mary s. peake fellowship

What mary s. peake fellowship does

The Mary S. Peake Fellowship is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2013 and publicly launched in 2022, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It operates a one-year applied learning fellowship program that recruits recent college graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses to coach small and local businesses on cybersecure growth in an AI and Big Data-driven economy. The program operates across all 50 U.S. states and five territories, with nominations sourced from HBCUs, HSIs, TCUs, and military outplacement centers.

The Fellowship's core technology extends MIT and Harvard's Open edX system with a proprietary Applied Learning & Teaching methodology, delivering field-based certifications across four tracks: cybersecurity, outreach and engagement, ecommerce, and cloud operations. An AI and Big Data-based training platform benchmarks and measures small business progress across more than 1,000 market categories. A complementary sub-program, the Higher Ed Enterprise Leadership Program (i-HELP), is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce and trains undergraduate students as Community Navigators.

The organization is funded through grants, donations, and federal partnerships rather than direct revenue generation. Fellows receive stipends—$30,000 annually for Operations Fellows and $24/hour for Coach-track Fellows—plus health and dental benefits. The go-to-market is community-led, relying on institutional partnerships with higher education institutions, military outplacement centers, chambers of commerce (notably Blackstone Valley), and industry supply chains. Stated 16-year targets are 1 million net new or saved jobs and $100 billion in local business revenue, supported by approximately 1,500 Fellows annually.

Name

mary s. peake fellowship

Legal name

Mary S. Peake Fellowship

Website

https://peakefellowship.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Mary S. Peake Fellowship is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that recruits recent graduates, veterans, and military spouses into a one-year program coaching small businesses on cybersecure growth, operating across all 50 U.S. states via HBCU, military, and chamber partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development Fellowship Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Leadership, Service Learning & Volunteer-to-Career Pathways (EDAMAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mentorship & Coaching (Career, Academic, Industry-Specific) (EDAMAKAA), Workforce Development & Continuing Education Divisions (Noncredit) (EDAHADAG), Alumni, Peer & Community Networking Programs (EDAMAKAM)

Keywords

• Leadership fellowship program
• Small business coaching
• Cybersecurity training services
• Applied learning education
• Workforce development nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fellowship Stipends: The Fellowship operates as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) providing stipends to selected Fellows: Operations Fellowship at $30,000 per year and Coach-track Fellowship at $24/hour, with additional service-based compensation opportunities. Fellows also receive health and dental insurance benefits. Revenue appears to come from grants, donations, and partnerships rather than direct revenue generation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Mary S. Peake Fellowship is a one-year applied learning fellowship that trains recent college graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses to coach small and local businesses in cybersecure, AI & Big Data-driven growth. Fellows earn field-based certifications across four tracks (cybersecurity, outreach & engagement, ecommerce, and cloud operations) while small businesses receive coaching, supported by a networked training platform built on MIT & Harvard's Open edX system. The program is delivered in partnership with higher education institutions, military outplacement centers, chambers of commerce, and industry supply chains across the United States.

