2018 Surge Fellows Graduate!
The Surge Institute reaches a powerful milestone in the history of our movement as thirty-five 2018 Surge Fellows across two cities graduate!
On August 18, 2018, we celebrated the Ascendants, our 2018 Chicago Surge Fellows, as they matriculated to alumni in a beautiful ceremony at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Illinois. Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice K. Jackson Ed.D provided the keynote remarks, sharing the powerful story of her leadership journey.
Following Jackson was 2018 Surge Fellow Erica Bauer, Director of Student Engagement at Walter Payton College Preparatory Academy, who was chosen by her fellow Ascendants to be the voice of the graduating cohort at the ceremony. Erica was vulnerable, honest and deeply thoughtful about the importance of her role in the lives of youth of color.
Providing a charge to the Ascendants was 2017 Surge Alumna Halleemah Nash, Chief Partnerships Officer at The Academy Group, who pushed the graduates to continue giving back to the movement that connected and further developed them as leaders.
See more photos from the event.
On August 25, 2018, the inaugural Oakland Surge Fellowship cohort, the Alchemists, continued the moment with a moving graduation ceremony on the top floor of the Oakland Marriott.
Jim Shelton, Former Deputy Secretary of Education and President of Education for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, provided the keynote remarks, sharing with the Alchemists the importance of the Surge movement and why he believes so deeply in the power of leaders of color.
Providing a charge to his fellow Alchemists was 2018 Surge Fellow Harold Pearson, Executive Director of SPAAT, who spoke about the collective power of the Surge community. Harold was selected by the Oakland graduating cohort to be the voice of the Alchemists during the ceremony.
See more photos from the event.
The two ceremonies represented a major shift in the Surge narrative, signifying the true emergence of a national network of mission-driven education leaders of color, all tied together by an unforgettably transformative fellowship experience.
See the full list of 2018 Surge Fellowship Graduates below:
Chicago
- Erica Bauer, Director of Student Engagement, Walter Payton College Preparatory Academy
- Liam Bird, Postsecondary Coach, Network for College Success
- Christian Collins, Associate District Director, City Colleges of Chicago
- Christine Diaz, Chief Education Officer, Acero Schools
- Iris Dominguez, Assistant Principal, North-Grand High School
- Lildella Douglas, Illinois/Northwest Indiana Manager, Leadership for Educational Equity
- Aurora Flores Garcia, Manager of Student Success, National Louis University
- Janine Franklin, Associate Director of Pipeline Programs, University of Chicago
- PuraCarina Gonzalez, Director of College Partnerships, One Million Degrees
- Michelle Kemp, Director of Talent, ReGeneration Schools
- Bridget Lee, Manager of Performance Policy, Chicago Public Schools
- Rudy Lozano, Vice President of the Fellowship Initiative, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
- Kyra Marcano, Director of Teaching and Learning, Namaste Charter School
- Adelric McCain, Director of Equity and Impact, Network for College Success
- Dominique McCoy, Associate Director, University of Chicago’s To&Through Project
- Paul Morgan, Director of Programs and Innovation, Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund
- ángela munguía, Chief Dream Director, The Future Project
- Amanda Paz, Continuous Improvement Work Plan Coordinator, Chicago Public Schools
- Maraliz Salgado, Instructional Coordinator, Erie Elementary Charter School
- Nicole Spicer, Principal, Bronzeville Classical School
- Natalia Torres, Assistant Principal, Noble Network-Johnson College Prep
- Susan Tovar, Senior Director of Teacher Support, OneGoal
- Willow Walker, Associate Director of Education-Admissions, Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund
- A.J. Watson, Director-Becoming a Man, Youth Guidance
Oakland
- Charles Cole, III, Founder, Energy Convertors
- Osayuware (Tina) Enagbare, Vice President, Talent & Equity, Peer Health Exchange
- Nicole Magtoto, Education Policy Analyst, San Francisco Unified School District
- Sonya Mehta, Director of Partnerships, The Teaching Well
- Monique Moore, Senior Managing Director, Teach For America
- Marielle Narcisa, Corporate and Civic Engagement Manager, Education Outside
- Harold Pearson, Executive Director, SPAAT
- Sara Rizik-Baer, Deputy Director, Tandem, Partners in Early Learning
- Randal Seriguchi Jr., Executive Director, Urban Ed Academy
- Joanna Vazquez Zelaya, Coordinator, Measure N Implementation & Assessment, Oakland Unified School District
- Bernadette Pilar Zermeño, TK Teacher, ASCEND