Jennie Vazquez-Garcia is a Dual Language Educator at Talcott Fine Arts and Museum Academy “The global pandemic has brought on a need for me to live with intentionality and with being my true imperfectly authentic self. It has awakened this urge in me to be in community with folks that will help me connect to myself…
Juleny Santa Cruz is the Neighborhood Leadership Initiative Council and Special Projects Manager at Mikva Challenge “As a lifelong Chicagoan from the Little Village community, Surge will allow me to continue to grow and expand my mind and capability as to how I can be of service to improving the quality of life for Black…
Jose Rodriguez is the Dean of Restorative Practice at Roosevelt High School “My work feels incomplete right now. There are adults that are causing harm to our BIPOC students in spaces that should be safe and healing. I’m not going to allow this any more and I’m invested in creating a system in which these adults…
Nayesha A. Pruitt is the Co-Founder, Chief Operations Officer & Consultant at Project Restore Initiative “We’ve all had front-row seats to what’s happening in our world. The institutions that some believe were built to serve and protect our humanity have consistently communicated to us that our dignity and well-being are tertiary line items on their agenda.…
Carissa Moorehead is the Assistant Principal at KIPP Academy Chicago “I believe that the Surge experience will grant me the development needed to enhance my impact as a Black woman in educational leadership. Our youth deserve individuals who are constantly pressing toward transformative change. They deserve humble leaders who are committed, and who will never…
Ceily Moore is the Program Manager at Community Youth Development Institute “Being part of the Surge Fellowship means being in community with Black and Latinx leaders in education who believe in the brilliance of our young people and our communities. The fellowship provides a necessary space to learn from, and with, like-minded educators while also encouraging…
Iliana Miranda is the Assistant Director of Advising and Student Retention, Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services at the University of Illinois at Chicago “I choose Surge because fighting for equity in schools has always been and will always be the right work. I want to be in a community of people that believe this too.…
Liddell-Jegen McGuire the Assistant Principal at Kelly College Prep “I choose Surge because fighting for equity in schools has always been and will always be the right work. I want to be in a community of people that believe this too.”
Sara Martinez is a Family and Community Engagement in Education Specialist at Chicago Public Schools “This is happening at the exact time it is supposed to. I’ve waited 6 years for this opportunity and I know that Surge will be the space that my soul needs to heal and prepare me to serve others. I hope…
Candace Kyles is the Senior Director of the College Graduation Office, UC Woodlawn Campus at UChicago Charter School “The opportunity to be a fellow in the Surge community and learn from individuals who deeply believe in our young people and their futures would be an honor. I see the Surge Fellowship as the space where my…