Christopher Williams is the Assistant Director of Admissions and Outreach Coordinator at Urban School. “My teachers throughout grade school were amazing, strong, intelligent people of color. I admired them, wanted to be them. High school and college provided me with lots of guidance and other (non-POC) adults I could rely on, but through all of their…
Alicia Torres is the Education Director at Felton Institute. “Surge means opportunity. Education equality entails providing different needs for different people, and meeting individuals where they are at, this is how I view educational equity, which goes beyond equality. “The pursuit of full humanity, however, cannot be carried out in isolation or individualism, but in fellowship…
Mary Thomas is a Program Manager, School Enrollment at SMART. “Surge is an opportunity to be a part of a movement that is transforming education by developing and supporting leaders of color. I want to be a part of this movement so that I can better serve my students, continue to fight for equity and…
John Tamrat is the College Financial Coach & Partnership Coordinator at Moneythink. “As a community, representation in leadership is vital in our journey for equity, especially in regards to education. I see Surge as a collective movement to liberate and empower the leaders within us, the leader within me.”
Leslye Salinas is the Business Manager at Roses in Concrete Community School. “I want to be part of the Surge Fellowship because I want to be in a space with likeminded individuals who want to make a difference in the community and with the next generation. I believe that my participation in Surge will allow me…
Adam Quintero is the Assistant Principal at Achieve Academy: Education for Change Public Schools. “The Surge Fellowship is not a typical educational leadership program for many reasons that I admire it for. It is a movement because it empowers leaders of color to rethink and redesign education. Surge does not focus solely on the technical…
Amaya Noguera is the Lead of Afro-Latinx Programming at the Latinx Racial Equity Project. “It would be a great honor to be included in the next cohort of Surge Fellows. I would be so proud to share with my community this opportunity for my personal growth, and for the implications, it will have for all…
Lauren Horton is the Dean of Culture at Lighthouse Community Public Schools. “When I first heard of the Surge Fellowship, I felt that this community was exactly what I’ve been missing. What draws me to Surge is the commitment, development, and celebration of Black and Brown Leadership in education. I am excited to work in collaboration…
Erin Hartfield is an Academic Interventionist at Gateway Public Schools. “I want to be a part of Surge because the best and most successful professional experiences that I’ve had have been in a cohort style with people of color and allies. Allyship doesn’t mean that we all have the same opinions and that’s what made working…
Denmark Diaz is the Men’s Health & Sexual Violence Prevention Educator at San Francisco State University – Health Promotion and Wellness. “I am excited at the prospect of being a Surge Fellow at this moment, as I want to disrupt the dominant vertical models of cis white heterosexual male saviorhood. Elevating and centering leaders of color…