Rafiq Id-Din

Rafiq Kalam Id-Din II, Esq. is a social entrepreneur, activist, teacher, lawyer, and nonprofit leader with over 25 years of experience.13 He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ember Charter Schools for Mindful Education, Innovation and Transformation (formerly Teaching Firms of America Charter Schools) in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.13

Background and Education

• Grew up in severe poverty in inner-city Philadelphia during the 1980s and early 1990s1
• Received a BA in English and African-American Studies and a Master of Teaching in English Education from the University of Virginia13
• Earned a JD from NYU School of Law as a Thurgood Marshall Scholar1

Professional Experience

• Practiced law with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York and Hong Kong1
• Served as Executive Director of the AnBryce Foundation1
• Received the Echoing Green Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs in 200713
• Founded Teaching Firms of America-Professional Preparatory Charter School in 2011, which later became Ember Charter Schools13

Current Roles

• Board Member at Echoing Green since September 20163
• President of the NYU Law Alumni of Color Association (LACA)1
• Maintains a small private legal practice providing pro bono services to indigent clients1

Initiatives and Involvement

• Co-founder and former Executive Board member of the NYC Coalition of Community Charter Schools12
• Founder of the #BlackLedSchoolsMatter initiative12
• Co-founder of the Black-Latinx-Asian Charters Collective12

Rafiq's work focuses on creating innovative educational models for low-income inner-city communities, with a particular emphasis on African and African-American cultural education and anti-racism.123