The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (formerly known as the Nellie Mae Foundation) is a left-of-center nonprofit active in New England oriented around furthering critical race theory-aligned policies in the region’s public education system.

Background

In 1990, the Nellie Mae Corporation (NMC), at the time, a nonprofit education-financing corporation that dealt mainly in student loans, created a special philanthropic fund, the Fund for Education, oriented around supporting programs assisting students from and in New England. Following the sale of the Nellie Mae Corporation in 1998 to the Student Loan Marketing Association, which afterward became Sallie Mae (a provider and servicer of student loans), the proceeds from the sale were used in part to fund the endowment of the Nellie Mae Foundation, which became the successor organization to the NMC’s Fund for Education. In 2001, the Nellie Mae Foundation renamed itself the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. ^{1 2}

Following the rebranding of the foundation, the organization’s four main fields of focus were Adult Learning, College Prep, Minority High Achievement, and “Out of School Matters!” However, in the decade and a half following that rebrand, the organization gradually shifted its focus, initially to systemic education reform, and then high school level reforms. Later, in 2017, the organization, according to its website, “started on a journey to examine our work, culture, and practices through the lens of racial equity,” which led the organization to adopt a grantmaking agenda aligned with critical race theory. ³

The Foundation is based in Quincy, Massachusetts, and shares an address with the Schott Foundation for Public Education, whose president and CEO, John H. Jackson is a member of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s board of directors. ^{4 5 6}

Grantmaking

On January 1, 2020, in order to better serve its new critical race theory-aligned focus, as well as combat “the idea that education can be a great equalizer,” which the organization dubs, “the myth of meritocracy,” the Nellie Mae Education Foundation announced a new grantmaking strategy encompassing six grant funds: “Supporting Organizations Led By People of Color”; “Advancing Community-Led Partnerships,” which supports community-organizations led by minorities; “Amplifying Youth Voice,” which supports student youth groups in New England; “Building Movements and Networks,” which supports networking projects and institutions “elevating the discourse about race”; and “Strengthening State and National Coalitions,” which supports groups advancing critical race theory aligned policies in public education on the state-level. ⁷

Speakers Bureau

In addition to its grantmaking programs, The Nellie Mae Education Foundation also maintains a speakers bureau of critical race theory-aligned activists based in New England whom the organization makes available to offer “a variety of perspectives” on “racial equity.” Activists in the bureau include, for instance, Carlon Howard, co-founder of the Providence, Rhode Island-based Equity Institute; Tracy Kelley, the interim director of the Wopanaak Language Reclamation Project in Mashpee, Massachusetts; and Balqies Mohamed, a teenage organizer with Portland Empowered in Portland, Maine. ^{8 9}

Gislaine N. Ngounou

Gislaine N. Ngounou has been the interim president and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation since 2019. Previously, Ngounou was the chief program officer for the Arlington, Virginia-based Phi Delta Kappa International, a professional development organization for P-12 educators. ¹⁰ Additionally, Ngounou has worked in various public-school districts, including Hartford Public Schools, Montgomery County Public Schools, and the Kansas City Missouri School District. ¹¹

1. “Our History.” Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://www.nmefoundation.org/about/our-history/.
2. “NELLIE MAE EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC.” ProPublica. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/42755323.
3. “Our History.” Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://www.nmefoundation.org/about/our-history/.
4. “’Dr. John H. Jackson.’ Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://www.nmefoundation.org/about/staff-board/#board-wrap
5. The Nellie Mae Education Foundation Inc. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. (Form 990), 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/42755323/download990pdf_10_2021_prefixes_01-20%2F042755323_201912_990_2021101819105181
6. THE SCHOTT FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. (Form 990), 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/43457065/05_2021_prefixes_04-06%2F043457065_202006_990_2021052618203378
7. “Announcing the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s New Grantmaking Strategy.” Medium: The Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Jane 21, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://medium.com/strategy-review/announcing-the-nellie-mae-education-foundations-new-grantmaking-strategy-73c53cb62106
8. “MEET THE SPEAKERS.” Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://nelliemaespeakers.org/meet-the-speakers-3/
9. “Speakers Bureau.” Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://www.nmefoundation.org/about/speakers-bureau/
10. “Who We Are.” Phi Delta Kappa International. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://pdkintl.org/
11. “INTERIM PRESIDENT & CEO: Dr. Gislaine N. Ngounou.” The Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Accessed June 27, 2022. https://www.nmefoundation.org/about/staff-board/