Summer Institute Faculty

WHO ARE WE

Sadie Nash Leadership Project provides award-winning, experiential social justice education to more than 500 young women and gender-expansive youth of color each year in New York City and Newark, NJ. Operating with love and rigor, we use the tools of popular education to build critical consciousness, community, and college readiness. We strengthen, empower, and equip participants to lead lives rooted in joy, liberation, and collective care.

Our flagship program, Summer Institute (SI), is an immersive six-week experience for high school students. Nashers explore leadership, feminism, and social justice through classes, workshops, field trips, and intimate conversations with community leaders. Participants engage with concepts of power, identity, and privilege, developing the skills to critically analyze their lived experiences within broader social and political contexts through project-based learning. SI operates at five in-person sites: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Newark, NJ.

FACULTY POSITION OVERVIEW

We are seeking engaging and experienced educators to join our Summer Institute as faculty. Faculty design and teach one six-week interactive course, meeting twice a week from July 6 – August 14, 2026. Courses should encourage critical thinking, community-building, and exploration of leadership and social justice activism. In addition to teaching, faculty mentor their teaching assistant (“Dean”) and meet periodically with other SNLP staff.

ELIGIBILITY

• At least 2-4 years of experience in youth development and facilitation
• Availability to teach during program period: July 7 – August 13, 2026, Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:30am - 3:30pm
• Able to attend required program commitments, including:
• Weekly staff meetings on Fridays from July 10 – August 7, 10am – 11am
• Final Celebration on August 13, 2026 (11am – 2pm or 4pm – 7 pm)

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Faculty are expected to develop and teach an elective class, ideally based on their unique expertise and interests. Courses should expose participants to subjects/topics not typically available in high school and be rigorous, interactive, and relevant, using a popular education approach. You can read more about popular education at http://infed.org/mobi/popular-education/. In developing elective classes, faculty should ensure that their curriculum complements and supports the learning represented by the core class all Nashers take, without redundancy.

Examples of previous elective classes include:

• Free in My Body – Dance & Movement Residency
• Poetic Revolutionaries – Young Women Explore Voice and Power
• The Power to Create – A Visual Arts Experiment
• In Living Color: A Look at Women of Color in Film and Television
• Mass Incarceration in the 21st Century – A Feminist Analysis of the Criminal (In)Justice System
• Untangling Our Roots – Politics of Hair

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

To be successful in this position, you will need to meet the following:

• Curriculum Design and Facilitation: Candidates should have at least two years of experience facilitating curricula with young women of color, gender-expansive youth, young adults, or communities of color, or collaborating with curriculum developers. Successful candidates are comfortable leading lessons that incorporate community-building, conflict resolution, and principles of intersectional feminism, racial and gender equity, and LGBTQIA+ rights.
• Transformative Classroom Management: We seek team members who honor youth agency in shaping learning and move away from authoritarian classroom models. Successful site leaders see “behavior” as a reflection of “need,” responding with patience and care while holding communal space accountability. They anticipate and address the needs of their cohort, centering equity, socio-emotional learning (SEL), and a trauma-informed approach.
• Reliable and Intentional Communication: Ideal candidates can communicate effectively and build strong relationships with youth, families, community partners, and staff. They must dedicate 1–2 hours per week (within program hours) to responsive and collaborative communication with Summer Institute Site Leaders and full-time staff. This includes arriving at least 30 minutes before class for preparation and setup, participating in a weekly 30-minute check-in with Site Leaders and supporting the learning and development of Deans & Nashers through individual check-ins as needed.

HIRING TIMELINE

March 23, 2026 - Application Deadline

April 2, 2026: Group Interview (1 session, 5 pm – 7pm)

April 4, 2026: Group Interview (3 Sessions, 10am – 6 pm)

April 7-May 1, 2026: Virtual 1:1 Interviews (1hr)

May 8, 2026: Candidates Notified of Decisions

KEY DATES OF THE POSITION

June 22, June 25, and June 26: Training- Summer Staff In-Person(Monday through Friday at 10-5 pm)

July 6 - August 13: Summer Program (Faculty are present Mondays & Wednesdays)

August 14: Close-Out Administration Work (10 am - 2 pm; can be completed virtually)

Sadie Nash Leadership project is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As such, we consider a wide range of candidates bringing different skill sets and lived experiences. So whether you're looking to transition, taking the next step in your career path or returning to work after a gap in employment, we will be happy to have you apply!

Not sure you meet all of our qualifications? Research shows that cis men apply for jobs when they fulfill an average of 60% of the criteria, while others (including women, gender-expansive folks and people of color) tend only to apply if they meet every requirement. If you believe that you are a good fit for this role, we encourage you to apply.