William Collins

Chief External Affairs Officer, Surge Institute

Matteson, Illinois

William “Will” Collins is the chief external affairs officer at the Surge Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to educating and developing leaders of color for positive community change. Will has secured more than $30 million for the institute since 2018 and played a key role in growing the Surge Fellowship, a one-year program for emerging leaders of color in education that has trained 400 leaders and impacted more than 3.4 million students across the United States. He brings a background in nonprofit crisis management and experience as a Chicago Public School teacher, where he integrated curriculum on race, culture, and diversity.