Reach University Dean Named to National Fellowship for Educator-Preparation Leaders
Malekah Salim-Morgan, Dean of Reach Teachers College at Reach University, has been selected for Deans for Impact’s 2026–27 Impact Academy fellowship.
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July 14, 2026, OAKLAND, CA - Malekah Salim-Morgan, Dean of Reach Teachers College at Reach University, has been named an Impact Academy fellow through the national non-profit organization Deans for Impact (DFI). Salim-Morgan joins a cohort of leaders chosen for their commitment to strengthening educator preparation and ensuring future teachers are prepared to meet the needs of all students.
Educator-preparation leaders today are navigating a rapidly evolving landscape, from emerging technologies like AI and new strategic staffing models to reading and math instructional policy shifts, tightening budgets, enrollment pressures, and changing workforce needs. More than ever, the field needs leaders who can guide change with clarity, courage, and care while keeping student learning at the center.
DFI aims to support this need through its Impact Academy fellowship, which has developed a national network of nearly 200 education deans and executive-level leaders who are today working within and beyond educator preparation to strengthen teaching and learning. The fellowship supports leaders to prioritize evidence-based instruction, navigate their teams through continuous change, deepen partnerships with schools and communities, and build accessible, high-quality pathways into teaching.
Salim-Morgan is one of 24 leaders announced as part of the fellowship's 11th cohort. This year's fellows represent a wide range of contexts and communities in which future teachers are prepared, including public and private universities, community colleges, national programs, school districts, and innovative teacher-preparation pathways. Together, they share a commitment to strengthening systems of education so that more students are taught by well-prepared teachers.
Fellows will participate in monthly, cohort-based in-person and virtual learning, receive 1:1 coaching from veteran leaders, and engage in peer consultancies focused on the field's most pressing challenges. Over the course of the year, they will workshop solutions to adaptive challenges: complex problems leaders face when change depends not only on technical or structural fixes, but on shifting mindsets, relationships, and ways of working.
“Educator-preparation leaders are being asked to make important decisions in a moment of rapid change,” said Valerie Sakimura, CEO of DFI. “This cohort of leaders stands out for their willingness to engage in complexity with deep care for students, their learning, and their futures. We’re excited to support these leaders as they meet the moment and help ensure every student is taught by well-prepared teachers.”
About Reach University
Reach University turns jobs into degrees, serving as our nation's first and only nonprofit university fully dedicated to advancing on-the-job degrees, known as Apprenticeship Degrees. By fostering economic mobility, building careers and the workforce, and inspiring deeper learning through inquiry, dialogue, collaboration, and on-the-job practice, Reach, its National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree, and partners are actively solving America's labor shortages by creating fully-embedded pathways for high-potential individuals to earn degrees, credentials, and professional careers in their home communities. Reach currently operates in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, and Washington (ACH only).
About Deans for Impact (DFI)
Deans for Impact (DFI) is a national non-profit organization committed to ensuring that every child is taught by a well-prepared teacher. DFI supports educator-preparation programs to bring the science of learning into teaching practice; partners with policymakers to ensure pathways into teaching are instructionally-focused, practice-based, accessible, and innovative and responsive; and equips leaders with the tools to address today’s most pressing challenges in educator preparation. Guided by principles of learning science, DFI aims to help aspiring and early-career teachers create rigorous and affirming classrooms where all children thrive. For more information, visit deansforimpact.org.
