Monique Perry-Graves continues to lead TFA North Carolina
“When I was in the corps, I just saw how incredible our students are, all their potential, and all the challenges students face in our unjust system,” says Aneesh Sohoni. “To this day it is the role that most shaped my view of the world.”
According to a press release, Sohoni will be Teach for America’s next CEO, effective April 15, 2025.
Sohoni — the current CEO of One Million Degrees which is a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating community college students’ progress on career pathways to economic mobility — is a Teach For America Twin Cities 2009 alumnus. He taught high school English.
He also previously worked at the Tennessee Department of Education, TNTP, and served as the executive director of Teach For America Greater Chicago-Northwest Indiana.
Sohoni is the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Peter Jennings Award for Civic Leadership.
Teach For America (TFA) is the nonprofit organization that finds, develops and supports exceptional, diverse leaders committed to ensuring all children have the opportunity to attain an excellent education, according to the press release.
David Kenny, chair of the Teach For America Board of Directors and executive chairman at Nielsen, says, “Aneesh has a vision for TFA, built on the momentum and collective leadership of TFA alumni, teachers, tutors, and staff, to move the organization forward with confidence and conviction, in partnership with over 300 communities across the country, to ensure all children have access to an excellent education.”
Inspired by his family’s immigrant story, Sohoni knows how access to educational opportunities can unlock a life full of possibility.
— TFA
Started in 1990, TFA’s alumni is now 65,000 strong. It is a cohort of “exceptional and diverse leaders including state and national teachers of the year, principals, district leaders, state superintendents, elected officials, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and entrepreneurs who are working alongside many others to transform education practices, policies, and culture to ensure all children have choice-filled lives,” says the press release.
The current TFA corps has grown by almost 50% over the last two years, according to the press release, and the corps is 57% people of color, 45% first generation college students, and 10% people who were taught by corps members themselves. About 30% of the current corps are teaching in high-needs STEM classrooms.
In a letter from TFA’s chair of the board introducing Sohoni to the TFA community, he says, “Students. Families. Communities. That is what Aneesh describes as inspiring and driving him every day. They’re also the focus of Teach For America, as we seek to create a world where every child receives an excellent education.”
In North Carolina, Monique Perry-Graves is the executive director of TFA Eastern North Carolina and TFA Charlotte-Piedmont Triad. Perry-Graves is a regular contributor to EdNC and the incoming chair of our board of directors.
North Carolina corps members and alumni impact nearly 30,000 students on average each school year, according to the website.
TFA has and continues to shape the leadership of EdNC through the leadership of TFA alums who work on our team, serve on our board and strategic council, fund our work, and invite us into their classrooms, schools, and districts.
