Partner Spotlight - UNCF

The Segal Program thanks all of our partners, both past and present, for their continued dedication to and support of our Segal Fellows in their personal and professional citizen leadership journeys. On this page, we highlight partners who have taken advantage of hosting a Segal Fellow as an intern for a 10+ week summer internship, which benefits both the Fellow and host organization.

UNCF

The mission of UNCF is to “build a robust and nationally-recognized pipeline of under-represented students who, because of UNCF support, become highly-qualified college graduates and to ensure that our network of member institutions is a respected model of best practice in moving students to and through college.” By providing advanced research and capacity building training, and financial support, UNCF has been a premier organization in elevating young BIPOC youth to reach their potential and elevate their standard of living as adults.

SPEAKERS FROM THE "LIFT EVERY VOICE AND LEAD" PANEL

African American Apathy Perceptions Series is a three day program designed to elevate the voice of African American parents, teachers, and students to gain perspective as to how apathy and poor perceptions affect policy. This program is designed to make sure all voices are at the table to make sure that programs are happening with BIPOC education advocates instead of to them.

The Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute has released a study on how successes from HBCUs can provide better outcomes for K-12 education for young African American

SRO Policy Brief Cover Image c/o UNCF.org

COVER PICTURE FOR UNCF POLICY BRIEF ON SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS

UNCF has also released a policy brief on how violence against Black citizens by the hands of police officers negatively affects communities and reduces trust in the police. In the case of education, the role of the Security Resource Officer (SRO) is overlooked as a microcosm of the issue, where major reform on the state and national level is discussed.

Cover Picture for Building Better Narratives Campaign c/o: UNCF.org

COVER PICTURE FOR "BUILDING BETTER NARRATIVES IN BLACK EDUCATION PROGRAM"

Working with a Segal Fellow:

In the summer of 2020, Dr. Meredith Anderson supervised and supported the internship of 2020 Heller/MPP Segal Fellow Lydia Casmier Derfler. Lydia’s work centered on supporting the Building a Better Narrative Campaign. The campaign seeks to better outcomes for young African American students by 1) understanding what the community is saying, 2) promoting and investing in high quality reforms and initiatives, 3) not only underscoring educational inequality, but truly celebrating success, and 4) promoting the “urgency of now.”

Lydia worked on this initiative by supporting community conversations in an event called Community Voices, where Washington, D.C. principals and educators met to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on their schools, and the strategies they were implementing to meet new student needs. Lydia also compiled education data on the public school landscape in DC to be used on infographics for educators, advocates, and families. In addition to supporting the Building a Better Narrative Campaign, Lydia compiled resources for an HBCU Toolkit for students and guidance counselors. She also helped organize a comprehensive talking points document so that UNCF leadership and staff can communicate a unified narrative on K-12 advocacy issues.