FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 20, 2023
Contact for Education Pioneers:
Sara Kay Mooney
Director, Marketing & Communications
sarakay.mooney@educationpioneers.org
Education Pioneers Doubles Size of Fellowship Program to Cultivate Diverse Leaders for Public Education Sector
Nonprofit announces 32 rising leaders within the 2023 Summer Fellowship cohort
July 20, 2023 – Education Pioneers, a national nonprofit that builds the leadership and management capacity of the public education sector, announced today a new cohort of 32 talented professionals selected for the Education Pioneers Fellowship’s Summer 2023 Cohort.The Education Pioneers (EP) Summer Fellowship is a 10-week, cohort-based program for rising leaders eager to apply their skills to high-impact, time-sensitive initiatives within the public education ecosystem.
Fellows are providing critical capacity to school districts, charter schools, nonprofits, government agencies, and education support organizations who are working to expand opportunities for students across the country.
“Meaningful progress is possible when we have leadership at all levels—not just formal leadership within organizations, but a connected leadership that is rooted in community and collective action,” said Melissa Wu, CEO. “Education Pioneers is dedicated to fostering this kind of leadership, and our Summer Fellowship provides promising leaders a pathway to learnings and opportunities that will help drive positive change in the education landscape.”
The Summer Fellowship provides these high-potential leaders the opportunity to preview the impact a future leader can make in the education sector. Fellows participate in leadership development throughout the program designed to cultivate the mindsets and orientations needed to navigate education’s complex and evolving challenges.
Of the 2023 EP Summer Fellows, 80% identify as people of color and 94% are recent graduates or currently in graduate school. Incoming Fellows will join EP’s nationwide network of 4,600 Alumni, more than 70% of whom continue to work in education.
Fellows participating in this year’s program include:
- Safa Babikir, placed at iEducate
- Roland Beard, placed at Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- Liz Bender, placed at CDE Foundation
- Jefferson Chang, placed at Ravenswood School District
- Lauren Conn, placed at Friendship Public Charter School
- Khoa Dao, placed at San Francisco Unified School District
- Ashley Fortner-Domínguez, placed at National Math and Science Initiative
- Travis Ghirdharie, placed at New Leaders
- Ravin Gore-Overby, placed at Achievement Prep Public Charter School
- Hans Grohs, placed at Bloom Academy Charter
- Shabeha Haque, placed at The Commit Partnership
- Vaibhav Kumar, placed at Chicago Public Schools
- Heston Nguyen, placed at Etoile Academy Charter
- Evelyn Nkooyooyo, placed at Rocketship Public Schools
- Kelly O’Connor, placed at Chicago Public Schools
- Malaika Ogukwe, placed at Rocketship Public Schools
- Adriana Overton, placed at Northern Illinois University, Education Systems Center
- Isis Owusu, placed at Great Lakes Academy Charter School
- Piyush Prakash, placed at Chicago Public Schools
- Shivam Rawal, placed at Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
- Kennedy Reed, placed at Academy for Urban School Leadership
- Riley Selig-Addiss, placed at KIPP DC
- Shefali Shrivastava, placed at District of Columbia Public Schools
- Maria Solis, placed at Chicago Public Schools
- Kevin Tham, placed at Chicago Learning Exchange
- Bryce Trafford, placed at The Social Justice School
- Michael Varnerin, placed at AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation
- McKain Williams, placed at Golden Apple
- Toi Witcher, placed at KIPP Texas
- De’Ja Wood, placed at District of Columbia Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education
- Annika Wreder, placed at San Francisco Unified School District
- Xinyue Zhou, placed at New Leaders
Education organizations interested in hosting an EP Fellow in the future can learn more here. Partnership with Education Pioneers helps strengthen the pipeline of talented leaders ready to take on roles in data analytics, strategy, operations, project management, and more across the education sector.
About Education Pioneers
Education Pioneers (EP) cultivates a diverse and representative pipeline of general management leaders to bring their skill sets to the public education sector, while also working to develop the mindsets and adaptive skills needed to navigate the evolving challenges in education. Since 2003, EP has connected and developed leaders from all over the country in partnership with more than 1,000 education organizations nationwide. Together, EP’s network of 4,600+ passionate individuals are working in collaboration with local communities, amplifying their collective impact.
