Education Pioneers (EP) is proud to welcome our 2026 Summer Fellowship cohort: 48 exceptional leaders placed with 38 partner organizations nationwide, where they will support critical work across data, strategy, operations, and program/project management.
Across the country, education organizations are doing some of their most important work behind the scenes: making sense of data, strengthening systems, improving programs, and building the capacity to serve students well. Through their ten-week placements, EP Summer Fellows are helping bring that work to life, offering the skills and hands-on support partners need to turn priorities into progress.
This year’s cohort brings a wide range of experience, with Fellows averaging seven years in the workforce. Seventy-one percent come from the private sector, and 94% percent hold or are pursuing graduate degrees in business, policy, education, and related fields.
Partner Spotlights
The data offers a snapshot of the 2026 Summer Fellowship cohort, but these experiences take shape in different ways across partner organizations. While their projects vary, a common thread runs through them: tackling practical challenges that shape how teams operate and deliver results.
Here are a few examples from this summer.
Dallas / Fort Worth, TX
Commit Partnership
This summer, five EP Summer Fellows are working in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, including four Fellows at the Commit Partnership who are plugging into work across partnerships, data, internal systems, and instructional support.
Lesly Gramajo is helping launch Commit’s new District Strategy & Partnerships office, creating the systems, processes, and tools that will support strong partnership development and implementation. Her background in program and project management makes her a strong fit for this foundational, implementation-focused work.
Aaron Pevitz is adding capacity to Commit’s Analytics & Insights team, helping the deeply data-driven organization surface insights and identify recommendations across its priority areas of instruction, talent, and college and career readiness. His background supporting data and research projects for the U.S. Department of Education, along with his Ph.D. studies in education at Columbia, brings relevant experience to the role.
Victoria Pinedo is supporting research, analysis, and operational improvements to strengthen Commit’s key internal systems. Her background in higher education program management and operations, along with her MBA studies at Duke, makes her well prepared to support work that strengthens organizational effectiveness and student outcomes.
Natalie Platt is serving as an ELL Instructional Systems Fellow, helping build a district-wide system for multilingual learner instruction through needs assessment data, resource mapping, instructional support tools, and implementation planning. Her background in instructional design is a natural fit for her work at Commit.
Fort Worth Education Partnership
At Fort Worth Education Partnership, Krystal Taylor is helping make local school data clearer and more accessible through external-facing data tools, a school performance dashboard, and social media content. Krystal is an MBA graduate and Ph.D. candidate in educational leadership, with operations and marketing experience in the private sector.
Chicago, IL
This summer, nine EP Fellows are working in Chicago, including five Fellows supporting various departments across Chicago Public Schools to strengthen systems, improve service delivery, and inform data-driven decision-making across the district.
Chicago Public Schools
Li Wang is working with the Office for Students with Disabilities to develop and implement a program coherence protocol that enables stronger operations and better support for students across the district, drawing on her MBA work at Northwestern and experience improving systems and workflows for K-12 programs.
Tribuana Jones is helping the IT department improve the accuracy, efficiency, and security of systems that directly support schools and district staff. She is an Ed.D. candidate at Howard University with teaching experience in the district.
Alastair Merrett is supporting Web Production by designing and implementing scalable web applications to improve the department’s service delivery and help ensure students, families, and staff have reliable, accessible digital content about the district. He brings experience in operations, design thinking, and marketing to this work, and he is an MBA candidate at DePaul University.
Dania Carr is analyzing and reporting data to inform the Office of Early Childhood’s strategic initiatives, helping answer critical questions about students, teachers, and the effectiveness of support provided by the office. Dania is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago with experience as a research assistant studying students and educators.
Evelyn Campbell is helping the Student Information Systems team improve the quality and usability of system documentation, reporting structures, and data processes so staff access clearer guidance, more reliable data, and user-friendly resources. She brings strong experience at the intersection of education, data, and systems improvement, including work as a consultant supporting education leaders and program manager at the Data Science Institute at the University of Chicago.
