Talent in Action

At Education Pioneers we invest in leaders because they embody our organization’s founding belief that talented leaders and managers can scale successful solutions for the education sector to impact millions of children nationwide. For Women’s History Month, we celebrate EP Alumni who are trailblazers in education – with a focus on Alumni who are entrepreneurs and/or pioneers. These are only a few of the inspirational women who have been a part of our program. Check out more of our EP Alums on our Meet Our Pioneers page. Brenda Darden Wilkerson (2015) CEO and President, AnitaB.org From...

Bakari Ukuu moved to Kansas City as a Teach For America corps member in 2012. He is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma (and is very excited to hear EP is expanding there in 2018 ), but found his place in Kansas City and decided to put down roots. While an instructional coach, Ukuu joined Education Pioneers and worked in the Kansas City Public Schools in the Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development department where he helped embed social justice standards and develop culturally-responsive curriculum, while also delivering districtwide professional development. We talked to Bakari, now...

Stephen Fedore was a 2012 EP Fellow and now, he’s the Chief Analytics Officer at Tulsa Public Schools —an on-the-rise district serving approximately 42,000 students in 86 schools with roughly 7,000 employees. EP is expanding to Tulsa in 2018 where EP Alums Martin Green, Director of Academic Services and Impact (2014 Fellow); Quentin Liggins, Director of Talent Initiatives (2016 Fellow); and Stephen are already working at Tulsa Public Schools. Stephen was born in Oklahoma, but grew up in California. He never thought he would return to Oklahoma to make a life and career in Tulsa, but he’s...

MEMPHIS is a great place to live and work, not to mention it’s a music lover’s dream. The city is known as the “Home of the Blues” and the “Birthplace of Rock and Roll.” Walk the 1.8 miles of Beale Street in downtown Memphis and you will understand the soul of soul music. Elvis Presley got his start here (you can visit his home of Graceland ), as did Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, Al Green, BB King, and so many more. Memphis is serious about attracting and retaining passionate, committed professionals to address the challenges that prevent many students from receiving an equitable education...

In the EP Blog post “ Four Places to Support Equity and Boost Your Career Like Nowhere Else ,” we discussed the importance of the network’s “accelerator cities” — some of our smaller locations that are high priority because they have a particularly high demand for talented leaders, as well as offer unique opportunities to impact education and advance careers rapidly. New Orleans is on that list, along with Memphis, Kansas City, and Tulsa. 2014 EP Fellow Meladee Evans began her career in education during her placement at Algiers Charter School Association in New Orleans. Although she was a...

Note: This post originally appeared on the Tuck360 MBA Blog . Writer Clint Smith has four core principles posted in his high school English class: “Read critically. Write consciously. Speak clearly. Tell your truth.” Over the course of three workshops, my cohort of twenty-five Education Pioneers Fellows internalized this message, embracing vulnerability and engaging in courageous conversations. We read and discussed articles about education, collaborated on group projects, and heard from leaders in the education sector. Education Pioneers connects Fellows with high-impact placement...

If you want to create equity and effect meaningful change in public education, take civil rights leader Bryan Stevenson’s advice : Get proximate . Get close to people and communities – and stay close. There are four particularly important and unique cities to get proximate and make your mark: New Orleans , Memphis , Kansas City , and Tulsa . At EP, we call them “accelerator cities.” NEW ORLEANS MEMPHIS KANSAS CITY TULSA Accelerator cities are high priority sites that have a particularly high demand for talented leaders. Th ey hold unique opportunities to impact education and advance your...

EP teamed up with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to determine if we are meeting our mission to recruit, connect, and advance more diverse, transformative leaders into the education sector. AIR also examined how EP Fellows and Alumni persist in the education sector as they grow their careers. In September 2017, AIR reported on their findings in “Education Pioneers’ Fellow and Alumni Demographics and Mobility Analysis.” AIR’s research found that EP Fellows are highly educated: 81% of Pioneers held or were pursuing a doctorate in education, a juris doctorate or a master’s degree at...

To address the structural inequities that perpetuate the opportunity gap and affect low-income students and students of color, Education Pioneers is building a network of leaders and partners in education who can reimagine systems of schools nationwide. As Education Pioneers (EP) has been building a leadership movement to transform public education for nearly 15 years, EP recently teamed with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to examine our impact in the K-12 public education sector. We wanted to know: Is EP meeting our mission to recruit, connect, and advance more diverse,...

In June, Education Pioneers was proud to host the annual Chicago Agents of Change Luncheon, where we honored 10 EP Alumni who work in Chicago education organizations on behalf of underserved students and demonstrate results toward achieving educational equity and opportunity in many ways, including innovation, entrepreneurship, and community advocacy and empowerment. One of those Alumni, Adrian Segura, was named the EPic Chicago Alumni of the year for his work as an advocacy and government affairs professional who largely advocates on behalf of public school students. (The EPic Chicago Alumni...