2025 Q2 – Partner QuarterLEE Digest

“I am advocating for the equity needed for our schools which serve majority black and brown students in both rural and urban areas,” she said. “I’m advocating for funding, keeping the schools open, making sure our schools have fair opportunities for enrollment and renewals to keep our charters.”

Kimberly is able to carry out this important work as a KIPP North Carolina Public Charter Schools Board member. As a board member and an engaged community activist for both healthcare and education, she works on a strategic level to make decisions and gain funding for KIPP schools. 

“The impact I’ve had thus far, collectively with the rest of the KIPP NC board members and KIPP foundation, is implementing new and better literacy and math programs into our schools,” she said. “We created a teacher’s institute where we are approved by the state to train and certify teachers.”

“This is huge because it will help retain teachers and assist with decreasing teacher attrition numbers in this state,” she added. “I’ve also created civic engagement opportunities this year for our seniors in the high school by partnering with We All Vote organization, which will help the students increase their experience and offer visibility for college opportunities.”

Kimberly joined LEE after becoming more involved with the KIPP Foundation’s advocacy group. “I’ve been able to learn the ‘who’ and ‘what’ LEE is and is all about,” she said. “I went to a meeting and signed up online for my membership. I took LEE’s online orientation course and it piqued my interest even more. From there, I started taking advantage of the benefits and other training that LEE offered. It matched my passions and my beliefs in education equity.”

As a new member, Kimberly has already attended LEE’s People of Color Political Leadership Program (PLP) in Houston, TX. “There, I learned that I have spent my life organizing and grassrooting around the educational rights for others, especially the disabled and those on the spectrum–but I never thought about it as a career in public service,” she said. “The PLP program was an eye opener. I will participate in other LEE programs as I begin this journey of discovering what LEE has to offer.”

Building Power with Young Leaders

Exploring Austin TX

Our work with young adults (ages 18–22) is expanding rapidly, and we’re proud to be piloting three new programs that support and empower this next generation of civic leaders.

• The Change Challenge Scholarship invites young changemakers to envision and propose bold solutions to the civic issues that matter most to them. Members submit creative responses detailing the challenges they hope to address and how they plan to drive change in their communities.
  
  
• The Alumni Ambassador Program equips college students with stipends to engage their peers and fellow alumni, spreading the word about LEE’s resources and opportunities. Now entering its fourth cohort since launching last fall, the program is already building a powerful ripple effect across campuses.
  
  
• Young Adult Paid Internships are opening doors for hands-on learning and career development. These placements with partner organizations give our young members practical experience in the civic space, while preparing them for long-term impact.

We’re energized by the momentum and committed to creating even more opportunities for young leaders to grow, connect, and lead change.

Partners in Action

LEE continues to look for new and meaningful ways to engage with members through our partnerships. Check out just a few examples of our collaboration with partners over the past few months. 

Latinos for Education members celebrating Massachusetts’ Educator Diversity Act

• Latinos for Education hosted an inspiring celebration to commemorate the passage of the Educator Diversity Act in Massachusetts, a landmark win that will pave the way for a more diverse, representative, and culturally responsive educator workforce across the state. The celebration included powerful moments of recognition for the elected leaders who made this victory possible, including several LEE-supported leaders such as Jaqueline Monterosso and Manny Cruz, and was joined by dignitaries like the MA Lt. Governor and other public officials.
• LEE’s Organizing Leadership Team launched a new 4-week certification on Storytelling and Deep Listening, hosting 35 members from 10 partner organizations across 24 states. Many members shared feeling seen during their role-play and they saw direct alignment with the content and the work each of them are doing in their direct-service roles.
• This spring, LEE teamed up with Public Allies to host a dynamic relational skill-building workshop that brought together over 80 participants across 8 regions. In this highly interactive session, Allies explored how to use their personal theory of change to strengthen their networks, deepen community relationships, and enhance impact at their host sites. Together, we laid the groundwork for a strong relational framework that will support their career growth and civic engagement journeys, while spotlighting the civic pathways and supports available through LEE.
• In partnership with LEE, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) DC Chapter hosted The Career Circuit, an engaging career development event designed to equip local members with essential tools to advance their professional journeys. The event offered tailored resume reviews, professional headshots, and hands-on career-building opportunities, while fostering a collaborative space that celebrated and strengthened participants’ leadership and growth
• The 2024-25 Public Policy Fellowship wrapped up in May with 28 fellows sharing robust learnings and achievements from the 10-month experience. Fellows worked on a range of projects in city government, state legislatures, boards of education, Tribal Education Departments, advocacy organizations, and the U.S. Senate. Alana Calhoun (TFA, Maryland), a fellow in The Office of Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen, supported the City Council in delivering responsive constituent services, advancing policy initiatives, and fostering inclusive community engagement. Alana said the fellowship gave her space to grow in real, tangible ways.

If you have any upcoming events or opportunities you’d like highlighted in a future Partnership QuarterLEE, or you just want to get in touch, please feel free to email me at sarah.sandoval-mohapatra@educationalequity.org.

We look forward to continuing this quarterly opportunity to collaborate, connect, and celebrate our work together.