Product overview

The Mary S. Peake Fellowship is a nonprofit fellowship program providing a one-year Applied Learning & Teaching experience. The core offering is the Peake Fellow Program, which includes field certifications across four business tracks: cybersecurity, outreach & engagement, ecommerce, and cloud operations. The program is supported by an AI & Big Data-based training platform and includes the Community Navigator Program (i-HELP), a U.S. Department of Commerce-funded initiative that trains higher ed students as Community Navigators. Fellows receive stipends and benefits while upskilling small businesses across the U.S.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mary S. Peake Fellowship A one-year applied learning and teaching fellowship for select recent college graduates, returning veterans, and military spouses who coach small and local businesses to increase revenue and cybersecurity in an AI & Big Data-driven economy. Fellows receive paid stipends and benefits while small businesses receive coaching.
• Peake Fellow Program (12-13 month program) A 12-13 month long-program offering field certifications across four business tracks (cybersecurity, outreach & engagement, ecommerce, and cloud operations). Fellows are paid either as Operations Fellows at $30,000/year or Coach-track Fellows at $24/hour, with health and dental insurance benefits and additional service-based compensation.
• Community Navigator Program (i-HELP) An Internet-based higher-education Enterprise Leadership Program that trains Community Navigators (often new to the industries they support) and certifies them on essential tools for cybersecure growth, embedding them with small businesses. Funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 1,500 Fellows complete the program annually
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Higher Education Institutions (HBCUs, HSIs, TCUs, others)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Fellowship partners with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), regional colleges and universities, community colleges, and vocational-technical schools to nominate candidates and build Applied Learning & Teaching programs for undergraduate students.
• Chambers of Commerce & Business AssociationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcosystem partners including local chambers of commerce and other business associations connect Fellows with small business clients and launch joint innovation projects as Community Connection Campaigns.
• Federal Uniformed Service BranchescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll federal uniformed service branches participate through military outplacement centers that nominate candidates (returning veterans and military spouses) to the Fellowship program.
• Industry Supply ChainscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry supply chains serve as ecosystem partners providing real-world business environments for Fellows and connecting to small businesses in need of cybersecure growth support.
• U.S. Department of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for the i-HELP (Higher ed Enterprise Leadership Program) that nominates and trains top-flight higher ed students as Community Navigators who work directly with community business leaders.
• MIT & Harvard (Open edX)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Fellowship's Applied Learning & Teaching methodology expands MIT & Harvard's Open edX system. Over 55 million learners have benefited from Open edX's free software. VenlySpaces ecosystem management software is built on MediaWiki open source platform.
• Venly (Peake Development Team)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenly serves as the Peake Fellowship Development Team providing the secure, massively scalable, open source commerce and collaboration platform that supports Applied Learning & Teaching. VenlySpaces ecosystem management software drives community upskilling through microcredentials. Founded by Evan Malone (NextFab) and led by Tom Fellows as General Manager.
• Lampin CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerApplied learning partner since 2014; 35-employee precision machining supplier that has received virtual CISO support, NIST 800-171 cyber controls adoption, and strategic customer/supplier analysis through the Fellowship program.
• Grameen America (Andrea Jung)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed the Fellowship alongside Dean Emeritus John McArthur of Harvard Business School, Lieutenant General Darrell K. Williams (ret.), and other leaders from industry, education, and public service.
• Blackstone Valley Chamber of CommerceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRole model ecosystem lead that pioneered the nation's first chamber-based makerspace, 24/7 innovation center, and education hub for applied certifications. Led to creation of Blackstone Valley Ed Hub which transformed regional collaboration. Led by CEO Jeannie Hebert.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SCORE: SCORE is a nonprofit network providing free mentoring, workshops, and resources to small businesses — the most direct functional peer to Peake's small-business coaching mission, although Peake layers in a year-long paid fellowship for emerging leaders.
• City Year: City Year is a nonprofit AmeriCorps program that places young adults in year-long mentoring and service roles in schools — sharing Peake's model of year-long stipend-supported service for emerging leaders.
• Year Up: Year Up is a workforce-development nonprofit that provides year-long training and corporate placements for young adults from underserved communities — closely paralleling Peake's fellowship model, target population, and mission of career elevation through applied learning.
• Per Scholas: Per Scholas provides tuition-free tech training (often cybersecurity and cloud) to adults from underrepresented backgrounds, mirroring Peake's cybersecurity, ecommerce, and cloud-operations tracks and its mission of upskilling underserved talent for in-demand careers.
• Teach For America: Teach For America is a high-prestige fellowship placing recent graduates in year-long service roles with leadership development — directly comparable to Peake's recruitment from top colleges, applied-learning structure, and career-elevation outcomes.
• NPower: NPower is a nonprofit that trains veterans and military spouses for technology careers, including cybersecurity — directly comparable to Peake's veteran/military-spouse cohort and its cybersecurity certification focus.

Broad incumbents

• AmeriCorps: AmeriCorps is a federal national-service program that places members in year-long service assignments, the closest structural analog to Peake's year-long paid service fellowship, though operating at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
• America's Small Business Development Centers (SBDC): The SBDC network is a federally funded, nationwide system that provides advising, training, and coaching to small businesses, overlapping directly with Peake's small-business coaching offering but as part of a much larger SBA portfolio.

Others

• Credly: Credly is a digital credentialing platform that issues and verifies microcredentials — directly relevant to Peake's microcredentialing and field-based certification model across its four business tracks.

Emerging players

• General Assembly (now part of Adecco): General Assembly provides short-format, employer-aligned technology training in cybersecurity, cloud, and ecommerce, partially overlapping with Peake's four business tracks and the AI/Big Data upskilling thesis.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peake-fellowship

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 mary s. peake fellowship