Carmita Semaan

Carmita Semaan is Founder and CEO of The Surge Institute. Surge is transforming the social sector by training, supporting, connecting and elevating education leaders of color and now boasts a network of over 370 alumni across the country who are impacting the lives of 3.4 million students. Carmita originally hails from Birmingham, AL and proudly professes that her hometown made her who she has become. Birmingham’s history has greatly shaped what she feels called to do and the hustle, horsepower and heart she exhibits in doing it. Her guiding principle is the connection of head, heart, and soul in leadership to drive sustainable impact and lasting partnerships.Carmita holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. She was recently named a 2023 Luminary Award Winner by the 1954 Project. Carmita has also received the 2020 Advancing Equity Award from Innovation for Equity.Carmita lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and their beloved goldendoodle, Jefferson.