Damia Ballentine is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Philosophy, Politics & Economics (with a concentration in Public Policy & Governance) and minoring in Urban Education. Drawing on her own K–12 experience in under-resourced schools, she is committed to dismantling structural barriers in education and ensuring that students, especially in urban communities, have real choices to shape their futures. Damia is sub-matriculating into Penn GSE’s Urban Teaching Residency and works at the intersection of teaching, policy, and community-engaged research on culturally responsive schooling and student belonging.
On campus, Damia serves as External Chair for UMOJA and President & Founder of Promoting Excellence and Achievement at Penn (PEAP), a mentorship initiative she leads to guide high-school students through college, trades, and other postsecondary options. She has taught and tutored through the Netter Center and ABCs courses, served as a Breakthrough teaching fellow in Philadelphia and Houston, and is a Teaching Assistant for Angela Duckworth’s Grit Lab 7.0.
As an SNF Paideia Fellow, Damia integrates dialogue, service, wellness, and citizenship into her practice, facilitating conversations about equity, combating stereotype threat, and translating evidence into classroom routines and policy proposals that support student flourishing. She aims to become an urban mathematics educator and policy advocate who creates learning environments where every student feels seen, challenged, and supported.