ABOUT US

MISSION & OVERVIEW

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.

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 VIDAL Access, a 501c(3)

FOUNDERS.

TEAM.

Spencer Marzouk

Spencer Marzouk is the Chief Executive Officer of ThinkLP, a leading company in the retail technology sector. Prior to ThinkLP, Spencer was an CEO in residence at the Private Equity firm Alpine Investors and served multiple roles at Tupperware Brands corporation across multiple markets. Spencer’s career as a business executive first started in the classroom as an educator. As a Teach For America Corps member he taught 8th grade in Hayneville, AL. While in the classroom, Spencer saw the need to provide exposure opportunities for his students and started the New York City program of The Dream Initiative, formally known as Mission Possible. Spencer is a recipient of the “Mentor of the Year” award by Determined To Educate in 2019 and is a graduate of Harvard Business School.

Phillip Ensler

Phillip Ensler was elected in November 2022 to represent District 74 in the Alabama House of Representatives. He is also a lawyer and serves as the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Central Alabama. He previously worked as the Senior Policy Advisor with the City of Montgomery. Prior to that, he was Policy Counsel at Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. As an undergraduate student in Washington, D.C., he served in the Obama Administration. After graduating from the George Washington University, Phillip was a Teach for America corps member in Montgomery, AL at the former Lee High School, now called Percy Julian High School. He started the trip to DC during his first year teaching in 2012. He is a 2017 graduate of Cardozo School of Law and a member of the Alabama Bar.

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:

FOUNDERS

“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.”

ADVISORY BOARD