- Launch of the Smart City Venture Fund, a private social venture capital fund aligned closely with Chattanooga 2.0 goals and strategies
- Chattanooga 2.0 hosts By the Numbers annual coalition meeting
- Dr. Bryan Johnson hired as HCS Superintendent
- Chattanooga 2.0 hosts Align, Amplify, and Accelerate with Agility annual coalition meeting
- Dr. Rebecca Ashford hired as President of Chattanooga State Community College
- The Hamilton County Children's Cabinet is established
- Goal of HCS becoming the fastest improving public school system in TN is achieved
- Molly Blankenship named Executive Director of Chattanooga 2.0
- Data Council and Communications Advisory Team are launched
- Launch of strategic planning process
- Chattanooga 2.0 partners respond to the impacts of COVID-19 by tapping into collaborative infrastructure
- Chattanooga 2.0 makes bold commitment to fight systemic racism
- Chattanooga 2.0 co-hosts virtual Hamilton County School Board debates earning 83,000 views
- Chattanooga 2.0 releases its first-ever equity questionnaire for school board candidates
In 2021, Chattanooga 2.0 and its early childhood action team, Early Matters, joined Bright Start TN, powered by Tennesseans for Quality Early Education. This new statewide network taps the power of communities across Tennessee to collaboratively design, implement and scale high-quality early care and education (ECE) systems locally, while informing and advocating for supportive state policies.
The result was the publication of the Early Matters 2025 Early Childhood Action Plan in October 2022. The three-year plan outlines existing impactful initiatives in our community, the gaps we found by listening to the parents, teachers, and service providers, and 32 promising evidence-based strategies that, together with policy changes, comprise our county’s “recipe for success” for young children.