We are currently not accepting applications for the Voices of Change Fellowship. Please contact fellowship@iste.org to find out when the next application window opens.

This five-year reflection series celebrates the voices and insights of alumni from the Voices of Change Writing Fellowship, highlighting essays and perspectives that have shaped conversations about teaching, learning and educational equity since the program’s launch in 2021. Across cohorts, fellows will share first-person stories that illuminate real-world challenges and solutions in schools, offering lived experiences that inform practice, inspire innovation and amplify educator voice. This retrospective series revisits those contributions to reflect on progress, lessons learned and the evolving landscape of education.

Our 2026-27 Voices of Change writing fellows — our sixth annual cohort — represent a wide range of experiences, backgrounds, identities and perspectives. Over the course of the program, our fellowship editors work with fellows to take their stories from pitch to publication and elevate their voices about the issues that matter most to them.

These fellows were selected through a competitive application process. During the fellowship, they will be exploring issues in education at the intersection of AI and technology — and publishing first-person essays about their lived experiences.

Our current cohort of fellows includes six talented educators and school leaders teaching at public, charter and independent schools across the country.

Role: Technology Integration Facilitator School/District: Birmingham City Schools Home City, State: Birmingham, AL Years in Education: 20 years

Tambra Clark is a veteran educator with over 20 years of experience, currently serving as the Technology Integration Facilitator for Birmingham City Schools. Also a doctoral student at Samford University, Clark’s research explores the intersection of generative AI and pedagogical knowledge in K-12 education. An Apple Distinguished Educator and board member for Birmingham Women in Technology, Clark is a dedicated advocate for STEM equity and student voice, recently coaching the Storm Sentinels to the National Finals for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow. Outside of her professional roles, Clark is a history buff, a dedicated community volunteer and a proud mother of four children.

Role: Director of Innovation and Design Thinking School: The Fenn School Home City, State: Concord, MA Years in Education: 19 years

Nathan Kraai is the director of Innovation and Design Thinking at The Fenn School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he works on the front lines of reimagining what learning can be in an age of rapid technological change. With nearly two decades of experience across public, private and international schools, Kraai partners with educators to design learning that moves beyond compliance and into curiosity, creativity and deep thinking. Kraai’s work challenges traditional assumptions about school, focusing on the human capacities that matter most when much of the work can be automated. Kraii speaks at conferences, leads professional learning and writes CultivatED, a Substack exploring how schools can cultivate what cannot be automated.

Role: Instructional Technology Coordinator School: Indian Community School Home City, State: Franklin, WI Years in Education: 20 years

Pattie Morales is an award-winning Instructional Technology Specialist at Indian Community School in Franklin, Wisconsin, with 20 years of experience in education. Morales currently sits on the board of the Wisconsin Education Technology Leaders (WETL), is a Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL), an ISTE Certified Edtech Leader, and the winner of a 2025 ISTE Making IT Happen Award for her work around AI literacy. Outside of her office, Morales advocates for educational equity at the local level, is on the board of the high school volleyball booster club and can often be found starting a new art project at the kitchen table.

Role: Middle school English teacher School: Ann Mullen Middle School Home City, State: Clementon, NJ Years in Education: 10 years

Court Shuller (they/them) is a dedicated middle school English teacher with over a decade of experience in education and a deep commitment to continuous professional growth. Schuller’s experience teaching in California, South Carolina and New Jersey offers a diversified perspective on literacy instruction across the United States. Shuller recently completed a graduate degree as a Reading Specialist and earned National Board Certification in 2021, demonstrating a high level of instructional expertise, reflective practice and commitment to the profession. As a 2025-26 Goyen Literacy Fellow, Shuller focused on bridging theory to practice by providing bite-sized professional development on literacy via their TikTok channel, Science of Reading Snaps.

Role: Principal School: Herndon Elementary School Home City, State: Herndon, VA Years in Education: 16 years

Patrice Wade is a trailblazer in technology education and Director of Technology at Guilford Preparatory Academy in Greensboro, North Carolina. With a background in corporate leadership, she now brings innovation, strategy and purpose into the classroom. Patrice teaches computer science, coding, drones and robotics, creating hands-on learning experiences that show students they belong in tech. Patrice is a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, a Code.org Facilitator, a Girls Who Code Leader and an Amazon Future Engineer Teacher Ambassador. She also serves as a North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Learning Happens Here Ambassador, committed to building equity and opportunity through meaningful transformation in technology education.

Role: Assistant Head of School School: Freire Charter School Home City, State: Newark, DE Years in Education: 15 years

Beth Yirga (she/they/we) currently serves as the Assistant Head of School at Freire Charter School Wilmington in Wilmington, DE, where she applies nearly two decades of expertise in advancing educational equity and student success. Yirga’s passion for climate and environmental justice led her to become a lead policy member with The Movement for Black Lives' Black Hive. Beth and her wife are proud parents of their 8-year-old daughter.

The EdSurge Voices of Change Fellowship began in 2021, with the inaugural cohort of fellows selected through a competitive application process. Below, learn more about each cohort of fellows and read their stories.

2025-2026

2024-2025

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

Cobretti D. Williams, Ph.D., (he/him) is a fellowship editor for the Voices of Change Fellowship at EdSurge. Cobretti has nearly 10 years of experience in higher education administration, research and editorial production for academic journals and higher education media sites. He received his doctoral degree in higher education from Loyola University of Chicago.

The Voices of Change fellowship is supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. EdSurge maintains editorial independence over all of our journalism, in keeping with our ethics statement. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.