DIANA HELDFOND
Age: 28 • Founder, Parallel Learning
Doctors, therapists, yoga teachers have gone virtual. Why not special education teachers? Heldfond’s New York–based edtech startup, Parallel Learning, uses its software to connect more than 100 school districts with 150 licensed special ed professionals including speech pathologists, social workers and therapists. “We tailor our services for students to reach their goals. It’s a very personalized approach,” says Heldfond, who was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD at 7 years old. Her software helps schools save time and money by automating assessment tests and tedious state-mandated paperwork. Heldfond launched the company in 2021 and has since raised $22.8 million in funding from investors including Tiger Global and Obvious Ventures.
EDUCATION
Pedro de Almeida, 25 Matthew Barron, 26
Cofounders, Cariina
Kerry Ao, 19
Naina Muvva, 19
Cofounders, Intertwined
Ethan Binder, 27
Erik Laucks, 24
Zura Mestiashvili, 25
Cofounders, GoPeer
Sasha Bratyshkin, 27
Cofounder, Housing.Cloud
Travis Chen, 24
Brian Femminella, 23
Cofounders, SoundMind
Brian Curcio, 29
Myles Gage, 29
Cofounders, Rapunzl
Archika Dogra, 21
Founder, Innoverge
Amanda Grennan, 23 Madeline Hilliard, 24
Cofounders, DopaGE
Diana Heldfond, 28
Founder, Parallel Learning
Vishnu Indukuri, 28
Sam Walder, 29
Cofounders, Trala
Chelsea Jeon, 29
Ryan Jeon, 25
Cofounders, Immigo
Jui Khankari, 19
Founder, AInspire
Jaloree Lantigua, 26
Founder, Stream Technologies
Alliyah Logan, 21
Cofounder, Cultivate
Global Education
Peter Luba, 24
Dhruv Sringari, 23
Cofounders, SmartPass
Niko McCarty, 29
Learning Specialist, MIT
Tony Morales, 29
Daniel Santos, 29
Cofounders, Prepory
Sri Narayanan, 24
Cofounder, Kodely
Meghna Pramoda, 16
Siona Pramoda, 15
Vineeth Veeramachaneni, 22
Cofounders, SafeTeensOnline
Ceri Riley, 29
Cofounder, SciShow Tangents
Tim Rosenberger, 29
Founder, Atlas
Education Fund
Jacqueline Sánchez, 26
Legislative Liaison,
New Mexico Public
Education Department
Parth Shah, 24
CEO, LearningFuze
Justin Shaifer, 29
Founder, Fascinate Media
Jessica Shelley, 29
Cofounder, Dailies
Brittany Sinitch, 28
Founder, The Unbreakable Organization
Savannah Smith, 26
Ebony Welborn, 28
Cofounders, Sea Potential
Dashiell Young-Saver, 29
Founder, Skew the Script
Tessa Zimmerman, 28
Founder, Upstream Education
Rania Zuri, 18
Founder, The LiTEArary Society JUDGES: Dan Carroll, cofounder, Clever; Katelyn Donnelly, founder, Avalanche VC; Andrew Grauer, cofounder, Learneo