Cole Stevens
Visionary, Organizer, Entrepreneur
About Cole
Up Close & Personal
Cole is a serial entrepreneur, organizer, and public speaker with a deep lived experience of his material. Growing up poor and biracial in South Minneapolis taught him to enjoy diverse cultures and be a bridge between them. When COVID hit, Cole lost his service work job alongside thousands of young people across Minnesota.
Despite the odds being stacked against him and having no formal credentials, he refused to become a statistic, but instead to create a new reality. Cole co-led a successful legislative campaign to change a discriminatory unemployment law impacting high school students in MN. This resulted in students receiving over $35M in pandemic aid across Minnesota. Cole has used his storytelling abilities to co-found the youth-led nonprofit Bridgemakers, raise over $3 million, and start his own public speaking and music production company.
Cole is passionate about:
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Helping extraordinary leaders live extraordinary lives and create meaningful, fulfilling jobs
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Transforming the U.S. education system to cultivate purpose, prosperity and power for every child in America
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Driving inclusive economic growth by supporting and investing in young entrepreneurs from under-resourced backgrounds
Areas of focus
Knowledge & Expertise
Youth Leadership
Education Transformation
Entrepreneur Development
Professional History
At 21 years old, his track record is serious.
May 2020 - December 2020
Legislative Advocacy
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Cole Led a campaign for working high school students laid off during the pandemic to access lifesaving pandemic unemployment insurance when the state illegally barred them solely for being in high school. This resulted in over $35 Million in pandemic aid for students statewide.
December 2020 to present
Nonprofit
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After the unemployment campaign, Cole Co-founded Bridgemakers, a fully youth-led and youth serving organization dedicated to ensuring America’s youth live in purpose, prosperity and power.
December 2020 to present
Fundraising
Cole's storytelling expertise has been incredibly effective in nonprofit fundraising. He currently has a track record of securing over 2.7 million dollars in philanthropic investment for Bridgemakers and it's partner organizations.
January 2023 - June 2025
Entrepreneur Development
Cole has led the development of deep partnerships across philanthropic, government and for profit entities to invest into young entrepreneurs from marginalized backgrounds, he is currently leading an entrepreneur fellowship at Bridgemakers.
Hear Cole speak
“If our education system is not a bridge to success, in all aspects of life, from youth to adulthood; then what are we paying for?”