Sondra Samuels is the President & CEO of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), a collaborative of over 40 partner nonprofits and schools. Along with parents, students, partners, and staff, Sondra is leading a revolutionary culture shift in North Minneapolis focused on ending multigenerational poverty through education and family stability. The NAZ Collaborative is working toward a single goal—to prepare low-income North Minneapolis children to graduate from high school college- and career-ready. NAZ has scaled up in support of over 1,000 parents and 2,300 students. Together, they lead the creation of a college-bound culture throughout the community.

Sondra serves on the Leadership team of Generation Next, Community Advisory Board of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank’s Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute, as well as the boards of Minnesota Private College Council, and Center for the Study of Social Policy.

• Bachelors of Science, Marketing, Morgan State University — Baltimore
• Master of Business Administration, Business and Marketing, Clark Atlanta University – Atlanta, GA