Potential Is Everywhere. opportunity is not.

Potential Is Everywhere. opportunity is not.

about us

Our History

In 2015 Marcelo Claure, founder of the 1Million Project, read an article about America’s Homework Gap.

Highlighting the fact that five million households with school-aged children in the U.S. are unable to do their homework properly because they do not have Internet access at home, the article included stories of children going to school two hours early to use their school’s network or sitting outside of fast-food restaurants late into the night, just to access WiFi. Reflecting on how Internet access had shaped his life and inspired by the work Sprint had done with MBKA on ConnectEd, Claure believed more could and should be done. As a first step, he gathered a team to meet with education experts to more fully understand students’ needs. Armed with these additional insights, he then developed a solution that Sprint was uniquely positioned to lead and help deliver. In October 2016 and with the specific purpose of addressing America’s Homework Gap, Claure announced the creation of 1Million Project at a town hall event with President Obama. In less than one year the 1Million Project has evolved from concept to a national program that’s specifically designed to help 1 million high school students who do not have reliable Internet access at home reach their full potential, by giving them mobile devices and free high-speed Internet access.​

Our founder

Marcelo Claure, founder of the 1Million Project, is President and CEO of Sprint Corporation and a member of the board of directors of SoftBank Group Corp. He joined the company in August 2014 and is leading one of the most significant transformations in U.S. corporate history. 

Marcelo embodies the successful pursuit of the American Dream. He immigrated to the United States from Bolivia and later became a U.S. citizen. In 1994, he started his first business, a small retailer of wireless phones. In 1997, he founded Brightstar as a small, Miami-based wireless distributor that he transformed into the world’s largest global wireless distribution and services company with revenues exceeding $10 billion and a presence in more than 50 countries.

Marcelo is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a member of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame. In 2016, the Carnegie Corporation of New York selected him as part of its “Great Immigrants: The Pride of America” initiative.

Education has always been an important cause for Marcelo. More than a decade ago, he and Nicholas Negroponte co-founded One Laptop Per Child, an organization dedicated to providing low-cost laptops to children in impoverished communities. At Sprint, Marcelo created the 1Million Project to help bridge the digital divide and close the homework gap for 1 million U.S. high school students. He believes that every hardworking student deserves access to the devices and internet connectivity they need to pursue their dreams. 

Marcelo is also Chairman of CTIA – The Wireless Association and Treasurer of My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a nonprofit working to eliminate opportunity gaps for young men of color. 

Marcelo earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance in 1993 and an honorary Doctorate of Commercial Science from Bentley University in Massachusetts. He is a member of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows and the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. Marcelo is married and has five children.

Marcelo Claure, Executive Chairman , Sprint

Marcelo Claure, founder of the 1Million Project, is executive chairman of the board of Sprint Corporation. He also serves as chief operating officer of SoftBank Group Corp. and chief executive officer of SoftBank International, and is a member of the SoftBank board of directors. He also serves on the board of Arm, a leading chip technology developer. Marcelo most recently was CEO of Sprint.

Marcelo embodies the successful pursuit of the American Dream. He immigrated to the United States from Bolivia and later became a U.S. citizen.  In 1997, he founded Brightstar as a small, Miami-based wireless distributor that he transformed into the world’s largest global wireless distribution and services company with revenues exceeding $10 billion and a presence in more than 50 countries. Brightstar was recognized as the largest Hispanic-owned business in U.S. history.

Marcelo has been recognized as one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs. He was named a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and is a member of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame. And Hispanic Business magazine named him Entrepreneur of the Year.
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Education has always been an important cause for Marcelo. More than a decade ago, he and Nicholas Negroponte co-founded One Laptop Per Child, an organization dedicated to providing low-cost laptops to children in impoverished communities. At Sprint, Marcelo launched the 1Million Project to help bridge the digital divide and close the homework gap for 1 million U.S. high school students. He believes that every hardworking student deserves access to the devices and internet connectivity they need to pursue their dreams.
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Marcelo earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance in 1993 and an honorary Doctorate of Commercial Science from Bentley University in Massachusetts. He is a member of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows and the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. Marcelo is married and has five children.

Our council

Our District Advisory Council is made up of representatives from districts whose high schools are participating in the 1Million Project.

Together, these representatives serve as our deepest thought-partners, offering insights, guidance and reality checks as we seek to improve and expand our efforts now, and in the coming years.

Valerie Truesdale

Assoc. Supt. for Personalization and School Partnerships

Jessica Simonson

Director, Office of Community School

Jennifer Wagner

Director of Educational Technology

Chad Meyer

Director, Department of Technology

James Lunsford

Director of Information Technology

Richard Benvenuti

DISTRICT DIRECTOR

Jose Correa

DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA SPECIALISTS

Lori Webster

Grant Writer Manager

Kristy Sailors

DIRECTOR EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

Carla Smith

INTERIM DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES

Jessica Simonson

Director, Office of Community Schools

Ellen Dorr

Chief Technology Officer

Joe Phillips

Director of Technology

Kevin Coleman

Executive Director of Technology

Timothy Holt

Executive Director Blended Learning

Cliff Rallins

IT Director

Rhonda Hobbs

Director of Technology

Peter Santos

Information Technology Officer

Richard Benvenuti

District Director, Instructional Technology

Carla Smith

Interim Director of Technical Support Services

Our Team

Each member of our team is personally and professionally committed to helping students across America achieve their full potential.

We’re honored to do this work, and we consider it a privilege to be in service to others. Most of us are parents, and several of us would have been eligible to receive devices from our respective high schools (had the Internet existed when we were in high school!) Although many of our team members are in Kansas City, approximately half of us live in other parts of the United States.

Doug Michelman

President

John Branam

Executive Director

Dan Cox

National School Implementation Manager

Andrea Chambers

School Implementation Lead - Midwest

Rishabh Kashyap

School Implementation Lead - Northeast

Christine Powell

School Implementation Lead - South

Jim Wearn

School Implementation Lead - West

Jennifer Lewis

Operations Manager

Kirstein Smith

Program Manager

Robinette Postlewait

Communications Manager

Janea Roberts

Community Affairs Manager

Logan Heggemann

Community Affairs Manager

Josh Morton

senior advisor

Ed Orenstein

Senior Development Advisor

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