JOIN US WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7 FOR AN EPIC EVENING!

Let's Build the Future Together!

EPIC Academy’s annual fundraiser, the Dare to Imagine Gala, will return with an exciting new feel in a new location to raise money for educational justice, access to transformational opportunities, and critical resources to prepare EPIC students to excel in their college and career endeavors. 

What is the Dare to Imagine Gala?

We anticipate more than 200 attendees will gather for the evening of networking, food, music, and celebration of our scholars, alumni, and the people who work to empower, invest in, and change the trajectory of EPIC students and other youth in Chicago.

Event Highlights

• Visionary Leadership Award honoring an individual who has shown exemplary service and commitment to youth in  Chicago
• Dare to Imagine Award honoring a company that has significantly invested in EPIC Academy
• Legend Award honoring EPIC alumni who have exhibited outstanding character and drive in their postsecondary endeavors
• Silent and live auction
• Opportunities to engage with EPIC students, supporters and influential leaders 

Why it Matters

•  Together, we can build a future where every EPIC graduate is equipped with the resources, guidance, and enriching learning opportunities to ensure they thrive.

• We desire to grow our alumni scholarships; and enhance vital college and career exploration programs like paid summer internships, Career Intensives, and college tours.

• We invite you to join in this bold vision. Your support of our 2023 Dare to Imagine Gala will make this a reality.

To ensure proper sponsor recognition, sponsors need to finalize commitments no later than Monday, May 21.

The last day to purchase sponsorships or in-person tickets is Monday, May 22. 

Please contact LaKesha Lockett, Director of Development and Communications, with any questions regarding sponsorships at llockett@epicacademy.org.

For general event questions, please contact us at developmentteam@epicacademy.org

Honorees

Visionary Leadership Award Honoree - Daniel Anello                          

Daniel Anello has served as CEO of Kids First Chicago since 2015. Daniel brings deep quantitative analytical skills and authentic lived-experience to his role in supporting parent-led and data-informed change within Chicago's public schools. 

 He previously served as the Chief of Strategy and External Relations for Chicago International Charter School. In 2014, Daniel played an important role in securing equitable funding for students citywide, working side-by-side with the CPS budget office on the implementation of a new student-based funding formula. Daniel came into urban education through the Broad Residency. Prior to working in the education sector, he worked in brand management. 

In 2015, Daniel was named in the inaugural class of Presidential Leadership Scholars, an initiative that draws upon the resources of the U.S. presidential centers of Lyndon B. Johnson, George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, and George W. Bush. He was a member of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship Summer 2016 cohort and the Leadership Greater Chicago 2018-19 cohort. Daniel is also a member of Education Leaders of Color, and a Board member of Bottom Line Chicago and Chicago Urban League. In 2021, Daniel received a Medal of Honor from Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot for his leadership of the Chicago Connected program.

Daniel was invited to share his personal leadership story at the Presidential Leadership Forum in 2018; view his story here. Daniel received a BA in Mathematics from Williams College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
 

Dare to Imagine Award Honoree - Old National Bank

Old National Bank is a long-standing partner and has served our students through participation in our signature Career Intensives program, conducting mock interviews, and contributing monetarily to help advance our mission. 

 

Legend Award 

Darshell Nixon

Darshell Nixon is an EPIC pioneer with deep roots in Chicago’s Roseland, South Chicago, and Avalon communities. Darshell obtained her Bachelor's of Applied Health Sciences in Health Administration: Community Health and her Master's of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Darshell has been an active member of the Chicago community as an elementary school teacher since 2018. She aspires to someday open a school of her own. With a passion for service and bringing dreams to fruition, she has recently begun her entrepreneurial journey rooted in service and community. Darshell expanded her community focus into real estate as a licensed real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Realty. In addition, in the summer of 2022, she started a dessert catering business called Nom Yum Yums which she aspires to grow globally.

Darshell's personal core values are community, courage, perseverance, and love. When she is not teaching, learning, or practicing her craft: she is in what she calls “soft nature" reading, walking, or meditating.

Legend Award

Shameesha Pryor

Shameesha Pryor graduated in the top three percent of the first graduating class at EPIC Academy. During her time, she became the first person to receive the South Chicago Chamber of Commerce Neil Bosanko Award for outstanding community service. She is a Posse Foundation scholar recipient and received a full-tuition leadership scholarship. Shameesha has since continued to embody EPIC's core values as a first-generation college graduate and the first to declare a major in Africana Studies at Connecticut College. She led the university’s second Black Women’s Conference since 1969 and was a TEDx speaker.

She’s a Community Action and Public Policy Scholar, a court-appointed special advocate, and a proud agent for change. Today, Ms. Pryor continues to make an impact by aiding attorneys in the fight for justice for wrongfully convicted individuals at the largest innocence and civil rights firm in the country. Shameesha is also the President of the Road to Re-Entry Board of Directors, a new organization, where she assists some of the clients she has helped exonerate.