New York – July 26, 2022 – Historically, Wall Street has been out of reach for many ambitious job seekers from overlooked communities due to structural inequity.

Without professional connections, degrees from prestigious schools and industry knowledge, it is challenging to break into the finance industry. 

But we are making progress. StreetWise has teamed up with Wall Street Diversity Accelerator (WSDA) to create opportunities for under-represented talent to intern within the finance sector. WSDA is made up of 15 elite boutique Wall Street firms that have come together to hire summer interns from diverse backgrounds. WSDA strategically engages smaller firms, many of which do not have a formal internship program and rely on the volunteer leadership of WSDA to handle recruitment and logistics. Launched in 2020, the goal of the program is to prepare rising sophomores and juniors for internships at large companies that may not otherwise give these young professionals a chance. The program will serve 24 interns this summer through their equity research and wealth management tracks.

StreetWise Partners was chosen as a recruitment partner for the 2022 WSDA program and is thrilled to announce that four of our job seekers were chosen to participate. This summer, StreetWise will be represented by:

Yeshi T. – Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC

Ahmed A. – Lisanti Capital Growth, LLC

Krystal L.  – Trillium Asset Management

Dorjee S. – Tweedy, Browne

Our job seekers along with their peers will participate in a week long boot camp to learn the basics of the industry. They will also shadow a WSDA mentor in client meetings and daily duties, as well as complete a hands-on project which they will present to the firm’s investment team at program end.

Jane White, CEO of Granahan Investment Management and one of the founding members of WSDA had the opportunity to meet several Streetwise candidates through the recruitment process. “The Streetwise students that I interviewed were extremely motivated, articulate and interesting, hardworking people. It was a pleasure to engage with them.”

John Barr, Portfolio Manager at Needham Funds and the leader of WSDA added “StreetWise students had such a high placement rate because they were well prepared for interviews and stood out relative to their peers who have not had mentoring.”

StreetWise is proud of our WSDA interns and thankful for the opportunity that this program has afforded to the communities that we serve. Good luck to our Wall Street wonders, This is Your Time.