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 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 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 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 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 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 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…
Aaron Harris is Dean of Instruction at Aspire Golden State Prep. “Being a Surge fellow is important to me because I take the calling of an educator very seriously. I believe in visualizing a different future for myself and young people who look like me and doing the necessary and difficult work that will make…
Jay Gash is the Associate Director of Youth & Emerging Media Maker Programs & Creative Director of Youth Productions at Bay Area Video Coalition. “As a creative media-maker and someone who has worked with and mentored youth and young adults for over 10 years, I understand the importance of seeing myself, a Black queer…
Zeyda Garcia is a Lead Counselor at Lighthouse Community Public Schools. “I’m a mental health professional in an education setting and want to normalize mental health in the education field. I feel that my passion for mental health and education can be supported by Surge as it will support me with the leadership skills…