Jacob Toups
Rainbow Labs Founder & ED
Jacob Toups has over 13 years in the nonprofit industry. In his early career he worked with the State Department and International Development firms on their Middle East projects centered around governance/democracy. In 2011, he left Washington D.C. to start a new iteration of his career supporting youth in Los Angeles at Up2Us Sports. There he established the Up2Us Sports Los Angeles office advocating for youth sports and positive coach influences throughout the city. During that time, he supported the expansion of a military veteran coaching program growing it from Los Angeles to San Francisco and Sacramento. He moved onto working as Executive Director of a mental health and peer support program for military veterans and former professional athletes called Merging Vets And Players.
Most recently he launched his own nonprofit in 2020, Rainbow Labs. Passionate about youth and his own LGBTQ+ community Rainbow Labs emboldens Queer and Gender Nonconforming Youth to discover, curate, and experiment with the elements of a fulfilled life through community building and the lived experiences of mentors. Rainbow Labs launched the first iteration of its’ mentoring program – One Bold Summer – where LGBTQ+ are paired with LGBTQ mentors for a summer long youth program.