In May, RedefinED Atlanta announced the launch of the Atlanta Changemakers for Education (A.C.E.) Fellowship, a nine-month leadership program for current and emerging leaders committed to improving educational opportunities and outcomes for students across Metro Atlanta. Following an extensive application process, RedefinED Atlanta is proud to introduce the inaugural A.C.E. cohort: nine leaders who bring a range of professional expertise, community relationships, and perspectives on improving educational opportunities for students.
Metro Atlanta has no shortage of leaders who care deeply about their communities. Parents, educators, advocates, nonprofit professionals, and business leaders already bring valuable expertise, trusted relationships, and firsthand knowledge of what students and families need. Yet even experienced leaders can face barriers when navigating the education ecosystem’s complex decision-making structures, building influence across institutions, or moving promising ideas beyond a single school, organization, or neighborhood.
While A.C.E. is a new program, its roots go back several years. In 2022, RedefinED Atlanta created the Atlanta Reimagining & Innovating for Schools Everywhere (A.R.I.S.E.) Fellowship to drive lasting change in Atlanta Public Schools, and in 2024, RedefinED established the Clayton County Grant Advisory Council to ensure families and community members shape investments in public education. The A.C.E. program builds on these foundations by investing in community-rooted leaders who are ready to expand their influence. The fellowship helps participants navigate the policies, relationships, funding structures, and decision-making processes that shape public education. Through leadership development and applied learning, Fellows strengthen the relationships, advocacy skills, and strategic knowledge needed to move from individual expertise and local action to broader, collective influence.
Public education is evolving rapidly, and the decisions shaping its future are becoming increasingly interconnected. From school quality and workforce readiness to innovation, policy, and community engagement, today’s challenges cannot be solved by any one institution or perspective alone. This moment requires leaders who can navigate those connections, bring diverse voices together, and build support for solutions that reflect the priorities of students and communities.
A.C.E. will help Fellows better understand where decisions are made, how influence is built, and how community experience can inform policy, investment, and institutional action. Fellows will also strengthen relationships across sectors and learn how to build coalitions that can sustain educational change beyond the nine-month experience.
Fellows learn through interactive workshops, leadership coaching, practitioner-led discussions, collaborative cohort learning, and immersive learning experiences. These opportunities will help Fellows clarify their leadership roles, collaborate across different perspectives, communicate community priorities, and engage decision-makers more effectively.
Fellows will also work with local organizations and community members to explore issues affecting education outcomes and examine how philanthropic decisions are made. Through the program’s grantmaking experience, they will practice listening, evaluating tradeoffs, stewarding resources, and making collective decisions before awarding four $50,000 grants to organizations advancing educational opportunity across metro Atlanta this upcoming spring.
The A.R.I.S.E. Fellowship and the Clayton County Grant Advisory Council have collectively engaged more than 40 leaders, directed more than $800,000 to local organizations, and supported work reaching more than 100,000 students across Atlanta Public Schools and Clayton County Public Schools.
A.C.E. builds on that foundation by developing a growing network of leaders prepared to serve, advocate, organize, and collaborate across metro Atlanta. Over time, Fellows may apply their experience through school councils, nonprofit and school boards, community organizing, legislative advocacy, cross-sector partnerships, and other leadership roles that influence educational opportunity.
The long-term vision extends beyond the growth of individual Fellows. It is to build a durable network of community-rooted leaders who can share knowledge, coordinate action, and work collectively to shape the future of public education for the metro area.
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