EdRedesign Announces Inaugural Director of New Cradle-to-Career Fellows Program

The EdRedesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education is excited to announce the appointment of Denisse Arias as the inaugural director of the Fellowship for Cradle-to-Career Partnership Leaders, a visiting fellowship launched in April of this year. In this pioneering role, Arias will lead efforts to support new and aspiring leaders of cradle-to-career place-based partnerships.

"I am honored to step into the inaugural role of director of the Fellowship for Cradle-to-Career Partnership Leaders. This fellowship, a first-of-its-kind for leaders of place-based partnerships, will empower and upskill leaders who are devoted to transforming education and life outcomes for all kids. I look forward to working with our fellows to innovate, share best practices, and drive systemic change for children and families in communities," said Arias.

Arias brings a wealth of experience in equity-focused leadership development,
cross-sector collaboration, education systems transformation, and monitoring,
evaluation, and learning within education and international development. Prior to
joining EdRedesign, she served in various roles at Teach For All, building
capacity of leaders across Asia, Latin America, Africa, MENA, and Europe in pursuing systems change and collective leadership efforts. 

Alongside Arias’ appointment, the inaugural cohort of 22 fellows has been
selected — an impressive array of leaders from diverse geographic and
organizational experiences, including leaders working in urban, suburban, and rural contexts and from the neighborhood to the regional level. The cohort includes community leaders from impactful organizations, including the Hope Zone Promise Neighborhood in Ohio, ImpactTulsa in Oklahoma, Bachman Lake Together in Texas, and the Boston Opportunity Agenda in Massachusetts, and includes leaders from a diverse range of networks and national models, including Promise Neighborhoods, Full Service Community Schools, Communities in Schools, Purpose Built Communities, StriveTogether, Blue Meridian Partners Place Matters, Partners for Rural Impact, and William Julius Wilson Institute at Harlem Children’s Zone. The diversity of the cohort’s models adds a rich mosaic of perspectives and expertise, enhancing collective efforts to drive progress for children and young people across the country.

“We are witnessing a remarkable convergence of community leaders leveraging the transformative power of place-based initiatives and collaborating across sectors to drive social and economic mobility for young people and families. Our Fellowship amplifies their efforts by bringing together emerging local leaders from different networks and national partners. Under the visionary leadership of Denisse Arias, we are poised to accelerate the impact of these partnerships and strengthen the executive leadership pipeline for our field," added Rob Watson, Executive Director at EdRedesign.

The Fellowship is grounded in real-world applications across a variety of
partnership models and was developed by EdRedesign and a working group of
national field network leaders — Partners for Rural Impact, Purpose Built
Communities, StriveTogether, and William Julius Wilson Institute at Harlem
Children’s Zone.

The Fellowship Program will give Fellows access to best-in-class learnings from
national partners, place-based partnerships, and Harvard schools, centers, and
initiatives. Thanks to a recent $2.5 million implementation grant from Ballmer
Group, additional support from the HGSE Dean’s Impact Fund and The Annie E.
Casey Foundation, planning grants from Ballmer Group, Barr Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Schwartz Family Foundation, and general operating support from The Linda G. Hammett Ory & Andrew Ory Charitable Trust and the Schwartz Family Foundation, EdRedesign established this new initiative to help the next generation of leaders dedicated to equity and place-based work from across the nation.

Under Arias’s leadership, the Fellowship will bolster and develop the capabilities of leaders dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families through
innovative place-based initiatives.