A community of 200+ professionals in Boston and beyond.

Our Story

Founded in 2012, our team spent nearly a decade running after-school leadership programs in the Boston Public Schools. When the pandemic hit, we pivoted—launching a virtual interview series that connected students with local professionals on Zoom. Once schools reopened, educators asked us to bring these professionals directly into classrooms. The need for programming that supports post-secondary planning—particularly in the middle grades—quickly became clear.

Over the last three years, we’ve evolved our programming in response–transforming our guest speaker series into a scalable, school-based program that helps students explore career paths, set goals, and navigate our city’s education system with confidence.

Our Values

Youth Voice

We put our students first—their voices, their ideas, and their ambitions.

Community

We commit to reflect, engage, and uplift the communities that we serve.

Empathy

We are humans. Relationships are complicated. In our roles as mentors, partners, colleagues, &/or friends, we practice empathy.

Humility

We stay hungry (for feedback). We are ever evolving and evaluating our work.

Explore our Speaker Community

Our guest speakers are leaders in their industries, but many are also Boston Public School graduates themselves.

Meet Our Team

  • Sara Kittle (Wroblewski)

    Founder & CEO

  • Reynaldo Benzan-Martinez

    Senior Program Director

  • Kathryn Bateman

    Program Director

Check for open positions

Board of Directors

  • Nicolas Estrella

    Chair

  • Shane Godek

    Treasurer

  • Shannon Taylor

    Secretary

  • Eva Scapicchio

    Member

  • Mary Ann Skewes Aguasvivas

    Member

  • Shawn Lawson

    Member

It all started with one bead.

In 2011, Sara traveled to Kenya with a friend and spent several days interning at glass blowing studio outside of Nairobi–Kitengela Hot Glass. While there, the studio’s founder, Anselm, told Sara and her friend about a project he was working on at a local school that had come to a standstill due to a lack of funding. Sara suggested making and selling glass beads—an idea Anselm embraced immediately. She flew home with 300 beads in her luggage and a goal to raise $6,000 for the project.

Back at school, Sara made bracelets with the beads and sold them to friends and family. Around that same time, her college announced its first annual entrepreneurial pitch competition. Seeing an opportunity to share Anselm’s story with a wider audience, Sara entered and, with his encouragement and support, won. Within weeks, she sold the remaining beads and provided Anselm with the funds needed to complete his project.

Having a mentor like Anselm reshaped how Sara saw herself as a leader and inspired her to launch One Bead. Over the years, One Bead has evolved tremendously, but Anselm remains one of Sara’s greatest champions—and closest friends. Read more about the impact One Bead mentors are having on youth today.