December 2020 Candace Moore

2015 Surge Chicago Alum, Candace Moore’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice for the city of Chicago has announced a citywide Together We Heal initiative, which invites Chicagoans between now and the end of January to organize around racial healing — acknowledging and discussing past wrongs, addressing consequences of individual and systemic racism, working together…

Read more

December 2020 Chicago Public Schools

Surge Chicago Alumni have been elected as representatives for Local School Council(s) within Chicago Public Schools. See below for full results. Nicole W. Beechum (CHI16) elected as a Parent Representative at Ray Elementary School Erica Bauer (CHI18) elected as Community Representative at Walter Payton College Prep Ulric Shannon (CHI20) elected as Community Representative at Lovett…

Read more

October 2020 DuJuan Smith

DuJuan Smith, 2015 Surge Chicago Alum, has successfully defended his dissertation, Black While Leading: Unmasking the Lived Experiences of Senior-Level Black Men Administrators at Historically White Institutions and earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration.

Read more

May 2020 Adanta Ahanonu

April 2020 2019 Surge Oakland Alum, Adanta Ahanonu, has accepted a new position as Senior Director of Program for California at COOP Careers. The organization’s mission is to build a diverse movement of upwardly mobile college grads overcoming underemployment through digital skills and peer connections.

Read more

November 2020 Halleemah Nash

“To be of service to the younger me.” 2017 Surge Chicago Alum, Halleemah Nash, appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show where she shared the impact she’s had through her company, Rosecrans Ventures. Check out her feature HERE and visit www.rosecransventures.com to learn more about her work.

Read more

August 2020 Aurora Flores Garcia

Aurora Flores Garcia (CHI’18) has been promoted to Director of Undergraduate Success at National Louis University. In her new role, she will oversee the work of the Student Success Coaching team. This team works with undergraduate students towards the mission of NLU of becoming national leaders and in closing the opportunity gap in Bachelor’s degree…

Read more

The Surge Institute Welcomes New Chief of Staff

(Chicago, IL) – The Surge Institute would like to warmly welcome Aeriell Robinson to the team as the inaugural Chief of Staff. In her role, Aeriell will collaborate with the President, Board, and staff to lead strategic planning, manage critical projects for the organization and the President, coordinate board management, and plan and manage systems,…

Read more

November 2020 Joanna Vazquez Zelaya

2018 Surge Oakland Alum, Joanna Vazquez Zelaya, has accepted a new role as Public Policy Manager at Alliance for a Better Community. The mission of ABC is to promote economic prosperity of the Latino community and the Los Angeles region, inclusive of an improved quality of life for Latinos in education, health and civic participation.

Read more

November 2020 Kyra Mungia

2019 Surge Oakland Alum, Kyra Mungia, was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 2021 in education. She is the youngest director or deputy director working in the mayor’s office in Oakland, California, and she helped spearhead the Oakland Undivided campaign that raised $13 million to help public school students get 25,000 laptops and reliable internet…

Read more

November 2020 Taica Hsu

2019 Surge Oakland Alum, Taica Hsu, was recently selected as part of The Roddenberry Foundation 2021 Fellowship. Launched in 2016, the Roddenberry Fellowship is a $1mil investment in the innovators, community leaders, and change-makers leading the efforts for a more just and equitable country.

Read more

November 2020 Derrick M. Fleming, Jr.

Initiated by 2020 Surge Chicago Alum Derrick M. Fleming, Jr., The #JUSTBE campaign. is meant to help dismantle current and historic systemic forms of oppression or indifference, foster anti-racism, eliminate hate, and activate individuals both personally and professionally to choose themselves and love themselves authentically, transparently, and honestly.  For updates or inquiries about The JUST…

Read more

November 2020 Melissa Connelly

OneGoal who were selected as a winner of The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s 2020 Holiday Impact Prize. Special shoutout to 2015 Surge Chicago Alum and CEO of OneGoal, Melissa Connelly, for her dedication and authentic leadership in this work!

Read more

November 2020 Melissa Connelly

November 2020 2015 Surge Chicago Alum, Candace Moore, was recently featured in Bloomberg Cities’ highlight of 10 innovators who are raising the bar in the fight against COVID-19.  November 2020 Generation Thrive (Golden State Warriors Community Foundation and Kaiser Permanente Thrive) recently held a workshop titled: United for Black Educators: Building a Pipeline for Representation.…

Read more

November 2020 Garrett Webster

2020 Surge Alum, Garrett Webster Sr., will serve as the Executive Director of Kansas City as Youth Guidance announces the launch of their #BAM and #WOW programs in Missouri in 2021. For more on this expansion, visit http://ow.ly/p0ml50Ch626. 

Read more

November 2020 Dominique McKoy

“As college success advocates in this moment, we must consider whether asking our students to persevere more is truly a credible or responsible strategy.” The team at The University of Chicago To&Through Project published a recent op-ed that summarizes some of the key takeaways from their podcast that focused on how first-generation, low-income (FGLI) college…

Read more

November 2020 Jacqueline Rodriguez

“(Multilingual students) finish high school with such an advantage. Here we have children already with that advantage that we’re telling them that they don’t have.” Jacqueline Rodriguez, Director of ESOL and Migrant Programs at Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools and 2020 Surge Alum, was recently featured in the ESU Bulletin article titled, Kansas world language…

Read more

November 2020 Ashley Leonard

“Radically reimagining what’s possible in education through relationships will not only prepare middle schoolers to navigate school in the age of coronavirus but all of the challenges this moment in history requires of them as our future leaders.” Check out this op-ed by Jen Ciok and 2017 Surge Chicago Alum, Ashley Leonard on the importance…

Read more

October 2020 Keeanna Warren

2021 Surge Academy Fellow, Keeanna Warren, was recently awarded the Outstanding Educator in STEM award during the 2020 Women & Hi Tech Leading Light Awards and Scholarship Gala. The Leading Light awards focused on Indiana women in STEM with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Read more

October 2020 Edgar Palacios

The Latinx Education Collaborative hosted its third annual professional and leadership development conference, Evolución, for Latinx education professionals (and friends) virtually on Saturday, October 24, 2020 streaming live from 9 am to 12 pm. The LEC hosted 465 total registrants from across the nation!

Read more

October 2020 Savitha Moorthy, Aija Simmons and Sara Rizik-Baer

EmbraceRace recently spoke with Savitha Moorthy and Surge Oakland Alums Aija Simmons and Sara Rizik-Baer to describe Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors, a community-focused effort from Tandem, Partners in Early Learning that uses children’s books as a departure point for expanding the capacity of families with children under 5 to engage in critical conversations…

Read more