Hope Chicago
At Hope Chicago, a nonprofit that expands postsecondary access for CPS graduates and their family members, Adrianna Barnett is leading a three-phase project to help eliminate “credit melt” for Hope Chicago Scholars by analyzing lost credits, building a Transfer Playbook of course equivalencies and requirements across partner universities, and creating a roadmap for integrating that information into future advising systems.
Her work will help the organization better provide proactive, systemic intervention, ensuring more first-generation, low-income students receive accurate guidance, reduce hidden college costs, and stay on track toward degree completion. Adrianna’s background in private-sector consulting and nonprofit program management brings strong experience to work that connects data, systems, and student support.
New York, NY
Seven EP Summer Fellows are supporting education organizations across New York City to strengthen data systems, improve internal infrastructure, and build capacity for more effective program delivery.
DREAM Charter School
At DREAM Charter School, Mykal Kelly is supporting strong and reliable summer data operations while advancing infrastructure improvements for the coming school year. His work includes developing data trackers and quality-control routines for enrollment, attendance, assessment, and other key program metrics, as well as building a grant-monitoring system and recurring reporting workflows tied to major summer program grant requirements.
As an MBA candidate at Rice University with Peace Corps experience working with schools and health centers, Mykal brings a strong interest in using his skills to support young people beyond the classroom.
NYC Kids Rise
Leila Agbogu is helping strengthen the internal systems and processes needed to support growth at NYC Kids RISE. She is developing a project plan to lay the groundwork for the organization’s intranet, with a focus on standardizing tools, improving knowledge management, increasing efficiency, and reducing compliance risk.
An MBA candidate at Emory University with a background in organizational psychology, operations, and data, Leila brings a strong foundation for this systems-building work.
Washington, DC
Four EP Summer Fellows are supporting education organizations across Washington, DC, including Higher Achievement, a nonprofit that provides free, year-round academic enrichment and high school placement assistance to middle school students.
Higher Achievement
Abigail Baker is helping expand the organization’s reach by adapting its mentor-led curriculum into a version designed for professional teachers to implement as a weekly elective or advisory class. She is also creating a teacher training plan so that Higher Achievement can bring its high school readiness program to more students and schools. Abigail’s teaching experience gives her a strong foundation for this work.
Teach For America
Teach For America (TFA) is hosting two EP Summer Fellows to support its People and Talent infrastructure, work that is essential to how a large national organization recruits and supports thousands of corps members, staff, and leaders across the country.
Kristen Hayes is helping implement a performance-aligned management and rewards model, building the tools, guidance, processes, and documentation needed for consistent adoption across the organization.
Emily Atkinson is helping establish foundational people analytics and reporting infrastructure, giving the organization greater visibility into workforce trends, performance outcomes, and progress toward strategic priorities. Together, their work will leave behind systems the team can sustain and expand after their Fellowships.
Their backgrounds in program and project management, research, and data, along with Emily’s experience as a TFA alum, brings relevant experience to the work.
Summer Fellowship Support & Development
Over ten weeks, EP Summer Fellows receive structured support designed to help them navigate complex systems, build relationships across lines of difference, and explore pathways for long-term impact in public education. Through Alumni-led learning circles and local network experiences, Fellows deepen their understanding of the sector while gaining perspective from peers and practitioners working in a range of roles.
The 2026 cohort recently kicked off their Fellowship in San Francisco with site visits to the Alameda County Office of Education and area Alumni-led organizations, including Caliber Public Schools, GLIDE San Francisco, and KIPP Northern California. They also learned from regional Alumni guides Caitlin Gallagher (2021), David Phillips (2010), and Laura Thomas (2012), and connected with local Alums and partners at an evening mixer.
Together, these early experiences help Fellows step into their placements with a clearer sense of how their contributions fit into the broader education community.
Looking Ahead
Across its Fellowship programs, EP continues to strengthen the leadership pipeline in public education, bringing new talent into organizations while opening pathways into long-term work in the field. This cohort reflects that ongoing commitment, contributing to priority efforts today while shaping what comes next.
Since 2003, Education Pioneers has supported 4,900+ Alumni, 71% of whom continue to work in education today, working across school districts, CMOs, nonprofits, government agencies, and higher education institutions nationwide. If you’re interested in hosting a Fellow at your organization, we invite you to reach out at [email protected].
