Tiara Wheatley
NEW Chief of Staff
Tiara Wheatley, an educator, mentor, equity advocate and lifelong Chicagoan, is the Vice President of Alumni Impact at the Surge Institute where she leads all alumni programming and is responsible for developing the strategy and ensuring the successful execution and measurement of alumni programming.
Tiara joined the Surge Institute in February 2022 after a successful career in school leadership, spending ten years transforming teaching and learning at Chicago Tech Academy High School (ChiTech). In her former role she served as the Senior Director of Philanthropy and Corporate Engagement at ChiTech where she was a key member of the school’s leadership team and led fundraising, real world learning, and corporate engagement. Prior to that role Tiara served as the Assistant Principal where she led the school’s transition to Restorative Practices and led the school’s elimination of exclusionary discipline practices for students of color and organized the school’s first Race & Equity Working Group. It was at ChiTech and through this work that Tiara developed her first professional passion – serving Chicago’s youth at one of the city’s most dynamic schools.
Tiara is also the creator of and brains behind the Young Women’s Leadership Society (YWLS) and the annual Little Black Dress Night (LBDN). YWLS and LBDN bring together Chicago’s female STEM and business community members and celebrate women who are recognized as emerging women in tech and whose efforts are turning the tech industry on its heels and challenging the status quo!
Tiara is a Chicago native and a proud product of the Chicago Public School system. Tiara completed her undergraduate degree in Business Management at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), received her Master’s Degree in Educational Policy Studies from UIC as well and holds a certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from Loyola University. Tiara is also a 2020 Alumna of the Surge Institute Fellowship (Chicago).
In her free time, she enjoys baking, shopping, traveling, and spending time with her parents, four sisters, and two nieces.
José M. Andre Iniguez
NEW VP of Alumni Impact
Born in East LA and raised in the rural farm town of Tulare in California’s Central Valley, José M. Andre Iniguez has dedicated his professional career to developing students, young adults, and education leaders toward achieving their full potential.
Prior to Surge, he provided consulting services to school districts and youth-serving nonprofits to design and achieve remarkable educational experiences for young people. Previously, he served as Site Director for Year Up San Francisco where he oversaw the site’s programmatic and operational efforts toward bridging the opportunity divide for talented young adults by training and then matching them for internships at top finance and tech companies in the Bay Area. Previously, he served as the Director of High School Preparation and Alumni Programs at Equitas Academy Charter Schools, where he oversaw the strategy development, implementation, and evaluation of the inaugural alumni program providing the network’s scholars and families with support through pathways toward college and career success. As Senior Program Manager at City Year Los Angeles, he led and implemented school transformation efforts inside K-5th grade classrooms that empowered students to get back on track to graduate high school. He has also led youth development and digital media efforts at MTV, Participant Media, and Swipe Out Hunger, among others.
Raised by Mexican immigrant parents and the first to attend college in his family, Jose graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and earned a master’s degree in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is also a graduate of the Broad Residency in Urban Education, earning a master’s degree in education leadership from The Broad Center. He is a proud member of the Beyhive, is inspired by Sonia Sotomayor and Paulo Freire, and enjoys creating memories with his eight nieces and nephews. He lives in Tulare with his husband, Rafael.
