Surge Launches "It's Giving" Campaign to Elevate Over 5,000 Education Leaders of Color by 2030

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Mar 02, 2023, 08:34 ET

Through Surge's IMPACT Community Funds,"It's Giving" Will Leverage Storytelling for Transformative Change

NEW ORLEANS, March 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Surge Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and elevating leaders of color in urban education, is excited to announce the launch of its new "It's Giving" campaign. The campaign, set to begin on March 1, 2023, aims to create a movement that prioritizes having more leaders of color in education, with a goal of 5,000 by 2030.

To accomplish its goals, the "It's Giving" campaign invites individuals to become a Surge IMPACT Community Member through recurring monthly donations. These funds sustain the work to elevate leaders of color across the country. Surge invites all change-makers, change-activators, change-accelerators, high-net worth individuals, and alumni of Surge's programs to be part of the "It's Giving" campaign. By joining the movement, individuals can be part of the solution to transform urban education for young people and communities.

Surge's "It's Giving" campaign is centered on the power of storytelling to surge the future of change-makers ahead. Surge understands that transformation takes time, effort, and dedication, and that progress towards greater educational opportunities can be accelerated through the right information and collaboration.

"Studies show that all students do better when there's more diversity in education leadership. There's more collective understanding that informs policies and the way classrooms are established, which improves the experience of Black and brown young people, and of ALL young people," said Surge's founder and CEO, Carmita Semaan. "We're purposely building a community of leaders with dynamic influential voices focused on progress, and we lovingly push leaders of color to boldly acknowledge the strength and power of our personal stories."

Surge provides a platform to elevate change-makers who push educational systems forward. The organization aims to unapologetically change the face of leadership by providing the skills and training necessary to develop agents of change in urban education.

Surge's mission is to educate and develop leaders of color who create transformative change for young people, their families, and broader communities. The organization's vision is to be the preeminent pipeline addressing the dearth of leadership of color at decision-making tables. Surge moves with intentionality, unity, and conviction toward a world where the leaders shaping our educational system are those who understand the most underserved kids and families.

For more information, please visit www.surgeinstitute.org. Follow Surge on Twitter, @Surge_Institute and Instagram, @surge_institute

Media Contact:
Kara Prior
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (210) 846-4486

About Surge Institute:
The Surge story begins with a woman of color working at the executive level of a school district. Carmita Semaan witnessed first-hand a glaring lack of diversity at leadership levels across the education sector and the direct impact of that disconnect on the predominantly African-American and Latinx students being served. There, and in many boardrooms since she grew tired of being one of few voices with shared experience with the students and families served.

Carmita benefitted from a strong educational background and success in corporate and nonprofit spaces, which assisted her in navigating leadership in education with aplomb. In 2014, she founded the Surge Institute, an education leadership accelerator with a simple but important mission: Educate and develop leaders of color who create transformative change for young people, their families, and broader communities. Today, Surge boasts a family of 303 Surge Alumni nationally and has created connective spaces for emerging leaders of color in Chicago, Oakland, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Indianapolis.

SOURCE Surge Institute