Delshan Baker of Thread on the New Social Fabric, Networks, and Showing Up

Through the Noise # 229

Delshan Baker // Senior Director of Operations // Thread

We’re very excited to welcome Delshan Baker to the show today. Ms. Baker joins us from an organization in Baltimore called Thread that’s been receiving some great publicity. Earlier this year, Ernesto read a profile in the New York Times about the transformative work the staff and volunteers of Thread do for underperforming students in Baltimore. Thread only works with students in the bottom 25% of their class and provides them with a volunteer support network that is available 24 hours a day for 10 years. They manage a spectacular community of volunteers that Show Up and form a family support system that is structured to help the student begin thriving and continue to succeed into adulthood.

Delshan has almost 15 years of operations experience in the non-profit and for-profit sectors, from managing an $11M budget to launching essential technology projects. She has a BA in Studio Art from Stanford University, an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and is a Baltimore native.

Thread engages underperforming high school students confronting significant barriers outside of the classroom by providing each one with a family of committed volunteers and increased access to community resources.