Talent in Action

Dear Pioneers, partners, supporters and friends of EP, As COVID-19 rages on and the 2020-2021 academic year begins, school leaders are wrestling with hard choices and conflicting priorities around community safety, student learning, and budget constraints. Eighty-five percent of the 20 largest U.S. school districts are starting remote-only. Studies are simultaneously projecting that existing achievement gaps will widen by another 15-20% as low-income and students of color face distance learning inequities — all while there’s a national spotlight on racial injustice. There are no playbooks for...

In this Pioneer Profile with 2014 EP Alum Dr. Vanessa Monterosa , she talks about her pioneering work in digital citizenship, the leaders that inspire her, and what's she still learning to do. What were you doing before EP? Before EP, I was a Ph.D. student working as a Research Associate at the USC Rossier School of Education where I was doing research on social media and college access/success. What led you to EP & why did you pursue the opportunity? I originally was accepted as an EP Fellow in 2011 as I was graduating from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I had been offered an...

Our partners at Higher Expectations originally posted this story on their website. In 2019, we collaborated with Racine Unified to bring a data fellow from Education Pioneers , a national education leadership development program, into our work. This was one of the first times Education Pioneers placed a fellow in Wisconsin. Our Data Fellow, Lauren Marinoff, closes her year working with us this week so we wanted to take the time to reflect on the great work she has accomplished this year. Education Pioneers identifies high-potential leaders from different sectors early in their careers and...

This summer was our 15th year of Fellowships cohorts — 110+ new Pioneers joined summer cohorts across the country and now we're thrilled to welcome them into our nationwide network of 4,300+ Alumni. The application for next summer's cohort is now open . Read the full press release. The priority deadline for the Summer Fellowship’s application is December 18, 2019. Nearly 70% of Summer Fellows are selected from priority round applicants. — The Sojourner Truth School (@TruthMontessori) August 26, 2019 The application for the EP Summer Fellowship is now open . Read the full press release. We are...

In this Pioneer Profile with Tracy Session , EP's new Vice President of Program , he talks about community, family, and the category of leaders who continue to inspire him.

2018 was a momentous year for EP. Beyond EP’s first CEO transition, our milestones included some big ones: starting in January with the launch of our newest program, the Impact Fellowship, and continuing with celebrations of our 15th anniversary and growth of our network to 4,000+ Pioneers this summer. I’m incredibly proud of the progress we made as an organization this year.

Each year, EP cohorts around the nation leverage their diverse skill sets and their wealth of experience to explore education. Participating in small groups, EP Fellows design a project to examine or experience education issues through the critical lens of factors that impact access to high-quality education within the communities we serve. This year, through a series of pictures, EP Fellows in Denver captured why members of their 2018 cohort choose to work in the education sector and used that as a jumping off point for further discussion. Their reasoning behind the project? To inspire young...

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...