Education Power Players – Sharif El-Mekki, Founder and CEO, The Center for Black Educator Development

Sharif El-Mekki is a transformative education leader who founded The Center for Black Educator Development in 2019 with the hopes of amplifying Philadelphia’s Black teacher pipeline. The Center provides professional development to Black educators at every level of the system through its various programs, which include paid apprenticeships, last-dollar scholarships, teacher retention bonuses, and fellowships. In this interview, Sharif discusses the importance of teacher diversity and calls for expectations to be raised for students and teachers.