June 2019 2016 Surge Alumnus, Christopher Goins accepted the position of Chief Equity Officer for Thrive Chicago, in partnership with the Obama Foundation, to lead My Brother’s Keeper Alliance for the city of Chicago.
2019 Surge Chicago Fellow, Melissa Flores, along with 24 other Chicago Non Profit leaders, were selected as part of the Negocios Now “Who’s Who in Hispanic Chicago.” Melissa was recognized specifically for the amazing work she has done while at Erie Neighborhood House.
2017 Surge Alumnus, Cesar Dominguez was accepted into the Broad Residency for The Broad Center. The Broad Residency in Urban Education provides the opportunity for outstanding management professionals to apply their skills and knowledge to meet the challenges faced by urban public school systems. Learn more at www.broadcenter.org/broad-residency
2017 Surge Alumnus, Bryan Jackson participated on the panel, Creating Inclusive Environments for Every Player, at the US Soccer Foundation’s National Conference in Washington D.C. Approximately 150 national Soccer for Success Trainers who support and train the coach-mentors that work with youth in underserved communities across the country were in attendance. The coaches were passionate…
2017 Surge Alumnus, Jonathan Chaparro has been selected as part of the Class of 2020 for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Emerging Leaders Program. Every year the Chicago Council on Global Affairs selects a class of approximately 20 participants with high potential from across Chicago’s business, cultural, civic, and academic sectors and provides a…
2019 Surge Fellow, Steven Rosado founded Rosado Consulting Collaborative, which provides clients with services in the following domains; community outreach and civic engagement; curriculum development and program design for youth-serving organizations; participatory action research; participatory grant-making; public policy and advocacy; racial equity; strategic planning; and workshop facilitation
2017 Surge Alumna, Dawn Hick founded DSH Coaching and Consulting, LLC where she provides coaching to mission driven leaders who are ready to discover their innate greatness and move in a direction that is more in alignment with their goals. Clients experience transformational change and are then able to show up and operate from their…
Degrees of Change, a national college success, and leadership development organization, announced that its board of directors has appointed 2016 Surge Alumna, Michelle Bess, as new chair of the board. Michelle currently serves as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director at Sprout Social, a Chicago-based software company. She has served on the Degrees of Change board…
2019 Surge Fellow, Nick Freeman, and 2015 Surge Alumna, LeShonne Segura, were named Chicago Agents of Change by Education Pioneers at their Annual Luncheon. Agents of Change work on behalf of underserved students and demonstrate results toward achieving educational equity and opportunities in many ways, including innovation, entrepreneurship and community advocacy and empowerment.
2015 Surge Alumnus, AJ DeLeón was selected to become a member of the NationSwell Council. The NationSwell Council (NSC) is a membership community of service-minded leaders; people who have achieved great things in their respective fields and share an authentic passion for service, taking action around solutions, and supporting each other as part of a…
Teachers Who Pray, an organization founded by 2016 Surge Alumna, Marilyn Rhames, recently had its 6th Annual Conference in Chicago, IL. In addition, Marilyn also released her new book, The Master Teacher: 12 Spiritual Lessons That Can Transform Schools and Revolutionize Public Education.
May 2019 2015 Surge Alumna, Candace Moore, has been named the city of Chicago’s first Chief Equity Officer. In her new role, she will be responsible for shaping a new office tasked with uprooting one of the city’s most entrenched problems — inequity in every sector, including jobs, housing, economic development and education.
2015 Surge Alumna Melissa Connelly has accepted the role as the new CEO for OneGoal. Melissa joined OneGoal five years ago and previously served as the Chief Program Officer. OneGoal aims to provide more access to college for students from low-income communities.
2019 Surge Fellow Cheryl Flores has accepted the role of Director of Academic and Social Emotional Supports at the Golden Apple Foundation. In this role, Cheryl will support student’s successful college completion, connect scholars to academic resources and non-cognitive supports at their university, develop and execute support strategies for all undergraduate Golden Apple Scholars, and support scholars…
2016 Surge Alumna Ariel Johnson has accepted the role of Director of Government Affairs The Illinois Network of Charter Schools/INCS Action. In this role, Ariel holds a number of responsibilities which include lobbying for education and charter related policies at the state capitol, drafting legislation, legal advocacy, strategy implementation in high stakes electoral campaigns and more.
2019 Surge Fellow Onel Abreu was accepted into the Urban Leaders Fellowship program, for the summer of 2019. The Urban Leaders Fellowship is a summer fellowship for early- to mid-career professionals who are already leaders in their own right and are looking to accelerate their leadership through a seven-week fellowship with a focus on policy and…
2016 Surge Alumnus Michael Johns has accepted the role of Director of Student Activities at Kennedy-King College. In this role, Michael is responsible for the strategic planning and development of co-curricular programming, working collaboratively with students, faculty, and college administrators to implement events and activities that encourage student engagement, provide enriching experiences, and enhance students overall…
March 2019 2019 Surge Fellow Ty-Licia Hooker will be honored with Saint Vincent’s Day School 30th Annual Children’s Choice Award, on March 29, 2019. Ty-Licia’s efforts as Executive Director and Co-Founder of Student Success and Leadership Academy, a program that empowers underserved youth to lead change in their own communities. With over a century of service to…
Carmita Semaan was recently featured on Make it Better Magazine’s list showcasing 38 of Chicago’s TOP Black Women of Impact for 2019. In honor of Black History Month, each woman was asked to talk about the women who have inspired them the most in their lives. The list features leaders who work in fields such…
February 2019 2018 Surge Alumnus Liam Bird has accepted the role of Equity Policy Strategist (EPS) at Chicago Public Schools. In his new role, Liam will be responsible for conducting policy analysis reviews of existing school board policy, the Illinois School Code, city and state policies/practices, and district and school-based practices, to assess their impacts on…