About Us
What We Do
We are educators, faith leaders, and policy experts who are passionate about building a better, safer, more beautiful, and more just world for students to learn and thrive in. The Expectations Project mobilizes people of faith to demand excellent public schools for children who are Black, Brown, in poverty, and otherwise marginalized. We train faith communities and faith leaders to understand the policies and systems surrounding children, enabling them to thrive.Our Approach
We support partners and mobilize faith-motivated activists around policy changes that improve the material conditions of Black, Brown, and marginalized students, ensuring that every child is safe each time they walk into a school.We rely on three tools for intervention:
- 1.Accurate information through expert research and publications.
- 2.Timely contextualization of local impacts of national events and policies
- 3.Local activation through training and resourcing
Our Impact
To download our latest impact report, click on the button belowDownload Our Report
Our Team
Zakiya Jackson
PresidentLearn More About Our CEO
Brian Acker Housman
VP of Operations
Lauren Barnett
Vice President of Marketing, Communications, and StorytellingWho We Partner With
TEP trains, supports and partners with local and national organizations to improve the lives of Black, Brown and other marginalized children and their families. We collaborate with people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and faiths to build a better world for children.
O
ur
Story
2011
2026
"Our faith can move mountains." - Matthew 17:20
Our founder, Nicole Baker Fulgham, launched The Expectations Project in 2011 after serving in leadership roles for seven years at Teach For America. Her faith compelled her to end the vast inequities she witnessed in the public education system and to galvanize other people of faith in taking up the mantle. It has been over 70 years since the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and we will continue the work until all children in the United States have a quality, inclusive, public education.
Our logo draws from the story of Noah's ark (found in Genesis 8:6-12). After months at sea, Noah sent out birds to search for land. A dove returned with an olive leaf—a sign of hope and new possibility.
At The Expectations Project, we know students, families, teachers, and advocates face overwhelming obstacles in our education system. The bird in our logo represents the dove of hope, bringing us a key to opportunity. That key is advocacy. Through collective action, we can transform systems that fail to honor students. TEP invites you to join us in reaching for hope and change through community and advocacy. Together, we can create the world we need.