(February 27, 2025) - The Pahara Institute announced today a new cohort of the highly selective Pahara Fellowship. These 24 individuals join the Pahara community of leaders, which is designed to strengthen and sustain values-driven leaders who are transforming public education so that every child is prepared to lead a free and fulfilling life.
The Pahara Fellowship is a one-year, cohort-based program that identifies exceptional leaders in the educational excellence and equity movement, facilitates their dynamic growth, and strengthens their collective efforts to dramatically improve public education, especially those serving low-income children and communities. The Fellowship provides these leaders with the unusual opportunity to step back from their demanding daily work to reflect with peers on their collective and individual impact as leaders and change agents. Fellows challenge each other to think beyond traditional silos and sector boundaries to develop strategies that enhance their effectiveness as leaders, address leadership challenges in public education, and accelerate the improvements needed to provide high-quality learning opportunities for all of our nation’s children.
The newest cohort of Pahara Fellows includes:
Juan Aguinaga, Chief of Staff, PREP Public Schools
Nicole Allard, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Leading for Transformation
Heather Young Anichini, Chief Executive Officer, The Chicago Public Education Fund
David Ayala, Managing Partner, School Leader Lab
Priscila Dilley, Senior Officer, Leadership Academy Network
Herneshia Dukes, National Director, Greenhouse E3
Mitch Elatkin, Senior Director of Specialized Services, ReGeneration Schools
Rita Fennelly-Atkinson, Senior Director, Credentials, Digital Promise
Leroy Gaines, Network Superintendent, Oakland Unified School District
Michelle Getz, Partner & Chief Credit Officer, Equitable Facilities Fund
Kalila Hoggard, Chief People & Equity Officer, DREAM
Nithin Iyengar, Partner & Head of San Francisco Officer, The Bridgespan Group
Modesto Montero-Forman, Founder & Executive Director, Libertas Academy Charter School
Paul Morrissey, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Compass Rose Public Schools
Tiffany Cuellar Needham, Executive Director, Teach for America Houston
Paola Paga, Director of Charter Schools, Colorado Department of Education
Harrison Peters, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, MCEL United
Aaron Ridings, Executive Consultant, Aaron Ridings, LLC
Monica Santana Rosen, Chief Executive Officer, Alma Advisory Group
Zakiya Sackor, Executive Director, Rocketship Public Schools
Sage Salvo, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Words Liive
Aqua Stovall, Chief Executive Officer, Stovall Consulting Firm
Vidya Sundaram, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Family Engagement Lab
Pablo Villavicencio, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools
To access bios and photos of the Pahara Fellows, click here.
For more information please contact info@pahara.org.
About the Pahara Institute
The Pahara Institute seeks to strengthen the movement for educational excellence and equity by developing and sustaining values-driven leaders. The guiding principle of the Pahara Institute is that bold improvements are needed in our public schools so that every child in America is prepared to lead a free and fulfilling life. Pahara’s programs are designed to identify leaders in education innovation, and through a time-tested dialogue approach, strengthen and sustain their efforts to bring about critical improvements to our public schools. For more information, please visit pahara.org.
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