Vote for New Profit at SXSW EDU 2026

August 06, 2025 | New Profit Communications

New Profit is excited about the opportunity to reunite with our community in Austin next March. This year, we’ve submitted three dynamic session proposals to SXSW EDU’s PanelPicker, and your vote can help bring them to life.

In addition to our much-anticipated funder meet up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we’re proposing two timely discussions: one on youth mental health and another on the evolving landscape of mergers and acquisitions in the education sector.

Your support is key to getting these conversations on the official agenda. To vote, click the links below and select the heart icon next to the title of the session. (You’ll need to create a quick login, but it only takes a minute.) Voting closes on August 24.

Thank you for helping shape another meaningful year at SXSW EDU!

Proximity in Practice: Social Entrepreneur & Funder Mixer (SXSW EDU Meet Up)

New Profit and the Gates Foundation invite funders and social entrepreneurs to discuss the role of strategic partnerships and cross-sector collaboration when navigating uncertainty. Join us to build community, deepen connections, and share challenges and successes. We will explore how bringing cross-sector voices together— from community to entrepreneurs and philanthropists—can build authentic partnerships and drive transformative solutions. Connect with leaders redefining philanthropy who understand that breakthroughs come from leaders grounded in the communities they serve.

Speakers:

  • Molly O’Donnell, Managing Partner, New Profit
  • Maurice McCaulley, Program Officer, The Gates Foundation

Grow or Let Go? Navigating M&A in Education (SXSW EDU Panel)

As the education sector faces mounting pressure to scale impact, adapt to change, and align resources, mergers and acquisitions are becoming critical tools for systems-level transformation. Yet behind every deal lies a complex story of leadership, culture, and mission. In this candid conversation moderated by New Profit, leaders from Deloitte and other prominent organizations who have navigated and supported M&A share lessons learned—and explore how philanthropy can better support organizations scaling, consolidating, or collaborating.

Speakers:

  • Shruti Sehra, Managing Partner, New Profit
  • Joanna Burleson, Practice Leader, Monitor Institute by Deloitte, Monitor Institute by Deloitte
  • Frances Messano, CEO, NewSchools Venture Fund
  • Sarah Johnson, CEO, Teaching Lab

Mind the Gap: Funding Youth Mental Health (SXSW EDU Panel)

The gap between youth mental health needs and investment is widening—but funding hasn’t caught up. Less than 1% of philanthropic dollars go to youth mental health, even as challenges escalate. This panel dives into new research showing where funding falls short and how evidence-based, data-informed investments can move beyond short-term fixes, and reframe youth mental health as essential to economic opportunity and the future of education. Speakers will offer concrete strategies for funders, community leaders, and policymakers to expand access and close this critical divide.

Speakers:

  • Shruti Sehra, Managing Partner, New Profit
  • Tezeta Tamrat, Manager, New Profit
  • Adeeb Barqawi, President and CEO, PROUNITAS INC.