February 2019 Tamara Hoff Pope

2018 Surge Alumna Tamara Hoff Pope accepted the role of Managing Director of College Success at Chicago Scholars. Chicago Scholars uniquely selects, trains, and mentors academically ambitious students from under-resourced communities to complete college and become the next generation of leaders who will transform their neighborhoods and our city. In this new role, Tamara will oversee engagement and…

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Surge Alumni Make Negocios Now 2018 40 Under 40 List

Two alumni of the Surge Fellowship were recently awarded as recipients for the Negocios Now 2018 Latinos 40 Under 40 List. Paul Morgan (2018 Surge Alumnus) and LeShonne Segura (2015 Surge Alumna) were selected after an over four-month nominations period and record participation with more than 120 nominations. The list features 40 young Latinx leaders…

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February 2019 Janine Franklin

2018 Surge Alumna Janine Franklin has accepted the role of Project Director at the The University of Chicago Urban Labs. Urban Labs works to address challenges across five key dimensions of urban life: crime, education, health, poverty, and energy & environment. They partner with civic and community leaders to identify, test, and help scale the programs and…

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February 2019 Andres Avila

2017 Surge Alumnus Andres Avila has accepted the role of School Counselor, Junior Lead at Back of the Yards College Prep. In this role, Andres works to ensure that all students are supported, informed, and celebrated on their path to post-secondary options.

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December 2018 Khadeejah Lasuc-Lewis

2016 Surge Alumna Khadeejah Lasuc-Lewis has accepted the role of Vice President of Talent and Training at Chicago Scholars, an organization that uniquely selects, trains, and mentors academically ambitious students from under-resourced communities to complete college and become the next generation of leaders who will transform their neighborhoods and city. In her new role, Khadeejah supports,…

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2019 Surge Fellow Awarded Field Leader Award

As the 2019 Surge Fellowship program began, The Field Foundation announced 2019 Surge Fellow, Steven Rosado, as the recipient of their Field Leader Award. The Field Leader Award is a highly-selective honor given to an individual leader working at a Field Foundation grantee organization. It is designed to promote visionaries across Chicago by building social…

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Featured Fellow: Joanna Vazquez Zelaya on the Journey to Belonging

Joanna Vazquez Zelaya is a 2018 Surge Alumna, a graduate of the inaugural Oakland Surge Cohort, the Alchemists. Joanna Vazquez is an advocate for students who find themselves at the intersection of identities and is leading Oakland’s charge in designing Linked Learning high schools across the city in order transform the experience of students within the…

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#SurgeForMore Giving Event Brings in Largest Total Ever!

Our 2018 #SurgeForMore seven-days of online giving has come to a close, and once again, we saw an inspiring flood of support from our growing community of change agents. Through your generosity, we surpassed our lofty goal of $75,000 in support of programming to develop, elevate and unite emerging education leaders of color, who impact our communities.…

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Surge Fellowship Alumnus Joins Leadership Team

The Surge Institute is proud to announce that 2017 Surge Fellowship Alumnus William J. Collins has joined our leadership team as Vice President of Development and External Affairs. In this role, William will serve the Surge mission by leading our fundraising and partnership-building strategies, overseeing a team focused on securing the future sustainability and growth…

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November 2018 Aimee Rodriguez

2019 Surge Fellow Aimee Rodriguez has accepted the role of Title IX Compliance & Training at Chicago Public Schools. In this role Aimee leads a team to develop, implement, monitor, and maintain effective district-wide training and compliance programs that comply with Title IX and other related federal and state laws and regulations. 2019 Surge Fellow…

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October 2018 Nicole Magtoto

October 2018 2018 Surge Alumnus Nicole Magtoto recently published a blog entry for the San Francisco Coalition of Essential Small Schools using the theme of identity awareness, reflect on the skin she is in within the context of her relationship with the San Francisco Unified School District.

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October 2018 Lydia Mercer

October 2018 2019 Surge Fellow Lydia Mercer has accepted the role of Director of Secondary Supports on the National Program Team at OneGoal.  In her new role, Lydia will learn from the Y1 roll-out, and then support all of OneGoal’s regions—which include New York, Massachusetts, Chicago and the Bay Area—as the organization rolls out its Culturally Relevant…

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October 2018 Paul Morgan

2018 Alumnus Paul Morgan has accepted the role of Executive Director at Ignition Community Glass, an organization that uses hands-on learning to chip away at the diversity gap in glass art. The ICG vision is to leverage the power of glass making to foster positive youth development and access to students from Chicago’s under-resourced communities and…

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September 2018 Adria Husband

2015 Alumna Adria Husband has launched Shifting Hearts and Minds, an organization that believes that true transformational change in our educational system and our society at large will come through shifting the hearts and minds of the adults in it. Shifting Hearts and Minds provides organizational training, strategic consultation, and practical implementation supports for education-focused organizations working towards equitable…

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September 2018 Willow Walker

2018 Fellow Willow Walker has accepted the role of Director of Admission and Recruitment with the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund. In this new role. Willow develops the strategic plan for recruiting and admitting Chicago youth for the Daniel Murphy Scholarship. She also manages high school placement for 8th grades students in private schools in Chicago.

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Surge Welcomes 2019 Chicago Fellows

From an impressive pool of applicants, 25 African American and Latinx leaders were selected for the 2019 Chicago Fellowship program. In October, the 2019 cohort will begin the year-long program in October, which grooms emerging diverse talent, empowering them to change the landscape of education by providing them with unique leadership and advocacy skills. “Being…

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August 2018 Sonya Mehta

August 2018 2018 Fellow Sonya Mehta has accepted the role of Director of Partnerships at The Teaching Well, an Oakland-based nonprofit consulting group that supports schools across California with teacher retention and wellness. Founded by teachers, for teachers, The Teaching Well works in partnership with schools to create thriving school ecosystems that more effectively retain,…

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August 2018 William Collins

2017 Fellow William Collins has been accepted to the 5th cohort of the Chicago Urban League IMPACT Leadership Development Program. Through IMPACT, the Chicago Urban League strives to move the needle toward racial parity in leadership positions by developing and supporting emerging African American leaders. The intensive, nine-month program begins in September and provides our Fellows with…

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August 2018 LeShonne Segura

2015 Fellow LeShonne Segura has accepted the role of Manager of Program Investments for the Chicago Public Education Fund. In this role, LeShonne will manage a portfolio of programs and investments, managing a team of four. The Fund believes that solutions to the challenges in public schools exist. The Fund devotes time, leverages data and invests in programs…

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August 2018 Susan Tovar

2018 Fellow Susan Tovar has accepted the role of Senior Director of Teacher Support for OneGoal. In this role, Susan will lead OneGoal’s Year 1 team to meet its end-of-the-year goals and implement the organizations new program model.

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