Bailey-Sullivan Leadership Institute (BSLI)

About the Bailey-Sullivan Leadership Institute (BSLI) and the Bailey-Sullivan Advocacy Leadership Fellowship (BSALF)

The Black Alliance for Education Options (BAEO) created the Bailey-Sullivan Leadership Institute (BSLI) in 2004 in honor of two dynamic young and politically astute women, Deirdre Lynne Bailey (1970-2003) and Lisa Yvette Sullivan (1961-2001), who helped found BAEO and guide the organization's efforts to identify and support emerging leaders.

The Bailey-Sullivan Leadership Institute seeks to address the dire need for more Black advocates equipped to champion parental choice and transformational education reform initiatives in the Black community. The Institute will seek to reach this goal by establishing the Weekend Advocacy Leadership Academy which will engage individuals who are leaders and/ or potential leaders in various sectors of the Black community and provide training and networking opportunities that will strengthen their commitment to advocating on behalf of these reform policies. The design of the Bailey-Sullivan Advocacy Leadership Fellowship (BSALF) will feature a cohort of advocates that will meet throughout the year. With this design, BSALF will have lasting, national impact.