While our country has made significant progress, many existing social challenges continue to grow in magnitude and complexity every year ranging from racial injustice, income gaps, healthcare, climate change, etc. Marquis will share his story and how he is blending leadership, entrepreneurship, and education reform to improve racial and economic injustice facing young people of color in Massachusetts. He will discuss the methods he has used to identify challenges, test solutions and build community...all while improving educational outcomes for kids. 

Marquis is the founder and CEO of Coaching4Change, a nonprofit that partners K-12 schools with colleges to develop a diverse teacher pipeline. This pipeline exposes students of color to teaching as a profession through mentoring and after school collaboration. Marquis founded Coaching4Change in 2010 to help low-income, students of color reach their potential and close the achievement gap through hands-on, practical learning experiences that engage students in a myriad of ways.  Marquis has been honored by Echoing Green, a leading impact investor that selects 20 startups from 3,500 global applicants, as "one of the world's best emerging social innovators."  He was also named a Social Innovator by the Social Innovation Forum in 2014 and a Pahara Next Gen Fellow in 2015.  Marquis was recognized as one of five national recipients of the Claneil Emerging Leaders Fund in 2015 and a CNN Hero in 2016. Marquis holds a Bachelor's Degree from Stonehill College and a Master's Degree from Smith College.