Happy Summer!

There’s something thrilling about starting a new chapter of a story. You carry with you all that has happened to this point while eagerly anticipating the new layers forming ahead. That’s how we at Surge feel right now.

We are celebrating the close of a deeply inspiring recruitment season, in which we met and developed relationships with emerging leaders of color across multiple cities seeking to join the Surge experience for 2022. We saw the graduation of our first cohort of Indianapolis fellows and got to fund some of their incredible Freedom Dreams projects. The Surge movement is vibrant, pulsing and teeming with brilliant energy.

Now we look ahead. We are currently building for the years to come, poring over what we know, and having the challenging, rewarding conversations about what this movement can and should be. Our national and local boards are growing, our reach is extending and our vision is solidifying.

As you read this newsletter, please join us in turning the page. Share these stories with all of the people you feel will be inspired to see this work and impact. We are entering a new chapter, and we are excited to continue the Surge story. 

Always in community,
The Surge Leadership Team
NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Surge Awards $15,000 to Fund Six Surge Academy Freedom Dreams Projects
In celebrating our 2021 Surge Academy cohort, Colectivo Asé, and their collective brilliance, we are honored to announce that Surge will be awarding $15,000 to help fund and actualize six of the Indianapolis Freedom Dreams projects.
Introducing New Leaders to National Board and Oakland Advisory Board
We are honored to welcome Surge Alum, Ana Martinez Shropshire (CHI’15) and Margarita Florez Vasconcelos to our National Board of Directors as well as Surge Alum Osayuware (Tina) Enagbare (OAK’18) to our Oakland Advisory Board. Through this growth, we are excited to continue the collective design of a bright and sustainable future for the Surge movement.
Founder and President Featured in Comcast's 2021 Impact Report
We’re excited to see our work as well as our Founder and President, Carmita Semaan featured in Comcast’s 2021 Impact Report. Check out the full report and learn more about our work to develop and elevate leaders of color, made even more possible through our partnership with Comcast.
SURGE COMMUNITY STORIES
Addressing the Compound Inequities Facing Students of Color
In March, Surge joined a group of education leaders of color to form the RISE UP Coalition in the spirit of engaging a national network of leaders in supporting school districts and charter networks who are facing tremendous challenges and opportunities to design effective solutions for students. In the coming weeks, the group will release an Action Agenda. If you want to be the first to hear about updates, click the link below.
IMPACT Community Member Spotlight
Tyfahra is a visionary who leads those around her - peers, leaders and organizations - down the roadmap to a new world in which we can live fully humanized.

A 2020 Surge Oakland Alumna, IMPACT Community member and Executive Director of Camp Phoenix, she is dedicated to creating a world that is rooted in equity and inclusion.
How the Surge Fellowship Helps You
Evolve, Heal and Find your Truth
Learn more about Surge Alums Janene Ingram (CHI'19) and Rudy Lozano (CHI'18) and hear how their Surge experiences provided the space and community needed to heal as a leaders who continue to fight for the liberation of youth and communities of color.
Shades of Impact:
Building Our Own
On the most recent episode of Surge's livestream series, Shades of Impact, we heard the stories and insights of leaders who are working to bring people together. Check out episode 8 below, and leave a comment letting us know what topics you'd like us to discuss next!
FELLOW & ALUMNI RECOGNITION
Surge Fellows and Alumni are achieving goals, serving their communities and impacting the future of education.
Innovare – Social Innovation Partners, founded by AJ DeLeón (CHI’15) through his Surge Fellowship Capstone project, has become a Google for Education Partner. Google for Education is a service that provides education-focused tools for educators, school leaders and students.
In a recent news segment, KC STEM Alliance highlighted Remake Days KC CHALK. The project came to life from Founder/ED of Inspired Aesthetics, Cescily Phillips’ Freedom Dreams Project. In addition, Cescily (KC'20) was named a 2021 Fellow of 4.0 Schools' New Normal Fellowship as well as an awardee of the Meet the Moment 2.0 Grant.
On June 22nd, Promise Prep, a new Indianapolis public charter school founded by Geoff Fenelus (INDY’21), had its official ribbon cutting ceremony. Along with the festivities, the school also hosted a community open house and enrollment resources for parents and families.
We are the preeminent pipeline addressing the dearth of leadership of color at the decision-making tables within education reform. Surge educates, empowers and energizes educational leaders of color who will create transformative change in the communities they serve.