XPRIZE, a world leader in the design and management of creating competitions to solve humanity's great challenges, in partnership with Intel, presented the 10 grantees who presented ideas to improve equity in education.

Damon Woods, CEO of XPRIZE Racial Equity Alliance (REA), stated:

The work of these 10 winners will guide and inform our efforts to create XPRIZE contests that break down the barriers of inequality in our classrooms and beyond.

XPRIZE Racial Equity Alliance

It is a coalition aimed at creating more equitable solutions to dismantle the institutional and systemic structures of racial inequalities, with an intentional focus on the Black community.

REA, which includes representatives from the private sector, government, academia and philanthropy, operates in 7 key areas:

1. Education
2. Health
3. Economic empowerment
4. Criminal justice reform
5. Food safety
6. Labor equity
7. Environment

“Racial inequality in education is a national issue, and our team was inspired by creative ideas submitted by people across the country designed to help address this pressing challenge,” added Woods.

The finish line is in sight. Grab your ticket to the finals https://t.co/HJoQkd4hsj

#AvatarFinals pic.twitter.com/4pVzHOF28I

— XPRIZE (@xprize) November 3, 2022

Dynamics of the contest

The winners of the Ideas Competition were selected by members of the XPRIZE REA Brain Trust, a network that includes 25 leaders, including representatives from the March of Dimes, McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, Goalsetter, and other influential personalities in the field of racial equity.

Secondary sponsors include well-known firms, such as the eBay Foundation, Comcast NBCUniversal, and AARP, as well as 18 other partners.

The contest asked participants to identify a specific educational challenge in their community or in the United States in general and propose a contest that generated positive and impactful solutions to that challenge.

Winners

1. Devin Jackson of the We Build Black Inc team.
2. Eugene Pough of the Philadelphia Youth Football Academy team
3. Dr. Chevelle Hall, Dr. Willis Walter, John Travis, and Dr. Brian Maiden
4. Lev Horodyskyj of the Science Voices team
5. Dr. Janet Dewart Bell, Rosia Blackwell Lawrence, and Renée Floyd Myers
6. Sara Linardi, Trupti Sarode, and Claire Guth of the Center for Analytical Approaches to Social Innovation (CAASI, University of Pittsburgh) team
7. Jerren Chang of the GenUnity team
8. Christina O'Guinn of the Tech Interactive team
9. Jonathan Quarles
10. Daquanna Harrison of the Elevation Education Consulting Group team

“Promoting equity in education is essential to ensuring that all students have the opportunity to grow and succeed in today's world. We are proud to partner with XPRIZE on the REA Ideas Competition, which embodies Intel's commitment to combating the systemic and structural inequalities that affect our communities,” said Dawn Jones, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and vice president of social impact at Intel.