Carmita Semaan

Carmita Semaan is the Founder and President of The Surge Institute. Surge, as it is affectionately called, was established to broadly address issues of race and class in urban education through leadership development, technical assistance, and advocacy. The Surge Fellowship, the Institute’s signature program, is transforming education by identifying and grooming emerging education leaders of color.

Carmita’s career started in corporate America; however corporate could not contain her desire to lead high-impact initiatives that benefit urban youth and transform urban communities- so she blazed a trail within the non­‐profit sector. Carmita’s commitment to empowering the country’s most underserved young people by providing them with pathways to excellence through education and holistic support led her to a decade of executive service, driving results for visionary leaders including Alma Powell, Gen. Colin Powell, and Arne Duncan, the former US Secretary of Education.