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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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,…
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…
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…
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.…
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…