Surge Institute Quarterly Newsletter
Fall 2018
Greetings!

We may not be seeing autumn leaves yet, but the signs of fall are plentiful. Kids are back in school. The breezes are getting just a bit cooler. And the Surge Institute is celebrating the beginning of another year of growth, connection and development with a powerful collective of emerging education leaders of color!

But this fall is a special one.

For the first time, I get to shout about not one, not two, but three cohorts of emerging leaders beginning their collective Surge journey! That's right... in one year we've gone from a Chicago-based nonprofit with a transformative fellowship program to a national movement, spanning three U.S. cities, with more in the pipeline.

Now, the praise and love I get to share is nationwide, whether it's for Chicago Alumna Christine Diaz, who has stepped into an influential new role as Chief Education Officer of Acero Schools, or for Oakland Alumna Osayuware (Tina) Enagbare, who is now the Vice President, Talent & Equity for the  Peer Health Exchange.

The leaves may not have changed just yet, but we are seeing beautiful colors in high places all the same.

Thank you for being a part of this growing movement.

In community,
Carmita Semaan, Founder and President
News & Announcements
Surge Academy Begins
The Surge movement is treading new ground with a new pilot program in Kansas City that aims to extend our work into mid-size and smaller cities.
Chicago Surges Forward
Surge Chicago welcomes its largest and most diverse cohort to date. Meet the 25 fellows taking the journey as the Windy City's fifth cohort.
Oakland's New Cohort
Meet the change-makers who make up Oakland's second fellowship cohort, a brilliant and hungry group of African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander and Latinx emerging leaders.
The Story of Impact
To truly see our impact in developing, uniting and empowering transformative leaders, we must measure it with intentionality and consistency. Our recent survey confirmed our work is paying off. D. Nigel Green's story is just one example of that impact.
2018 Fellows Become Surge Alumni
For the first time, the Surge movement celebrates graduations across two cities, as 2018 Chicago and Oakland Fellows join our growing Alumni community!
Good Reads:
The Surge Experience
Oakland Alumna Nicole Magtoto was recently interviewed by ProFellow about fellowship experience. See what she had to say!
Fellow & Alumni Recognition
Surge Fellows and Alumni are achieving goals, serving their communities and impacting the future of education. 

2015 Chicago Fellow LeShonne Segura has accepted the role of Manager of Program Investments for the  Chicago Public Education Fund . The Fund devotes time, leverages data and invests in programs and initiatives that enable Chicago to attract, support and keep strong principals.

2018 Oakland Fellow Sonya Mehta has accepted the role of Director of Partnerships at The Teaching Well , an Oakland-based nonprofit consulting group that supports schools across California with teacher retention and wellness. 
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.