Driving Communities Forward with Julie Clugage

As we approach International Women’s Day, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the incredible leadership of another inspiring changemaker -- Julie Clugage , Co-Founder & Executive Director at Team4Tech. Her leadership exemplifies the best of cross-sector collaboration and the profound impact of pro bono and skills-based volunteering—especially across borders. Julie encourages us to reflect on key questions at a time when technology is advancing at an ever-accelerating pace such as: How can we stem the rising tide of inequality? At a time when many feel divided, Julie’s leadership is an inspiration, urging each of us to build bridges and take action to create a more equitable future. That's what leadership looks like.

What gets you up in the morning, and what’s a typical day in your role?

At Team4Tech, our mission is to build capacity for education-focused NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in under-resourced communities worldwide. We help these organizations access the tools and resources they need to equip learners with the employability skills essential for their futures. Currently, we support over 950 NGOs across 90+ countries, reaching 42 million learners, providing technology tools, skills-based volunteering, knowledge resources, funding, and vital connections to help amplify their impact. Each day, my motivation is to discover new ways to ensure our NGO partners have the resources they need to improve learning outcomes for their students. My typical day involves collaborating with our corporate social impact partners to engage their employees, liaising with foundation funders, connecting with our NGO partners, and working closely with our global team—always focused on finding those win-win intersections where we can match available resources to areas that will make the most difference.

Who inspires you?

I’m deeply inspired by our NGO partners we work with and the impactful programs they run to expand economic opportunities for their learners. While we most often engage with NGO staff and teachers, hearing the stories of their motivated, talented students who are leveraging these opportunities is equally inspiring. A recent collaboration with Kenya Connect, for example, allowed us to partner with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to train educators in 50 rural schools in coding and robotics. As a result, a team of three high school girls from one of the schools won the Kenya Robotics Olympiad in August and traveled to Turkey for the World Robotics Olympiad in November. These kinds of success stories remind me of the incredible potential that lies within every learner and fuel my passion for extending these opportunities to more students around the world.

What do you wish people knew about your field?

While the global digital equity gap in education is widely recognized, I wish more people knew just how impactful community-based NGOs can be when equipped with basic technology tools and training. In low and middle-income countries, half of all learners depend on these organizations to access education. Team4Tech provides annual grants of $15,000 to help NGOs implement the necessary technology infrastructure, along with skills-based volunteering, toolkits, and training to build the digital, innovation, socio-emotional, and cognitive skills that students need for future success. We pride ourselves on building long-term, trusted partnerships with our NGO partners, co-designing solutions to expand opportunities for learners. Additionally, I wish all technology companies could see the fulfillment their employees experience when they contribute their expertise to help NGOs through pro bono consulting. It’s such a beautiful win-win.

What is your vision for the future of social impact?

As technology tools advance at an ever-accelerating rate, I want us all to think about how we can stem the tide of rising inequality.? How can we build bridges and onramps, so that learners everywhere have a path to building the skills they need to participate in economic growth?? How can we build enduring programs and funding that support community-based organizations doing this work around education for employability?? No single company or nonprofit can do it alone.? We need multi-year, funded coalitions across the public, corporate and nonprofit sectors to advance the work globally.

How can we support your work?

At Team4Tech, we are always seeking new corporate partners to help our community of NGOs with whatever resources they can offer—whether that’s people, products, knowledge resources, or funding. We have a full range of skilled volunteering formats, from just one hour to several months. We are grateful for those who can help us spread the word and get more partners involved. It takes all of us to build the bridge!