It’s so humbling to be writing to you as The Opportunity Network’s new President and CEO because OppNet is just that special.
At OppNet, brilliance is found around every corner, leadership at every level, and compassion in every interaction. OppNet is where people gather to be seen, heard, and understood. The work we do in the name of social and racial equity, and college, career, and postsecondary opportunity is urgent and complex. And the energy OppNet brings in doing that work is always fierce and magnetic ––I never take for granted what a privilege it is to have OppNet as home base.
I have the great benefit of taking on the CEO role of a healthy and sturdy organization anchored by a deep sense of integrity and rigor. 92% of our Fellows are graduating from college and 89% of them are securing jobs that align with their career interests or securing graduate admission within 6 months of college graduation. Our 30 Career Fluency® partners across 18 cities are bolstering their postsecondary supports through OppNet’s capacity-building Partnerships program, and we are seeing incredible gains in college persistence and career skill development in thousands of underrepresented students of color from low-income communities as a result. Each partner has uniquely stepped into deepening their equity-driven college and career programming, and we feel so proud that they are implementing what works for their students and honors the unique strengths and history of their communities.
At OppNet, we are guided by a beautiful vision that reflects the future all of our stakeholders wish to build: a nation connected through vibrant communities and networks actively in pursuit of social justice and educational equity–––a nation where all young people can freely create their own paths to enduring success that honors their passions, ambitions, and full identities.
While we are headed in the right direction, we know we still have more work to do to fulfill our promise. In this next chapter of OppNet, we will continue to learn from our communities, lift and amplify our students’ and communities’ voices, leverage our institutional insights, and lead with bold action. We won’t buckle toward convention. We will relentlessly center students and communities to ensure race and class are no longer determinants of educational, professional, and personal success.
In the coming months, you will start seeing how OppNet is embracing this next era –– an era fortified by its founding legacy and ready to shape the future of education and the future of work in the direction of justice, choice, and access. I hope you will consider this an open invitation to join us.
Here we go!
AiLun
