27 Sep Changemakers Award Presented to San Francisco Business Leader JP Conte

We are thrilled to announce that we have awarded the 10,000 Degrees 2019 San Francisco Changemakers Award to Jean-Pierre L. Conte, Chairman and Managing Director, Genstar Capital and local philanthropist. The celebration took place at the second annual San Francisco Changemakers Dinner on Thursday, September 26, 2019, held in The Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.

“JP Conte’s fundamental belief in college opportunity for students from low-income backgrounds drives his heartfelt generosity to contribute boldly to our work. His foundation’s amazing investment in these future leaders is critical to creating a brighter future for San Francisco.”

Kim Mazzuca, 10,000 Degrees President & CEO

The J-P Conte Family Foundation’s partnership with 10,000 Degrees has made possible the expansion of the organization’s community college pathway and 4-year college program in San Francisco. The nonprofit is now providing on-site, near-peer staffing at City College of San Francisco and four San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) high schools: Balboa, Burton, Ida B. Wells, and Thurgood Marshall.

Part of a nationwide conversation on educational equity, both 10,000 Degrees and the J-P Conte Family Foundation are passionate about supporting students from low-income backgrounds to and through college. According to a November 2018 report by Unite SF, 55% of SFUSD students come from low-income backgrounds as measured by qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. 41% of SFUSD high school graduates start their college journey at City College of San Francisco. 10,000 Degrees programs are working to directly address current educational challenges and to increase opportunities for these students in San Francisco.

In the days leading up to the Changemakers event, Conte spoke about what drives his commitment to educational equity:

“First generation students and immigrants are the engines of hope and economic prosperity for the United States. Supporting their right to succeed and thrive is a key tenet of The American Dream.”

Jean-Pierre L. Conte, Chairman & Managing Director, Genstar Capital; Founder, J-P Conte Family Foundation

10,000 Degrees Fellows Ana Anguiano and Jose Jimenez presented the award to Conte among an audience of invitees that included corporate and individual supporters, student scholars and local educational leaders. Anguiano and Jimenez are both alumni of the 10,000 Degrees program and credit the organization with the attainment of their college degrees.

A keynote by 10,000 Degrees scholar Isabele de Souza, a UC Berkeley student, centered on the transformative power of the organization’s programs along her journey to earning a college degree. Other highlights of the evening included music by Burton High School Chamber Choir.

Lead corporate sponsors for the event included Ropes & Gray, Carmen Castro-Franceschi and First Republic Bank, Genstar Capital, Credit Suisse, Redwood Credit Union, TPG Capital, Bank of America, Jefferies, JLL, Lucidworks, Jackson Family Wineries, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation.

Together, JP Conte and all the changemakers of 10,000 Degrees are creating educational opportunity and lighting pathways to and through college for thousands more students in the San Francisco Bay Area.