Summer Jackson's experience as an individual of color has been one of trials and triumph. Summer grew up as a gifted child in a setting that was educationally homogenous, and developed a tough exterior as she was ostracized because she enjoyed educational activities more than recreation.  Her parents were educational advocates but lacked financial resources and educational experiences to help her navigate through various academic and professional ambitions.  Consequently, she developed leadership skills at an early age and had to become resourceful and creative as she assimilated within different settings.  Her early working experiences have influenced her current work ethic and high sense of integrity.  Her experiences, although daunting at times, also prepared her for matriculation in higher education and for various professional settings.  Summer has grown to look at life as a learning experience. 

Now, she finds herself excited to exchange knowledge and learn from others.  She has also used these experiences to bring back to her community and others as she has worked as a mentor and tutor for urban youth, as an anger-management group facilitator with African American and Latino youth in the Chicago Public school system, and taught parenting classes. Her experiences there have been an underlying question of whether programs were addressing the needs of the participants.  Summer lacked confidence that the funders of these programs were aware of the unique issues of the people they served.  These questions helped influence her desire to enter the field of program evaluation and with the help of one of her mentors she applied. 

Overall, her trials and triumphs have made her who she is today and she is humbled by the opportunities she has been exposed to and the accomplishments she has completed thus far.  She is a first generation college graduate, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Spelman College and Master of Arts degree in Clinical Professional Psychology from Roosevelt University.  She hopes to utilize her experience to study education aptitude and recidivism in urban communities, and for promoting social justice.  She also hopes to establish an advisory council of minority evaluators that would provide expertise to grant makers in hopes that this information will guide their theory of change in their efforts to help people all across the world.