Help youth who do not have access to supplemental academic support.
Board of Directors
Lindsey Wander
Founder and CEO of WorldWise Tutoring LLC
In her two decades of experience as an educator, Lindsey focuses on bringing the fun back to learning as well as on “teaching the underlying learning and life skills so that students are in the powerful position to manage their own learning, find their exceptional voice, and forge a path that is uniquely theirs.” In her experience working with students of various backgrounds, she believes that “race and income are not destiny; large steps forward are possible.”
Michelle Sandoval-Rosario, DrPH, MPH
Public Health expert with over 15 years addressing health disparities and inequalities
"Growing up I had the opportunity to have amazing teachers and mentors who helped shape my academic career. If it was not for their guidance, I would not be where I am today. Unfortunately, many BIPOC students do not have those opportunities. Educate. Radiate. Elevate. provides students with the tools they need to be successful and reach their highest potential. I was drawn to serve on this board because I believe in its mission and I know the importance of education. It is an honor to serve on such a diverse board and it makes me proud to be part of an organization that is shaping the minds of BIPOC youth.”
Ramsey Merritt, M. A. T
Educator with experience in bilingual, ESL, and Special Education classrooms
“Educate. Radiate. Elevate.'s mission speaks directly to the reason I got into education in the first place. Systemic, institutional racism ensures that non-whites in this country are always at a disadvantage. Providing free, high-quality tutoring to BIPOC students is just one small, but powerful, way to help level the playing field for all.”
Viji Sripathi
Technology Executive at Bank of America
“Getting more people educated is the only path to making this world a better place for future generations. E.R.E aptly represents this belief and motto in that there is no elevation or progress in life without spreading the light of knowledge in every child, every home, and every community.”
Sonali Srivastava
Division Counsel at AbbVie Inc
"Education has the potential to change life trajectories. Meaningful and equitable tutoring support services can assist students in their educational journeys and eventually elevate them to becoming positive role models and contributing members of our society. I strongly believe that education can set you free. That has been my personal experience and a reflection of my journey from a small town in India to being a first-generation immigrant and an intellectual property lawyer."
Aleece Lowe
Managing Director of School Operations for YES Prep Public Schools
"The mission of E.R.E. resonates with me because I believe it is equally important to provide culturally responsive, trauma-informed teaching, social-emotional learning, and soft skills to children as much as the academic support we provide them. E.R.E. believes in serving the whole child. Good test results are important but if children are not being developed, supported, and taught how to manage their reality, test results may not change their trajectory. E.R.E.’s focus on ensuring children are set up for success in the classroom, workforce, and in society shows me that E.R.E. is in this work for the right reason.
Kevin McGahey
Chief Financial Officer at CyberlinkASP
What resonates with me about Educate. Radiate. Elevate. is their holistic approach to addressing the achievement gap among disadvantaged students. By focusing on both academic skills and soft skills, the program goes beyond most tutoring programs. It's an honor to serve on the board of an organization whose mission works to create equity in education.
Organizational Demographics
Educate. Radiate. Elevate. is committed to maintaining a Board that is diverse in terms of race, background, field or expertise, etc. in order to best represent the students we are serving. Our Board currently includes representation from Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and LGBTQ+ communities. We are still in the process of potentially adding more board members to further diversify.
Board Leadership Practices
- Board orientation and education: The board conducts a formal orientation for new board members and requires all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
- Executive Director oversight: The board will conduct a formal, written assessment of the Executive Director each year.
- Ethics and transparency: The board has reviewed the conflict of interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year. The board will review the conflict of interest policy and bylaws on an annual basis, determining whether any updates are necessary based on changes in the nonprofit's corporate governance, programming, etc.
- Board composition: The board ensures an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership.
Our Tutors
Bachelor's in English Education from University of Illinois-Chicago Master's in Library Science from Dominican University Master's in Business Administration from Baruch College-City University of New York Doctorate in Teaching, Reading, and Learning from National Louis University Certificate of Achievement in Orton-Gillingham Academy Course
Bachelor's in Chemistry, Bachelor's in Statistics, and Minor in Biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Pursuing a Master's in Physician Assistant Studies at Rush University
Bachelor's in Economics and Applied Mathematics with a Minor in Political Science from The George Washington University; Master's in Teaching in Secondary Education with a specialization in Math and certification in Special Education from National Louis University; Pursuing a Doctorate in Teaching and Learning with a major of Curriculum, Advocacy and Policy from National Louis University
Bachelor's in Biology from Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico and Master's in Biology from Grand Canyon University
Associates in teaching from Tarrant County College and pursuing Bachelors in Habilitation of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing from Texas Christian University
Bachelor's in Chemistry from Zhengzhou University and Master's in Chemistry from Illinois Institute of Technology
Bachelor’s in Theatre from Northwestern University
Bachelor's in Environmental Studies from Lawrence University and Master's in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Our 50+ Instructors have:
- Diverse racial backgrounds, including: Asian, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, White, and Multiracial
- Bachelor’s, Master’s, and/or PhD’s in genres ranging from Education to Biomedical Engineering from universities such as IIT, UIC, Northwestern, University of Houston, University of Texas, and Georgetown
- Years of relevant experience teaching students 1-on-1, in small groups, and.or in classrooms
- Been thoroughly background checked
- Been trained by Lindsey Wander in best tutoring practices, including how to incorporate into their instruction lessons on metacognition, executive functions, and interpersonal skills
- Been trained by Lindsey Wander in best practices when working with culturally diverse and disadvantaged youth
- Experience with documenting detailed lesson notes which are sent to the students and their families after each session
How We Listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is the organization collecting feedback?
Feedback will be collected through surveys, goal setting and achievement measurement tools (SMART goals), interview with family and/or school teachers, exit interviews.
-
How is the organization using feedback?
Feedback will be used to make necessary adjustments and improvements to service delivery, measure youth success, drive organizational strategic planning.
-
With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Organization will share data with funders, peer support networks, policy makers.
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Feedback will need to have an anonymous component to obtain unbiased and objective feedback. We must also have tutor and participant buy-in for efficient data collection, and we must create a structured data collection methodology.
