What’s the coalition?

The Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence envisions that, by 2025, Black and Brown students who attend Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will have equitable access to the resources, opportunities and supports they need to be successful in college, career and life.


Our vision was born out of a 2019 resource study commissioned by MCPS that revealed glaring gaps exist in the allocation of resources to Black, Latino and low-income students. Following the release of this study, in the summer of 2019, Byron Johns (chair of the Education Committee and Parents Council for the NAACP—Montgomery County, Maryland chapter) and Diego Uriburu (executive director and co-founder of Identity, Inc.) joined forces to found the Coalition. Today, our Coalition stands more than 30 organizations strong, all advocating for quality education for MCPS’s’ Black and Brown students. We are committed to increasing educational equity for the 90,000 Black and Brown students who attend MCPS schools.

Meet the Founders

  • CO-FOUNDER

    Byron has been an advocate for educational equity for a decade and currently serves as Education Committee chair for the Montgomery County branch of the NAACP. At the state level, he worked to form the Maryland Coalition to Reform School Discipline with the American Civil Liberties Union, Open Society Institute, Advocates for Children and Youth, Maryland Disability Law Center and the Office of the Public Defender, resulting in passage of several bills improving the welfare of Maryland’s children, and banning the suspension of young learners and reducing the disparity in discipline for students of color. In 2019, he was honored by the Board of Education with the Distinguished Service to Public Education in Montgomery County award.

  • CO-FOUNDER

    Diego co-founded Identity, Inc. in 1998 to create opportunities for Latino youth to realize their highest potential following mass immigration of refugees fleeing violence in Central America and the migration of Latinos from Washington, D.C., to Montgomery County. Today, Identity, Inc annually serves more than 3,000 vulnerable youth and their families living in high poverty areas at school, in the community and on playing fields to improve social-emotional learning, achieve academic success and prepare for work. In 2014, Diego was selected by the White House as a César E. Chávez Champion of Change.

Meet the Team

  • DIRECTOR, Operations and Community Engagement

    Wylea is a nonprofit leader with over 20 years of experience designing, leading and implementing impactful community engagement, specializing in facilitation, education and coaching. As the director of operations and community engagement for the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence, Wylea is committed to the Coalition’s mission of advocating for all students, particularly Black and Brown and low-income students, to have equitable access to the resources, opportunities and supports they need to be successful. Wylea’s vast experience in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors is why she is a skilled expert in program development, facilitation and implementation with a proven track record in marketing, operations and advocacy. She joins the staff at the Coalition after leading corporate engagement, race equity and community engagement work at Leadership Montgomery and Family Services of Montgomery County, guiding companies and nonprofit organizations on their racial equity journeys, and assisting them in implementing their diversity, equity and inclusion strategies as well as designing their trainings and workshops. Wylea is an active NAACP Parent Council member and representative. She is very active in her community in a variety of ways and resides in Montgomery County with her husband and four children.

  • STRATEGIC ADVISOR

    Shirley is an education advocate in Montgomery County currently serving as a strategic advisor to the Black and Brown Coalition. Shirley is the immediate past chair of the Board of Advisors for the Universities at Shady Grove and a member of the Identity, Inc. Board of Directors. In 2014, Shirley completed two terms as an elected member of the Montgomery County Board of Education, where she was twice selected to serve as president. Prior to her service on the Board of Education, Shirley began her career as an attorney representing children and youth in abuse/neglect and juvenile delinquency cases in Newark, NJ. Shirley is a first generation American.

  • LATINO GRASSROOTS ORGANIZER

    Nora is the lead Latino grassroots organizer for the Black and Brown Coalition and director of programs for Identity, Inc. Nora is deeply committed to increasing access to high-quality education and opportunities to all students, but especially students who have been previously marginalized within schools such as children living in poverty, experiencing homelessness, in need of special education services and who are English language learners. Nora has 28 years of experience as an educator, nonprofit leader, curriculum developer, staff-development specialist and equity specialist. Nora is a founding board member of the Montgomery County Children's Opportunity Alliance, a nonprofit entity established by the county council to oversee early childhood education and early childcare opportunities within the county. Nora is also the proud mother of two MCPS and college graduates.

Our Asks

We believe that Black and Brown students deserve to attend schools with effective and diverse teachers and principals, advanced courses, rigorous coursework and accelerated learning opportunities to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Their families deserve culturally and linguistically appropriate opportunities to engage with the school district.