For more than 20 years, Education Pioneers (EP) has connected talented, strategic leaders with organizations across the K-12 education ecosystem. EP is thrilled to introduce the 2024-25 National Impact Fellow Cohort, a dynamic group of 30 leaders who are partnering with 22 organizations across the country to drive meaningful change in education.
EP’s 10-month Impact Fellowship matches emerging leaders with school districts, charter management organizations, and education support organizations and equips them with hands-on experience and leadership skills to advance education as a great equalizer for opportunity.
Fellows use their backgrounds in project management, data and analysis, operations, and strategy to lead high-impact projects that accelerate the missions of their partner organizations. Sixty-three percent of these Fellows hold advanced degrees, including two Fellows with MBAs and five Fellows with degrees in policy.
Meet the 2024-25 Impact Fellows
This year’s Fellows are bringing fresh perspectives, critical capacity, and innovative solutions to their host organizations. Below, we highlight a few of the exceptional partnerships and projects underway across the nation:
Chicago Public Schools – Program Evaluation Fellow
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the nation’s fourth-largest school district, serves over 300,000 students. As a longstanding EP partner, CPS has hosted 185 Fellows since 2009. Jessica Steiner, an MBA graduate from DePaul University, joins CPS as an Impact Fellow focusing on enhancing support for students with diverse learning needs. Her responsibilities include:
- Collaborating with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) to assess operations, identify inefficiencies, and analyze opportunities for improvement.
- Developing targeted recommendations to streamline workflows, reduce redundancies, and better align roles with responsibilities.
- Creating and refining standard operating procedures (SOP’s) to ensure consistent processes and track key deliverables.
KIPP DC – Talent Management Fellows
KIPP DC, a network of 22 charter schools in the District of Columbia serving over 7,000 students, is committed to recruiting and supporting top staff. Impact Fellows Kyla James and Shatera Legacy are leveraging their expertise in project management and data analytics to enhance talent management practices, including:
- Providing strategic support for staffing the network’s headquarters.
- Developing comprehensive talent policies and recruitment processes to strengthen organizational practices.
- Creating school-based performance management structures.
The Commit Partnership – Data & Analytics Fellow
The Commit Partnership, a collective impact organization focused on economic mobility in Dallas County and across Texas, is hosting Mercedes Chavez, a former Texas teacher, as an Impact Fellow. Mercedes is advancing Commit’s Middle Grades Initiative to improve math outcomes for underserved students. Her responsibilities include:
- Developing tools and analyzing data to measure the effectiveness of math initiatives.
- Designing and distributing a toolkit for implementing the Math Learning Series statewide, empowering teachers’ to teach grade-level math more effectively.
- Organizing and maintaining project documents for efficient access and retrieval.
Mercedes joins Commit following eight Summer Fellows who supported the organization in 2024, three of whom have transitioned to part- and full-time roles, continuing to advance the organization’s mission to improve educational outcomes across Texas.
South San Francisco Unified School District – Talent Strategy Fellow
South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD) serves more than 8,000 students across 17 schools. Cara Oneal-Radigan, a Harvard-educated public policy expert, is continuing the talent strategy work initiated by 2024 Impact Fellow, Jon Mohammad. Cara’s focus includes:
- Improving data and recruitment processes, including creating a talent dashboard for school leaders to enhance their ability to lead talent efforts.
- Designing selection and onboarding systems to improve efficiency.
- Supporting the launch of a “grow-your-own” pipeline program to attract and develop future educators from the South City community.
Impact Fellowship Support & Development
Fellows benefit from robust support and professional development opportunities designed to cultivate adaptive, inclusive leadership. Throughout the Fellowship, participants engage in:
- EP Alumni-led communities of practice that foster collaboration and learning.
- In-person cohort convenings to build connections and deepen understanding of the education sector.
- Local network engagements to amplify their impact and influence.
This fall, the 2024-25 Impact Fellows gathered in Memphis, TN, for their first in-person convening. The event featured leadership workshops and a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum, where Fellows explored the history of educational inequity and how they can actively work to dismantle it. Fellows also heard from two EP Alums—Sam O’Bryant (2017) and Nekishia Woods Dobbins (2023)—who shared their journeys of leadership, persistence, and impact in education.
Looking Ahead
EP has served as a unique and critical talent pipeline for the education sector for over 20 years. To date, we have mobilized more than 4,700 diverse leaders from a wide range of backgrounds, both inside and outside of education. An impressive 70% of our Alumni remain in education today, driving transformative, system-wide change to create equitable opportunities for all students.
We are inspired by this exceptional group of Fellows, whose leadership and innovation are reshaping what’s possible in education. Their vision lights the way for a brighter future, and we are proud to play a role in their journey.
Contact us if you’re interested in bringing a Fellow to your organization or click here to learn more about EP.
*One Fellow is not pictured at their request.
