Our Story
Our Story
What makes you mad? We ask each student as they join LearnServe. We invite them to identify the social injustices and environmental challenges that matter to them most, before asking the essential follow-up question, "What are you going to do about it?"
These questions have guided our nearly 2000 students and alumni over the past 20+ years as they research, design, and launch action projects to serve their schools and communities. And they have guided the LearnServe team as we help young people discover their confidence, power, and voice as changemakers.
Our Impact
of LearnServe alumni consider social impact when making career decisions
remain civically engaged after our programs
of LearnServe alumni mention LearnServe in their college applications
of alumni are serving in leadership roles as founders, directors, and on Boards, mobilizing others to action.
Annual Reports & Impact Assessments
Access key findings from Spur Local’s 20-year alumni impact assessment from 2023 and our Annual Reports below:
LearnServe Timeline
2003-2007 | The world is small. Think Big!
Recently retired after a career in education and school leadership, LearnServe Founder Hugh Riddleberger worried about his students' "superficial scratch on the surface of service." He wanted them to establish a relationship with the communities they were going to serve, to truly understand their needs and how they could help. He wanted them to truly understand the world. With initial support from Share Our Strength and the Case Foundation, Hugh invited a group of teachers to travel with him on a two-week service trip during the summer of 2003. The following summer these 11 teachers were joined by 14 students representing 6 diverse schools from across the Washington, DC region. The students and teachers returned transformed; Hugh realized he was on to something. The idea grew into the Center for International Education, housed at the Washington International School thanks to champions Dick Hall and Kathy Kemper. With support from Sabine Keinath, we added trips to Zambia, Paraguay, China, and Japan, and helped students and teachers bring both the lessons they learned, and the ethos of service, back to their schools, families, and communities. By 2006 we realized that these summers abroad were just the beginning. Scott Rechler joined Hugh and the nascent LearnServe team to develop an action-oriented extracurricular program. We introduced our 7-month Fellows Program as a hands-on, practical introduction to social entrepreneurship. Students explored critical business and leadership skills such as strategic planning, financial literacy, and cross-cultural communication -- and applied these skills to pressing global issues such as climate change, poverty, and health. In Spring 2007, the first 20 Fellows formally pitched their social ventures, action projects to serve their schools and communities.
2008-2013 | LearnServe International
In 2008 we outgrew our home at the Washington International School, incorporating as the independent non-profit organization LearnServe International. Kathy Kemper, Dick Hall, and Cathy Tinsley joined Hugh Riddleberger as founding Board members. In 2010, Hugh retired (again), transitioning leadership of LearnServe to Co-Directors Sabine Keinath and Scott Rechler, and Board Chair Cathy Tinsley. During this period we doubled the size of our Fellows Program to nearly 40 students, and introduced two new LearnServe Abroad destinations: Jamaica and South Africa.
2014-2019 | Incubating Impact + Seeding Social Innovation
In honor of LearnServe's 10th anniversary, we undertook our first long-term impact evaluation, conducted by ICF International. Reflecting on the powerful ways in which LearnServe shapes our students' personal and professional trajectories, and in conversation with our partner schools, we identified two opportunities to expand our reach: (1) How can we ensure students who start their social entrepreneurship journey with LearnServe receive the support they need through implementation and growth? (2) How can we work more deeply with schools, offering curriculum materials, training, and support to help teachers to bring social entrepreneurship into the school day. In 2014 we introduced the LearnServe Incubator, a year-long program for alumni of the LearnServe Fellows Program, designed to maximize the impact of the most promising social ventures and deepen students' understanding of social entrepreneurship. Students are paired 1:1 with mentors throughout the program, refine their ventures using a variation of the Lean Startup approach, and pitch their ideas in a capstone pitch competition. In 2014 we also launched Seeding Social Innovation, our school-based social entrepreneurship program. We license our curriculum and offer training and project planning tools to help teachers bring social innovation into the classroom. We piloted the approach at four schools, reaching 150 students who designed more than 50 social ventures. We have developed both a high school and middle school version of our curriculum. We developed our Student Action Summit into an annual student-led conference that brought together LearnServe students and alumni enrolled in the Fellows, Incubator, and Abroad programs, as well as students from our Seeding Social Innovation partner schools and peer community-based organizations. The Summit offered current students the opportunity to prototype their venture ideas, while attracting new students to the organization.
