Local|Press Releases | June 1, 2018

THE MIND TRUST’s SENIOR VP STEPPING DOWN AFTER 5 YEARS LEADING TRANSFORMATIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS

Kameelah Shaheed-Diallo, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Community Engagement, will support search for replacement to lead the next chapter of The Mind Trust’s community engagement

INDIANAPOLIS – (June 1, 2018) – Kameelah Shaheed-Diallo is stepping down from her role as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Community Engagement for The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit. She is supporting the search for her replacement. In the meantime, The Mind Trust’s Senior Director of Community Engagement Marquisha Bridgeman will oversee the nonprofit’s community engagement work.

Since joining The Mind Trust in 2013, Shaheed-Diallo has pioneered numerous strategies for building understanding of important issues facing Indianapolis schools. Most prominently, her work was critical to developing the partnership between The Mayor’s Office, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), and The Mind Trust to support the growth of Innovation Network Schools. This fall, there will be 20 Innovation Network Schools in IPS.

“It’s hard to fully describe the impact Kameelah has made during her five years at The Mind Trust,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust. “She has forged transformative partnerships, changed countless hearts and minds, and added so much to our organization’s culture and values. The trust and understanding Kameelah has built within the Indianapolis community have laid the foundation for much of the work we’re doing today.”

Shaheed-Diallo led the formation of the Lewis Hubbard Group, a group of civic leaders that has achieved significant influence on education policy issues. Co-chaired by Democrat City-County Councilor Maggie Lewis and Republican businessman and former senior Bush Administration official Al Hubbard, the group has championed education innovation and the growth of Innovation Network Schools in IPS.

“It has been an honor to serve in this role for the past five years and to help elevate community voices in conversations on educational equity,” said Shaheed-Diallo. “I’m grateful that the talented team at The Mind Trust will continue to push and partner to make a high-quality public education a reality for Indianapolis students.  I look forward to continuing in work to advance the cause of educational equity.”

Shaheed-Diallo also launched The Mind Trust’s Education Bus Tours, which to date have given community members across Indianapolis the opportunity to visit over 25 local high-performing public schools and education programs. She also facilitated The Mind Trust’s partnership with UNCF to convene regular community conversations on relevant education issues, including Innovation Network Schools, equitable access to high quality schools, and diverse-by-design school models.

ABOUT THE MIND TRUST

The Mind Trust is a nonprofit striving to give every Indianapolis student access to an excellent, high-quality public school. The Mind Trust does this by recruiting and empowering top talent, launching and supporting new, innovative and high-quality public schools in Indianapolis, and engaging community stakeholders in conversations about innovation in public education. Since 2006, The Mind Trust has supported or incubated 17 schools, attracted and placed more than 1000 teachers and school leaders, and raised almost $80 million to bring innovative ideas into Indianapolis classrooms. More information can be found at themindtrust.org.

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