Unrestricted funding for each 2026 Skillman Visionary, the people driving education change in Detroit.
The Skillman Foundation has named its 2026 Visionaries, up to 10 people driving education change in Detroit and beyond. Each receives $50,000 with no restrictions on how it is used.
The class includes Alice Thompson of BFDI Educational Services and Hope Academy; Alycia Meriweather of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, who helped bring chronic absenteeism down from 79% to 66% between 2021-22 and 2023-24; and Imani Foster of 482Forward, founder of the H.E.Y. Black Girl afterschool program.
Also honored are Dr. Seydi Sarr, founder of the African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs, which serves Black immigrants and refugees in Detroit; Dr. Omar Hakim of Detroit PBS; Curtis L. Lewis of Boldly Moving Education Ahead; Ines De Jesus, a 31-year DPS educator; and leaders from Teach For America Detroit, Launch Michigan and 42 North Partners.
"Unrestricted money says one thing: we trust you to know what the work needs."
No-strings funding is rare in education, where grants usually arrive with reporting rules attached. Giving people room to decide is a statement about who the foundation believes knows the work best.
The ANF Take: The students these leaders serve are the next wave of Detroit builders. Watch what the Visionaries do with flexible dollars, because the programs that survive here are often the ones someone was trusted to run their own way.
Source: Skillman Foundation, Visionary Awards.
