TEL’s Impact

Impact of the TEL Fellowship

Since 2018, TEL has launched three successful cohorts, each steadily increasing the percentage of Leaders of Color. External evaluations conducted by Metis Associates, an independent research firm, showed significant outcomes with respect to both “inner changes” where participants grew in their awareness, beliefs, thinking, and feelings, and “outer changes” where participants enacted changes in their professional lives including at the organizational level. Statistically significant findings include increased: 

  • Feelings of connectedness with others

  • Confidence in their personal resilience

  • Self-regulation and reflection capacities

  • Use of SEL and mindfulness practices

  • Use of equity as a guiding principle in decision-making

  • Ability to initiate and engage in difficult conversations

Impact by the Numbers

Since 2018, TEL’s Fellowship cohorts represent a growing global community of diverse educational leaders. Over the next four years, TEL will recruit and support at least 80 diverse Fellows representing at least 50 medium-to-large districts and schools nationally and internationally. They will have a projected impact on 500,000 students.

27 US States
4 Countries

Icon of globe to represent that TEL Fellows come from 27 US States and 4 Counrtires

Average 55%
BIPOC Leaders per Cohort

Icon 55% leaders of color

Impact on the Field

TEL is a thought leader in the field of transformative leadership development. With its founding in 2018, TEL was the first educational leadership development program to integrate the areas of SEL, Mindfulness, Equity, and Transformative Leadership into its uniquely intensive cohort-based model. A recent article, Can We Make Real, Transformative Change in Education? on the effectiveness of TEL’s program model was published by the Greater Good Science Center.


TEL is engaged in on-going research of the experiences of its TEL Fellows, including a current (2022-23) study in partnership with the Mindfulness and Courageous Action (MICA) Lab at the University of District of Columbia, an HBCU, which engages an innovative Contemplative Focus Group methodology developed by Dr. Michelle C. Chatman. The current study explores TEL Fellows’ experiences of personal and systems transformation through the Fellowship. Findings from this study will be prepared and shared as tools and articles for guiding transformative leadership practices.

Our Partners and Funders

We are deeply grateful to our partners and funders whose generosity has enabled a growing number of exceptional and diverse educational leaders around the world to truly create beloved educational communities where all adults and children can thrive.