Kala Stepter is an 8th Grade Math Teacher at East Bay Innovation Academy. “As leaders of color in the education field, we have faith in our students and our communities. We see the beauty and strength that already exists within them and have hope that we – educators, students, families, our communities – can build…
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…
2020 Surge Oakland Alum, Tyfahra Singleton, has been appointed to the Oakland Police Commission. The purpose of the Police Commission is to oversee the Oakland Police Department’s policies, practices, and customs to meet national standards of constitutional policing and to oversee the Community Police Review Agency which investigates police misconduct and recommends discipline.
2017 Surge Chicago Alum and VP of Development & External Affairs, Will Collins, served as moderator for The Chicago Urban League’s October 13 Fireside Chat with Michael Strautmanis, Chief Engagement Officer of the Obama Foundation.
“For me, it’s an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is and say, ‘Hey, I truly care about my friends on the east side and this is how I’m going to pay it forward.” 2020 Surge Alum and Co-Founder & CEO of The Greenline Initiative, Ajia Morris, recently spoke on the work of…
“I grew up thinking that I was inferior, that we were less and here are these intrepid, brilliant revolutionaries who thought differently and did incredible things. There’s a fire that needs to be there to do revolutionary work. Like you need to care enough and get fired up enough.” As part of El Griot &…
For the first time, the ASU+GSV Summit featured an all Surge Institute Alumni panel: Katie Boody (KC19); Melissa Connelly (CHI15); Candace Moore (CHI15); Randal Seriguchi, Jr. (OAK18). The panel was also moderated by Founder & President, Carmita Semaan! Learn more about this Surge milestone HERE.
2019 Surge Chicago Alum, Chanelle Bell, has been promoted to Managing Director, Public and Community Affairs at Teach For America Chicago-NWI. In her new role, she will manage a portfolio of public and community relationships; design and implement a government affairs strategy that results in sustainable public funding from Chicago, Northwest Indiana and/or the State…
Educate78 and Energy Convertors have launched The People’s Literacy Fund, a new pilot program that will award grants between $500 and $5,000 to members of the community who are helping Oakland students learn during distance learning. The program will provide financial support to individuals from affected communities who have come up with creative solutions to…
2015 Surge Chicago Alum, DuJuan Smith, has been named a 2020 Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois Fellow at Illinois State University. Read more about the list of recipients HERE.