Jahna Riley (KC’20) was recently interviewed for Startland News regarding her Freedom Dreams Project, Aya Coffee + Books, and its immediate impact thus far. Started as an online bookstore, Aya Coffee + Books in February evolved into a Black History Month Pop-Up shop series. And by the end of 2021, Jahna hopes to secure a…
Ángel L. Vélez (CHI’21), doctoral candidate in EPOL and OCCRL research associate, was recently featured in an NBC News story on Racism Within Racial Diversity. Vélez explains the danger of making assumptions about Latinos and more. Read the full story here.
Nina Sanchez (CHI’17) was selected as part of Chicago magazine’s 30 “New Power 30,” highlighting her transformational, equity-centered work as Director of Enrich Chicago.
Will Collins, VP of Development & External Affairs and 2017 Surge Chicago Alum, was recently announced as an inaugural member of the 2021 Black Bench Chicago Fellowship. The Black Bench brings individuals together to build community, foster creativity, develop leadership skills, and encourage more progress. During the program period, participants are challenged to think critically…
What an amazing time to be a part of the Surge movement! Our 2020 #SurgeForMore celebration concluded on December 31st, and we’re on cloud nine from the explosion of donations, support and love we received during what was an incredible #GivingSeason. We raised over $133,000 and received more than 325 individual gifts. From the entire…
Jessica Cañas (CHI’21) has been promoted to Assistant Director of Education at Enlace Chicago, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of Little Village Residents in Chicago.
2019 Surge Chicago Alum, Lydia Mercer, has launched The (Un)Learning Space. In this space, (Un)learning refers to the process of recognizing and addressing our implicit biases. Through a process rooted in love and centered on people, they want to support individuals, teams and organizations on their antiracist journey. Learn more at: www.unlearningspace.org
2020 Surge Chicago Alum, Destiny Ortega, has been promoted to Associate Principal at Civic Consulting Alliance, a non-profit consulting organization that works on high-impact projects with government agencies in the Chicago region. In her new role, she will join the senior leadership team, co-lead the education project portfolio, and co-lead the Recruiting team.
UNCF (United Negro College Fund) Indiana announced an exciting staff addition late last year, bringing on local education leader Allissa Impink to serve as Manager of Community Engagement for K-12 Advocacy. “I am thrilled to have hit the ground running and for the opportunity to continue to work towards my passion of making meaningful impacts…
December 2019 At the PILI Annual Awards Luncheon, Shareholder and Secretary of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) Board of Directors, Daniel Lange, presented the Distinguished Intern Alumni Award to 2015 Surge Chicago Alum and former PILI intern, Candace Moore.
“Tech is something that is still moving forward. While the world has to stop and the world has slow down we know, and we see that the tech world and tech industry is still moving forward.” — Ma’at Lands Rooted School (Ma’at Lands, Founding School Leader and 2021 Surge Academy Fellow), Eleven Fifty Academy and…
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…
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…
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.
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.
“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.
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…
(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,…
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.
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…