ABOUT US
MISSION & OVERVIEW.
VISION
A society where children from all area codes and backgrounds are empowered to fulfill their academic and career potential.
MISSION
To empower underserved students to achieve their college and career goals by offering them greater access to exposure, internship and educational opportunities.
Too often, traditional public-school students are denied access to the resources and opportunities that would allow them to achieve their college and career goals. The Dream Initiative helps close the exposure, academic, and opportunity gaps by offering selected students with greater access to travel, mentors, networks, and tutoring. These support structures empower students to achieve their fullest potential.
The Dream Initiative is a series of programs designed to provide students exposure to careers, colleges and high-profile networks.
Created by two former Alabama public school teachers, The Dream Initiative operates through a 501c(3) non-profit foundation.
FOUNDERS.
TEAM.
Spencer Marzouk
Phillip Ensler
Nick Wright is a strategy manager for Pearson Education, the world’s largest education company, and is based in New York City. At Pearson, Nick has helped form the inaugural P.R.I.M.E group aimed at helping the company focus more on hiring and promoting diversity within the workplace. He’s been a key member of the Mission Possible team since 2014, where he was a high school mathematics Teach for America corp member. Nick helped expand the program outside Alabama to serve students in the Prince George’s County (MD) school district. Nick received his B.A. in Economics and Political science from Claremont McKenna College.
Lance Beverly
Lance Beverly is a native Alabamian, UAB, Harvard, and LSU graduate, and Yale Educator Award recipient. After working in Dallas, Boston, and NYC as a college access leader, Mr. Beverly desired to return to Alabama to positively impact his home state. Thus, in July 2019, VIDAL Access was founded to become Alabama's premier college access organization, which has the primary purpose of providing daily, in-school college consulting support to low-income students. To learn more, one may visit VIDAL's website and Instagram. Likewise, one may learn more about VIDAL through recent media coverage:
“Having the courage
to step outside of my world and go on that trip has led me to be the fearless leader I am today and continue
to strive to be in my future endeavors.”
~ Udonna
2012 Participant
Attending The University of Alabama
~ Dakyla
2018 Participant
Attending Howard University
After touring Howard University, I [saw] myself there. This trip showed me the opportunities that are out there. This trip was only the beginning of what is a super bright future.”
PARTNERS.
Thank you to our current and past partners for creating opportunities and experiences for our students and supporting them on their journeys.
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American Express
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Disney/ ABC
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Goldman Sachs
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GTS Securities
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Cantor Fitzgerald
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Oppenheimer
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NYSE
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Delta Airlines
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Sony/RCA Records
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The NFL
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The NBA
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UBER
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Facebook
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Google
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MakerBot
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JumpTrading
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The Huffington Post
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The New York Times
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The Aspen Institute
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The George Washington University
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The University of Alabama
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The University of Alabama at Birmingham
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Howard University
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The Obama Foundation
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The Washington Wizards
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Office of Congresswoman Terri Sewell
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Office of United States Senator Doug Jones
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Office of Montgomery County Commissioner Rhoda Walker
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The United States Department of Education
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The Alabama State Department of Education
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The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama
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The Faith and Politics Institute
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The Expectations Project