2020-2024 | Growing a Global Fellowship
As the COVID pandemic forced us to cancel all in-person programming, we made the intentional decision to quickly pivot to a virtual format, so that we could continue to show up for our students. Within days we transitioned our weekly in-person Fellows sessions to Zoom, culminating in our first virtual pitch competition. We introduced a virtual Hackathon as our own prototype for virtual facilitation. This grew into our inaugural Global Summer Fellowship, a 5-week intensive virtual exchange with students from the United States and Zambia. Leaning into the virtual format, we were able to engage students from Zambia -- and eventually South Africa, Paraguay, Ecuador, and across the United States -- in LearnServe programs in new and powerful ways. At the same time, we invested in our first Student Success Advocates, LearnServe staff members dedicated to student wellbeing and their social and emotional development. Our pivot from in-person experiences to virtual exchanges gave us a moment to reflect on access to LearnServe programs, as well as the imbalance implicit in most student travel programs. Within the U.S. we realized that while Zoom sessions increased accessibility for some, other students did not have consistent or reliable spaces in which to connect, or craved the in-person community and support. In our global programs, we appreciated that virtual programming allowed students from outside the United States to participate as full program participants -- not just hosts or beneficiaries. As we returned to in-person programs, we re-imagined the structure and sequence of LearnServe Programs. The LearnServe Fellows Program, our first-year introduction to social entrepreneurship, is offered both in-person and virtually to students in the Washington, DC region. At the same time, through our program partners in Zambia, Paraguay, and Costa Rica, the LearnServe Fellows Program is taught, in person, in each of those three countries. Our Incubator has remained a virtual program, engaging students from the U.S., Zambia, Paraguay, and Costa Rica in a second year of mentorship and project development. In summer 2024 we re-introduced global travel as a capstone experience to the LearnServe Incubator. Through our new model, students from all participating countries benefit from the same pre-travel social entrepreneurship training, first as LearnServe Fellows and then as part of the Incubator. They get to know each other over two years, and are well-versed in social entrepreneurship, the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, and their own social ventures before they meet in person -- spending two weeks deepening their skills, and identities, as changemakers.
2025-2030 | We the Change
As we embark on our next chapter, we remain committed to growing a locally-grounded, globally-connected community of young changemakers -- individuals who do not ordinarily have the opportunity to meet each other and work together, but are ready to share and learn. United by a common drive to make the world a better place, they represent a diverse and growing network of young people across the Washington, DC region, Africa, and Latin America. Across our programs we directly serve more than 150 students each year, and through them reach hundreds more.
Our Team Members
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Director and CEO
A Washington, DC native, Scott graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in social anthropology. He wrote his senior thesis on social entrepreneurship and social change in southern Chile, and co-founded Harvard’s Race, Culture, and Diversity Initiative to improve campus intercultural relations. Scott worked for five years at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, strengthening Ashoka’s dynamic global community of social entrepreneurs. Scott was selected a 2009 winner of the Linowes Leadership Award of the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region. He received his M.B.A. from George Washington University’s School of Business in May 2012. Scott served as a founding Board member of ScholarCHIPS, a LearnServe venture that offers college scholarships to children of incarcerated parents. He currently serves on the Board of Operation Understanding DC, an organization that prepares young social justice leaders to fight racism and discrimination. He also serves on the DC Mayor's Innovation Technology Inclusion Council. A fluent Spanish speaker, Scott has lived in Chile and Bolivia. Scott joined LearnServe in 2006 and has served as Director and CEO since 2010.
