The Educating All Learners Alliance 2025 New Champions Fund

Submission Portal Eligibility Criteria Judging Rubric Meet the 2026 Judges Meet the 2025 New Champions Past Champions

2026 New Champions Fund

The Educating All Learners Alliance (EALA), an initiative of InnovateEDU, is proud to announce the launch of the 2026 New Champions Fund. Applications opened on February 6 and closed on March 6th, 2026.

Launched in 2022, the New Champions Fund is an annual competitive program designed to elevate unrecognized leaders who are doing exceptional work but often face systemic barriers to traditional fundraising.

EALA’s goal is to provide resources and a national platform for unrecognized leaders who are doing exceptional work, but may face barriers in traditional fundraising. Since 2022, EALA has committed to spotlighting these “New Champions” in education by providing the funding and mentorship necessary to help their organizations grow. To support a wide range of innovators, EALA awards one primary $35,000 subgrant and two $5,000 subgrants to runners-up, as selected by a broad panel of expert judges.

2026 New Champion

Karla Phillips-Krivickas

Karla Phillips-Krivickas is a co-founder of Champions for Kids. With over 20 years of experience in state and federal policy, she uses her unique professional and personal experiences to advise education leaders on sound policy and best practices to advance academic achievement for all students, including those with disabilities.

Karla is the proud mother of a 22-year-old son and a 18-year daughter, both with disabilities. Advocating for her children has provided a new lens through which she personally experiences the policies she has worked so long to develop and implement. Now, she is channeling her professional and personal experiences to passionately advocate for all students, especially those with additional needs.

2026 Runners Ups

Sandra Hunter

Sandra Hunter is the Founder and Executive Director of Roadmap to Success Empowerment Center, a North Carolina-based nonprofit focused on expanding postsecondary access for underserved students. She brings over 30 years of experience in higher education, including 19 years directing federally funded TRIO programs. Her work has centered on supporting first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities through structured programming, compliance-driven services, and student success initiatives.

Sandra has led programs across multiple institutions and has developed scalable models to improve student persistence and outcomes. Through Access Ready: College Transition Institute, she is advancing a proactive approach to preparing students with disabilities to successfully navigate the transition from high school to postsecondary education.

Nashlie Sephus

Dr. Nashlie Sephus is the Principal AI/ML Evangelist for Amazon AI focusing on fairness and identifying biases at AWS AI. She formerly was CTO of AI startup Partpic based in Atlanta which was acquired by the Amazon Visual Search team. In 2018, Dr. Sephus became the founder and CEO of The Bean Path non-profit organization based in Jackson, MS assisting individuals and startups with technical expertise and guidance. In September of 2020, she became the owner and developer of the Jackson Tech District—21-acres of mixed-use commercial real-estate in downtown Jackson—to bring tech training and workforce/economic development to the area.

What We Are Looking For

EALA is looking for New Champions who bring exceptional leadership, a dedicated commitment to students with learning differences, and a passion for continued professional growth. The goal is to identify and fund these emerging leaders who are making a tangible difference, but have not yet received the level of attention or funding their work deserves.

An EALA New Champion fits ALL of the following profile:

You lead a community-based organization (CBO), school, district, non-profit, or for-profit*
Your organization is based and operates within the United States.
You are a leader from a marginalized background or a dedicated ally who has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing access and belonging in education.
You are actively working to improve the lives of students with disabilities and learning differences, including those from underserved communities and those who face barriers to educational opportunity.

*For-profit organizations must be eligible to receive contributions from non-profit entities and have under $2 million in annual revenue.

The New Champions Experience

EALA is committed to providing our New Champions and Runners-Up with a comprehensive support ecosystem:

Funding: The New Champion will receive a one-year, $35,000 unrestricted subgrant. The two Runners-Up will receive a one-year $5,000 unrestricted subgrant.
Retreat: Participation in an exclusive virtual retreat with former champions and runners- up to kick off the mentorship year and build community with innovators in the education world.
Mentorship: A year of dedicated guidance through quarterly, virtual 1-on-1 sessions with an experienced mentor to help navigate professional challenges and achieve milestones.
National Spotlight: EALA will leverage its national platform to amplify your work through podcasts, webinars, and opportunities to attend EALA-affiliated events.

Selection Process

The judging process was guided by an individualized Request for Proposal (RFP) and evaluated against a well-defined rubric focused on impact, scalability, and applicants’ lived experience. To ensure the selection process is fair, accessible, and rigorous, all submissions were reviewed by a panel of over 50 expert judges (thank you, judges!). This panel represents the full spectrum of the education sector, including:

School and District Leaders
Researchers and Academics
Disability Rights Advocates
Industry Champions
Former New Champions Fund recipients

More Info

Explore the Request for Proposals document below. Make a copy and draft your responses before navigating to the Submission Portal.

2026 Request for Proposals

Applications open on February 6 and close March 6, 2026. Submit your application by logging into the Application Submission Portal.

New Champions Application Portal

Eligibility Criteria

You lead a community-based organization (CBO), school, district, non-profit, or for-profit*
Your organization is based and operates within the United States.
You are a leader from a marginalized background or a dedicated ally who has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing access and belonging in education.
You are actively working to improve the lives of students with disabilities and learning differences, including those from underserved communities and those who face barriers to educational opportunity.

Have Questions? Looking For Additional Support?

We are actively looking for applicants who are not- yet-recognized for their exceptional work and who may be first time grant applicants or someone who is unsure about the grant-application process. We want to support you through this grant application process.

Judging Rubric

Please keep in mind that we are looking to fund a new champion who is actively working to support students with disabilities, including students who are marginalized or come from underserved communities and those experiencing poverty. When writing your responses to the proposal questions, please keep in mind the focus on serving these communities of learners.

Additionally, before completing your submission, please review the EALA New Champions Rubric the judges will be using to determine the 2026 New Champion.

New Champions Application Rubric

Meet the 2026 Judges

The New Champions Judges are leaders in the cross-section of inclusion, innovation, and education.

Together, they represent a diverse collective of leaders in the non-profit, advocacy, digital literacy, K-12 education, and EdTech sectors, all committed to advancing equity and opportunity in the field.