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THE 1954 PROJECT

2021

LUMINARY

Nicole Lynn Lewis

Founder & CEO

Generation Hope

About the Leader

Nicole Lynn Lewis serves as the CEO of Generation Hope, an organization she founded to build what she did not have as a young parent in college. To ensure all student parents have the opportunities to succeed and experience economic mobility, Generation Hope engages education and policy partners to drive systemic change and provides direct support to teen parents in college as well as their children through holistic, two-generation programming. Generation Hope has gained national attention for its whole-family approach to dismantling poverty, and its expansion beyond its current Washington, DC-area footprint. Nicole's honors and recognitions include the inaugural Black Voices for Black Justice Award, which "recognizes incredible leaders who have been on the frontlines working to dismantle the deep-rooted, racist systems that have plagued our country for centuries." In 2021, her highly-anticipated memoir, "Pregnant Girl," was released by Beacon Press and was named one of the best books of 2021 by NPR. Nicole has a bachelor's degree from the College of William & Mary and a master's degree from George Mason University. Nicole and her husband, Donté Lewis, live in Maryland with their five children.

About the Work

We know that educational attainment can change lives. Founded in 2010, Generation Hope works directly with young parents earning their college degrees and with their young children to prepare them for kindergarten, advocates nationally for the unique needs of student parents and their families, and partners with colleges and universities to provide technical assistance in order to advance student parent success in higher education.

THE 1954 PROJECT

Investing in Durable Leadership & Institutions

The 1954 Project identifies visionary education leaders whose work is strengthening Black communities and invests in them and what they are building with significant, flexible capital and long-term relationship.

 

Named for the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, The 1954 Project honors that promise by backing leaders closest to the work with resources that follow their vision. 

This is philanthropy shaped by trust in leaders and commitment to what they’re building.

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