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The EdRedesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education has appointed Denisse Arias as the inaugural director of the Fellowship for Cradle-to-Career Partnership Leaders — a visiting fellowship launched in April. In this pioneering role, Arias will guide efforts to support new and aspiring leaders of cradle-to-career place-based partnerships.
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, Denisse 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, among them those working in urban, suburban, and rural contexts, from the neighborhood to the regional level. The cohort includes community leaders from impactful organizations, such as 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: 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. You can see the complete list of Fellows and their organizations here. 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.
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.
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.
