Surge Institute Launches Abolitionist Design Lab with Seven Surge Chicago Alumni

(Chicago, IL – August 30th) The Surge Institute is excited to announce that seven Surge Chicago Alumni have been selected to join its inaugural Abolitionist Design Lab. Beginning in August 2021, the selected alumni will participate in a cohort-based professional learning and accountability community centered on abolitionist practice and liberatory design, which will meet monthly…

Surge Institute and Education Forward DC Partner for Washington, D.C. Launch of the Surge Academy, an Executive Program for Leaders of Color in Education

Are you or a leader you know interested in learning more about the 2022 Surge Academy cohort in D.C.? All candidates can fill out this form to be notified of upcoming virtual events as well as when the application is live. The program’s homepage can also be referenced for any updates regarding the application timeline.…

Amber White

  Amber White is the Associate Director of Program at Beyond 12. “A movement can only stay alive when those involved are deeply and genuinely invested, not involved for optics or social media. With that said, my hopes to be accepted in the Surge Fellowship cohort of 2022 would be much more than a “great…

Crystal Simmons

  Crystal Simmons is the Director of Student Support Services at Yu Ming Charter School. “Surge is a movement committed to creating a network of professionals that are able to support one another in a common mission- to spur systemic change towards serving the needs of students of color. I want to be a part of…

Sabrina Moore

  Sabrina Moore is the Program Director Systemic Instructional Review at Alameda County Office of Education. “Imagine a world where a Black-female leader can thrive and live liberated from the intersectional oppressions of racism and sexism. Imagine a world where a Black-female leader dreams, that dream becomes a vision and that vision a reality. Imagine…

Sabeena Shah

  Sabeena Shah is an English Teacher, Entrepreneurship and Culinary Arts Pathway, John O’Connell High School at San Francisco Unified School District “I want to be a part of the Surge movement because I want more strategy and practice in using my power and position to shape change. I want to work collectively with educators…

Tomás Rodriguez

  Tomás Rodriguez is the College Completion Advisor at College Track Oakland. “My vision of educational equity starts with how we address and move with the multitudes of trauma Black, Latinx, API, and Indigenous folks experience. In practice, this means addressing the harm, building and leveraging positive relationships, and enhancing the innate strengths of individuals…

Rychelle McKenzie

  Rychelle McKenzie is the Director of Alumni at COOP Careers. “Surge is a unique opportunity for BIPOC leaders to connect and learn from each other. There’s nothing more powerful than collective action and Surge is a great place to build on that and make a huge impact on society.”  

Bianca Lorenz Gonzalez

  Bianca Lorenz Gonzalez is a College & Career Pathway Coach at Madison Park Academy / OUSD Linked Learning Office. “Surge is an acceleration, a velocity change from the status quo. These changes are disruptions in common practices, but disruption can be revolutionary or it can be distracting. Both types of surges exist in our…