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Development Director
Anne Schoolcraft serves as the Development Director at LearnServe International. Prior to joining the organization, Anne served 15 years at the Maya Angelou Schools & See Forever Foundation in Washington, DC, serving in various roles including the Director of Donor and Volunteer Programs. Prior to joining the Maya Angelou Schools, Anne served as an Americorps VISTA member at Ashoka’s Youth Venture, where she supported youth social entrepreneurship and service learning opportunities at schools across the country. Believing in the power of national service, Anne completed two terms as an Americorps member supporting the Ohio/ West Virginia Youth Leadership Association and YMCA Camp Horseshoe. With over twenty years of experience working with youth, she has a passion to see that all young people have every opportunity to succeed and to become leaders in their communities. Anne holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Writing and Psychology from West Virginia Wesleyan College.
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Director of Programs and Student Success
Latrina has always been passionate about empowering youth to discover their full potential. Growing up in Baltimore and witnessing the inequalities in the school system from a young age, she realized the benefits of community engagement and non-traditional educational opportunities. Her interest in international education was ignited during her undergraduate career at Gettysburg College when she traveled to Ghana, West Africa for a semester abroad. This transformative experience inspired her to return to a small village in Ghana to lead several community development projects, specifically within the education system. Carrying on her interest in education, she spent years working in various roles in the Baltimore City and Washington D.C.'s public and private school systems. She earned her Master’s from the University of Baltimore in Global Affairs and Human Security with a focus on International Education reform. Most recently, Latrina served as the Academic Advisor and Adjunct Professor at the University of Baltimore where she supported and provided resources for undergraduate and graduate students throughout their academic careers. Latrina joined the LearnServe team in 2021.
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Regional Manager for DC and Baltimore
Eva Newbold is a native of Richmond Hill, Georgia. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and Women’s Studies from Agnes Scott College and her M.A. in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Florida. Eva's career began in political campaign work, where she contributed to two congressional campaigns, a Georgia State House campaign, and worked with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Alongside her political endeavors, Eva served as Interim Director of Religious Education at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah. In 2021, she relocated to Washington, D.C. to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Raising A Village Foundation. Over the following years, she took on leadership roles, first as an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader and later as a Regional Site Coordinator and Community Outreach Manager at the organization.
In January 2024, Eva joined LearnServe as the Regional Site Manager for D.C. and Baltimore, where she continues to work to empower young leaders in the community.
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Development and Operations Associate
Charlotte Fajardo serves as the Development and Operations Associate at LearnServe International. Prior to joining the organization, Charlotte earned her B.A. in Criminology at the University of Florida, before returning to her hometown of Arlington, Virginia to work in the nonprofit sector. Charlotte served as an Americorps VISTA member with LearnServe, working in Development and building capacity for the organization. After her year of service, she returned to LearnServe to continue her work streamlining Development and Operations processes.
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Communications VISTA
Gabrielle serves as an AmeriCorps VISTA at LearnServe International, building capacity in communications and development. She is a recent graduate of Bishop’s University, located in the beautiful Eastern Townships of Quebec, where she earned a BA in International Political Economy and Economics. Before joining LearnServe, she served as Editor-in-Chief of her university’s independent student newspaper and engaged in various community-based internships and jobs, including at a local newspaper, a radio station, a local political party, and as a research assistant. Gabrielle's research interests are broad, spanning critical minerals (for which she won a national undergraduate research award) and AAPI identity. In her free time, she volunteers with other DC nonprofits, goes down Wikipedia rabbit holes, and maintains a Duolingo streak.
Our Board Memebers
LearnServe Emertitus Board Members
Our Partners
LearnServe delivers its Fellows programs in partnership with exceptional nonprofits around the world:
Njira Youth Skills Centre
Njira fights poverty and gender-based violence in Lusaka, Zambia, through high quality and relevant free vocational skills training.
Dale Una Mano a Costa Rica
Dale1Mano is a youth development organization in Bataan, Limon providing leadership and service-learning opportunities to young people. Through their transformative programs, they empower young people to be changemakers in their communities.
Centro Comunitario Cultural Santa Ana
The CCC is a community center in Santa Ana at the outskirts of Asunción. The community center provides a variety of leadership development possibilities for youth from Santa Ana, as well as classes and youth led community projects.