Surge Institute Empowers Leaders Of Color In Education

Surge Institute was founded by Carmita Semaan 10 years ago. Photo provided by MyWhy Agency.
Surge Institute was founded by Carmita Semaan 10 years ago. Photo provided by MyWhy Agency.

Surge Institute Empowers Leaders Of Color In Education

By Tia Carol Jones

A  ten year old nonprofit organization is educating and developing educational leaders of color, with the goal of those leaders transforming communities, students and their families. Surge Institute was founded by Carmita Semaan who was inspired to see what it could look like if there were more leaders of color in nonprofit and educational spaces. At the core of Surge’s mission, it supports people who will affect positive change in the world.

One of the way Surge supports leaders is through the Surge Fellowship, which is a 10-month cohort experience that connects, accelerates and empowers leaders of color.

“They go on a journey that’s not just about learning those executive or hard skills that are needed to function at the executive level and navigate complex systems, but they also join a vast network of mission-driven leaders of color who understand and support each other’s needs,” said Ulric Shannon, Executive Director of Surge Institute.

Each of the fellows receive one year of executive coaching. To close out the year, the fellows complete a capstone or freedom dream project where they share what they could do to change the world given their strengths and expertise, with a focus on what liberation and justice could feel like. There have been almost 400 alums nationwide.

Surge Institute also has Surge Academies across the country in Detroit, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Oakland and Washington, DC. The six-month program helps leaders of color in the education space learn how to transform urban education for young people and their communities. There also is the Black Principals Network that serves Black Principals across the country.

Within that program, there is a cohort called The Leadership Collaborative. Surge Angels is for Alums of the Surge Fellowship. They receive business preparedness training through a seven-month program. At the end of Surge Angels, the participants present their business proposals to an investment committee at a public showcase.

Shannon is an alumni of Surge Institute. He started as a third-grade teacher, then went onto working in the CPS Central Office, as well as Teach for America. He had all the experience, but something was missing. He didn’t feel a collective impact. Surge offered him the opportunity to work toward education equity. He feels seen, heard, and valued now. With Surge, he has access to a network and has expanded his skills, knowledge, and leadership capacity.

Through his work with Surge, Shannon allowed and created a space for himself to understand that outside validation is not always necessary. It starts with his own beliefs within himself to make his dreams and aspirations come true. Surge has also supplied him with a community that he knows always has his back.

“Educators as a whole really experience some real challenges in their work every single day. One thing we know is that representation is extremely important in that space. We know teachers of color often find themselves underrepresented in the teaching profession and really lack the representation that can impact students’ perception of what an educator looks like,” Shannon said.

Shannon said there are also positives that teachers of color experience. That includes them serving as role models for students who share the same race or ethnic background. They can also inspire and empower those students by demonstrating resilience. All of these things can help create a more inclusive and engaging educational experience for the students. Shannon said that teaching can be fun and really rewarding. There is also a fulfillment teachers experience when they see their students’ growth.

Shannon is proud of the Surge alums. Hearing feedback from them means the world to them. Many of them have said Surge has met or exceeded their expectations. He is grateful to be in the space and be in his role. He encourages people to look into Surge and apply to its programs.

For more information about Surge Institute, visit www.surgeinstitute.org.

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