FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 03, 2019
Contact for Education Pioneers:
Jennifer Chin
Senior Director, External Relations
Education Pioneers Seeks New Diverse Leaders for 2020 Summer Fellowship
National nonprofit opens application for signature leadership development program positioning a career in education as a lever for change.
BOSTON, MA – Education Pioneers (EP), a national nonprofit that builds the leadership and management capacity of the K-12 public education sector, announced today that applications are open for the 2020 Education Pioneers Summer Fellowship, the organization’s flagship program.
EP Fellows are creative problem solvers who are driven to apply their skills towards educational equity and closing the opportunity gap. The nonprofit seeks graduate students and professionals from diverse personal and professional backgrounds with skills in business, policy, data analysis, strategy, and operations to advance the missions of school districts, charter schools, state and federal agencies, and education nonprofits. Fellows will be matched with a paid 10-week work placement in Summer 2020, where they apply their skills towards a discrete project. They also join cohort-based programming designed to shape their ongoing leadership and commitment to education.
“I am impressed by the breadth and depth of Education Pioneers’ 4,300 Alumni working in different ways to close the opportunity gap. We’re committed to being a pipeline for high-potential talent to ensure schools and education organizations have the capacity they need to realize impact in the communities they serve,” said Melissa Wu, CEO of Education Pioneers. “We know that exceptional talent early in their careers have incredible opportunities available to them. We’re looking to create catalytic experiences for those individuals excited to use their talent to make an impact.”
“The EP Fellowship experience afforded me insight and perspective about the landscape of careers within education. It influenced my decision to pursue a career where I can build capacity within organizations that have the potential to make a significant impact toward educational equity,” said Rob Granados, a 2019 EP Summer Fellow and MBA candidate at the University of Southern California – Marshall School of Business. 80% of 2019 Summer Fellows were current or recent graduate school students, 45% were new to the education sector, 60% of Summer 2019 Fellows identified as leaders of color.
In their 10-week work placements, Summer Fellows take on important, often behind-the-scenes work that impact education at the systems level — from developing data tools, leading strategic planning, preparing school systems for the launch of the school year, and more. Their leadership outside the classroom enables students and teachers to be successful inside of the classroom.
EP’s leadership development programming ensures Fellows have the community context necessary for inclusive impact. By gaining exposure to the issues, policies, and politics that are critical for a transformational career in education, Fellows are inspired for lifelong leadership.
“Developing education leaders and managers with the context and mindset to be inclusive, community-oriented agents of change is at the core of how Education Pioneers achieves our vision to close the opportunity gap,” said Tracy Session, VP of Program at Education Pioneers.
The application for the EP Summer Fellowship is now open; talented professionals who are interested in the summer 2020 program can learn more about the opportunity on the organization’s website. The organization is actively recruiting Fellows for placements in Boston, Chicago, DC, Denver, Memphis, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The priority deadline for the Summer Fellowship’s application is December 18, 2019. Nearly 70% of Summer Fellows are selected from priority round applicants.
Education organizations interested in hosting an EP Summer Fellow with management and execution skills ready to tackle a 10-week project during Summer 2020 can learn more or apply to partner with Education Pioneers. Partnership with Education Pioneers helps to strengthen the pipeline of talented leaders ready and interested in taking on roles in data analytics, strategy, finance, project management, and more across the education sector.
About Education Pioneers
Education Pioneers builds the pipeline of leaders outside the classroom who enable teachers and students to be successful inside the classroom. Since 2003, Education Pioneers has recruited and trained over 4,300 leaders in partnership with more than 750 education organizations nationwide.
Of the organization’s Alumni in the workforce, more than 70 percent serve in education and lead or contribute to work that impacts public school students in major cities across the nation, most of whom are students of color and growing up in underserved areas. Learn more: www.educationpioneers.org/our-impact.
