during summer after 10th or 11th grade. This partnership provides unprecedented research access for BIPOC youth.
• BiogencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiogen hosts the LEAH Daly Biological Research Internship at its Community Lab. Youth participate in a five-week wet lab research experience and job shadow at the biotech company to learn about various STEM career paths.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Bottom Line: College access nonprofit for first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds; closely comparable to LEAH's college readiness, application support, and college persistence programming.
• College Visions: College access nonprofit serving first-generation, low-income students in Rhode Island with advising and persistence support; directly referenced by a LEAH advisory board member and closely aligned to LEAH's college access programming.
• Citizen Schools: After-school and career exposure program that places near-peer mentors with middle schoolers; directly comparable to LEAH's STEM Teaching Internships that place high schoolers in Boston afterschool programs.
• Project SEED (American Chemical Society): Paid summer research internships for high school students in academic and industry labs; comparable to LEAH Daly and LEAH Knox wet-lab research experiences at Biogen and MIT.
• BUILD: Youth entrepreneurship and STEM program for high school students from under-resourced communities; comparable in target population, age range, and college/career readiness focus.
• Genesys Works: Provides high school students from underserved communities with skills training and corporate internships, including pathways into STEM and technology roles, mirroring LEAH's paid internship + college access model.
• SMASH (Level Playing Field Institute): STEM college prep program for underrepresented high school students with summer residencies at partner universities; highly comparable to LEAH Knox's MIT-based summer lab model.
• BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life): National after-school and summer academic enrichment nonprofit serving under-resourced K-8 students; comparable in delivery mechanism (paid near-peer educators in afterschool sites) to LEAH's STEM Teaching model.
• Year Up: National nonprofit providing career-focused training and internships for young adults from underserved communities, with a strong STEM and tech employer-partnership model analogous to LEAH's Biogen/MIT placements.

Emerging players

• City Year: National youth service corps placing young adults in schools as near-peer mentors; comparable audience (urban youth) and youth-development model, but broader in scope than LEAH's STEM focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheLEAHProject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-leah-project
• Xx.com/theleahproj

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The LEAH Project