114: Kalani Leifer — The Economics of Higher Education and the Power of Peer Support

Mindful Money

Kalani Leifer is the Founder and CEO of COOP Careers, a company aiming to overcome underemployment through digital skills and peer connections. Kalani began his career as a history teacher at Kappa International High School in the Bronx, NY (with Teach For America). Later, he worked as a consultant at McKinsey in Zurich and Dubai, and as a project leader at Google in California. Kalani grew up in the Bay Area, graduated from Stanford, and earned a master’s in education from Lehman College, CUNY.

In this episode, I talk with Kalani about the profound impact of peer support and community in navigating career challenges. Kalani shares his unique perspective, shaped by his upbringing on Stanford’s campus amidst the economic disparities of Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, and his early teaching experiences. We discuss the broken promise of higher education for first-generation college students, many of whom face unemployment or underemployment despite their degrees. Through Kalani's insights, we explore the crucial role of social networks in career advancement and how peer relationships can drive long-term career success and upward economic mobility.

In this episode:

• [00:00] - Intro
• [02:06] - Kalani’s background and early influences
• [07:36] - Navigating the challenges of higher education
• [12:27] - The reality for college graduates
• [18:35] - Why building and maintaining relationships is so important
• [26:22] - How COOP Careers works
• [27:34] - The struggles of job hunting for graduates
• [28:36] - COOP’s unique curriculum: head, heart, and hustle
• [31:34] - Challenges in workforce development
• [33:07] - Networking and the importance of relationships
• [37:12] - The need for federal and state investment
• [43:34] - Advice for recent graduates
• [48:01] - The future of COOP and final thoughts

Get full show notes and links at https://mindful.money.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MindfulMoney.

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