Meet Miles Iton (Moonshot Fellow, Cohort 6) and get to know his venture, Lo-Fi Language Learning, and how he’s creating unique opportunities for learners in Taiwan, Colorado, and around the world.

Meet Aleiya Evison (Moonshot Fellow, Cohort 6) and get to know her venture, Collective Design Lab, and how she’s leading the way in design justice in Colorado.

Meet Dr. Beau Houston (Moonshot Fellow, Cohort 6) and her organization, Athletes’ Atelier, which teaches self-love, empowerment, and 21st-century skills to young black athletes in Colorado.

“The reason I do the work I do at Words Beyond Walls is because I like seeing everyone calm and trying to have a good time even when you have a bad day. What drives me is just to help the youth because I really didn't have that growing up.”

“Even though I wasn’t a Moonshot Fellow myself, I’ve felt the impact of the Moonshot community. My team at Joy as Resistance inspires me, challenges me, and supports me. The Asian Girls Ignite team is powerful beyond words.”

“I was born and have lived in Denver, Colorado all my life. As a 21-year-old black man [working with Words Beyond Walls], I want to bring back and help and show something different for our community.”

A collection of photos from our December 2022 showcase celebrating Cohort 6 of Moonshot Fellows!

Emma Reicks is a member of Cohort 6 and received a grant through the Learning Fund as part of a pilot that supported her participation in the Fellowship. Emma is the first Fellow from rural Colorado to participate in our Fellowship. She is working on launching a Montessori elementary micro-school in her hometown of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Someone recently asked Moonshot CEO Kat Ling how our beneficiaries are involved in our work and processes. We are proud to share how Moonshot Fellows and students share their insights and visions.

Get to know Mia Coffing, the Founder and Executive Director of Prospect Academy, a new charter school in Arvada, Colorado, and find out about what sets Prospect apart.

Get to know Branta Lockett, the Founder and Executive Director of 5280 Freedom School, and learn more about the work the school is doing in the Denver community and its plans for the future.

Get to know Amanda Marquez and Amanda Gonzales, the co-founders of Be the Change Community School, a prospective 9-12th grade community high school in Adams 14. Gonzales and Marquez’s vision is to provide rich educational and project-based learning opportunities for BIPOC youth in Commerce City, Colorado.

If you know us, you know we love reflection and processing, so we’re taking some space to do just that about our most recent challenging season, in hopes of paying it forward to those who are still in process of hiring or applying. While our focus at Moonshot is centering the perspectives and experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, we believe that more equitable hiring practices will benefit everyone.

“I joined Moonshot in 2019 inspired by the community of leaders who were taking risks and innovating in pursuit of equity for kids. Every cohort, every Fellow, every day in this work solidifies my belief that what we need are networks and systems that support our leaders who come from the communities they serve to actualize the solutions they’ve been dreaming up for years. We are working towards a reality of community-based solutions with leaders working hand and hand to change the face of education.”

We are honored to share that Kat Ling has been named our new CEO.

When I reflect on my own educational experience, there’s a clear lack of interest in Black folx and their contributions to society. I can name on one hand the Black folx that I spent most of my time learning about in school: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, and Jackie Robinson. Now if I dig “deep” I can name a few more that we talked about in passing or as the focus of a lesson, like Emmet Till or Rosa Parks.