Elizabeth McWhorter
Founder & CEO at ThriveIEP, Inc. and Evergreen Education
Innovation
Education: St. Olaf College - University of Maryland, College Park
Cambridge, MA, USA
Biography
I am a mission-driven founder who is changing the world by making information, skills, and technology work for people. As ThriveIEP’s CEO and co-founder, I am changing how parents manage the special education process, empowering them with a robust platform that provides generative AI-driven insights, information, and assistance to improve educational outcomes for kids. When I’m not changing the human experience, I’m training for the Pan-Mass Challenge, chasing my kids and dog up and down mountains, and cooking with my husband.
Passion
Many things put a smile on my face. Here are three:
1. The moment when somebody (it could be a client or my kid) goes from confusion to clarity. I love it when I get to see that magic.
2. Doing things that really challenge me. Whether it's starting two companies at once or riding 186 miles on my bike in two days, the way I feel when I am stretched to my limits is amazing.
3. Building things with my kids. From planting flowers in the garden to baking brownies, I love doing things - together - with our hands.
Origin Story
I seek out challenges. If I’m going to do something, it’s going to be the extra hard version. My entire career has focused on visionary change. Go big or go home. I worked full time, completed a graduate degree, got married, and had a baby at the same time. I know what hard work is. And I don’t let it stop me.
And then I hit the special education system. One time I got rear-ended by a semi-truck on I-95. That was nothing compared to this.
It’s 2019. My son, James, is a happy Kindergarten kid. He’s universally referred to as kind and smart. A big brother, an artist, and a friend. A climber of mountains. One day his teacher quietly said to me: “Something isn’t right. James isn’t where he should be on basic reading skills. He should be assessed. If you email me it will happen faster.”
This began my family’s journey in special education. At that moment, I unknowingly jumped into the deep end and I didn’t have the skills, knowledge, or experience I needed. I had no idea that advocating for our child’s education would be this hard.
We were overwhelmed with technical information, jargon, and abbreviations and suddenly expected to understand neuropsychology and educational interventions and law and school system politics.
Despite our best efforts, when we reached 3rd grade, James was still reading at a kindergarten level. He and I both cried every morning before school.
After 4 years of advocacy and thousands of dollars spent on advocates, tutoring, and testing, we pulled our formerly confident kid out of our well-funded, highly rated public school and made the decision to send him to a private school that specializes in dyslexia.
Advocating for his federally protected right to a Fair Appropriate Public Education is the hardest thing we have ever done.
I was demoralized, exhausted, lonely, and now spending over $60,000 a year for his elementary education.
I stepped back and took a break. I only rested for a month. I went to lots of therapy. I took a sabbatical.
And then I remembered who I am.
I don’t accept the status quo. If parents don’t have the resources they need to support their kids, guess what. We build those supports.
If people feel excluded or alone, we change the system so they belong. Nothing is out of reach.
Today I’m changing that status quo with ThriveIEP. We’re transforming how parents and guardians manage the special education process, empowering them with a robust platform that provides AI-driven insights, information, and assistance to improve educational outcomes for kids.
There are lots of things about parenting that are hard. Advocating for your child’s basic educational rights shouldn’t be one of them.
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I generally get paid for speaking but make exceptions
Origin Story
I seek out challenges. If I’m going to do something, it’s going to be the extra hard version. My entire career has focused on visionary change. Go big or go home. I worked full time, completed a graduate degree, got married, and had a baby at the same time. I know what hard work is. And I don’t let it stop me.
And then I hit the special education system. One time I got rear-ended by a semi-truck on I-95. That was nothing compared to this.
It’s 2019. My son, James, is a happy Kindergarten kid. He’s universally referred to as kind and smart. A big brother, an artist, and a friend. A climber of mountains. One day his teacher quietly said to me: “Something isn’t right. James isn’t where he should be on basic reading skills. He should be assessed. If you email me it will happen faster.”
This began my family’s journey in special education. At that moment, I unknowingly jumped into the deep end and I didn’t have the skills, knowledge, or experience I needed. I had no idea that advocating for our child’s education would be this hard.
We were overwhelmed with technical information, jargon, and abbreviations and suddenly expected to understand neuropsychology and educational interventions and law and school system politics.
Despite our best efforts, when we reached 3rd grade, James was still reading at a kindergarten level. He and I both cried every morning before school.
After 4 years of advocacy and thousands of dollars spent on advocates, tutoring, and testing, we pulled our formerly confident kid out of our well-funded, highly rated public school and made the decision to send him to a private school that specializes in dyslexia.
Advocating for his federally protected right to a Fair Appropriate Public Education is the hardest thing we have ever done.
I was demoralized, exhausted, lonely, and now spending over $60,000 a year for his elementary education.
I stepped back and took a break. I only rested for a month. I went to lots of therapy. I took a sabbatical.
And then I remembered who I am.
I don’t accept the status quo. If parents don’t have the resources they need to support their kids, guess what. We build those supports.
If people feel excluded or alone, we change the system so they belong. Nothing is out of reach.
Today I’m changing that status quo with ThriveIEP. We’re transforming how parents and guardians manage the special education process, empowering them with a robust platform that provides AI-driven insights, information, and assistance to improve educational outcomes for kids.
There are lots of things about parenting that are hard. Advocating for your child’s basic educational rights shouldn’t be one of them.