TaraShaun Cain is the Executive Director, Black Principals Network at the Surge Institute. “I want to join the Surge Fellowship because I am a doer and a life-long learner. I believe in this work and I am vested in creating the next generation of leaders. I want to change the lives of those that I…
David Blancas is the Program Manager for the City of Aurora Financial Empowerment Center at The Neighbor Project. “Always in life, an idea starts small, it is only a sapling idea, but the vines will come. They will try to choke your idea so it will die. You will know you had an idea so…
Michala Bell is a Social Emotional Learning Specialist at Chicago Public Schools. “You got next is affectionately heard by our young people awaiting the opportunity to get into whatever game is being played at the time. In relation, this statement reflects where I am in my leadership journey. I applied for the 2019 Surge Fellowship…
2017 Surge Alumna, Andrea Black was recently featured in an article for Teach for America. The article titled, “How One Principal Is Building Student and Teacher Confidence,” highlights Andrea’s 6+ years as Principal for Schmid Elementary in Chicago, IL and how she is working with and supporting the school community and its student leaders. Click…
2018 Surge Alumna, Michelle Kemp founded MK Consulting Group, a new consulting firm that focuses on diversity recruitment, human capital management, and project management.
ALUMNI IMPACT Surge Alumni work with and lead organizations that collectively serve more than 3 million students across the United States. Our fellowship programs are only the beginning of the Surge experience. Upon graduating, Surge Alumni receive continued connective support throughout their leadership journeys. This includes access to our entire national online network of alums,…
August 2019 2018 Surge Oakland Alumnus, Charles Cole, III, Ed.D., recently released his book, Beyond Grit and Resilience: How Black Men Impacted by the Crack Epidemic Succeeded Against the Odds and Obtained Doctoral Degrees. This comparative case study utilized oral histories to illuminate the life stories of three Black men who navigated their way through…
2018 Surge Alumna, Kyra Marcano founded Brilliant Light, LLC, which provides strategic consultative support to clients ranging from identifying individual impact to larger scale strategic planning, staff development, and training.
Roxanne Rose is the Assistant Principal at Achieve Academy, Education for Change Public Schools. “Being a Surge Fellow means being in community with dynamic, critically engaged educational leaders who have a shared vision of collective responsibility for the success of our often overlooked and underserved students. It means having efficacy and building up a network…
Miranda Tsang is the Literacy Partnerships Program Manager at BUILD. “Surge is an opportunity to bridge resources for our community by understanding the true value of our lived experiences, and, for me personally, to work toward a future better than the one I saw growing up in the Bay.”