Team
Nick Ehrmann, CEO & Founder |
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| Nick has served as CEO & Founder of Blue Engine since 2009. Ehrmann began his career in education as a Teach for America corps member in Washington D.C., joining forces with local philanthropists in 2002 to launch the nonprofit “I Have a Dream”—Project 312. The partnership secured over $1M in commitments for a ten year, comprehensive youth development program for his fourth-grade students, many of whom are struggling to make it in the world of higher education. He was selected as a finalist for the Washington D.C. First-Year Teacher of the Year award and the national Teach For America Sue Lehmann Award. In 2003 he began graduate work at Princeton University as a William G. Bowen fellow and completed his PhD in sociology in 2010. His dissertation—Yellow |  |
| Brick Road—explored the negative effects of academic underperformance on the transition from high school to college. He currently lives in New York City and can be reached at nick@blueengine.org. | |
Chester Ocampo, Inaugural Site Director |
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| Chester is Blue Engine’s inaugural Site Director and brings with him experience in curriculum design and supporting new teacher development. His work in education began as a math teacher through the New York City Teaching Fellows program where he focused on integrating science and technology to enhance math instruction. During his time in the classroom, he earned a master’s degree in education from City College of New York and in 2007, joined Teach For America as a Program Director. Chester will take the lead on implementing Blue Engine’s on-site training, Fellowship support, and professional development at our partner school, Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS) and is excited to return to the classroom fulltime after three years of |
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| mentoring teachers. In addition to this role, his knowledge of the New York City education landscape will help shape Blue Engine’s overall program operations. He can be reached at chester@blueengine.org. | |
Nicholas Chan, Program Engineer |
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| Nicholas comes to Blue Engine with youth development and service corps experience from different parts of the US and Ecuador. He began working with youth as a resident assistant through Upward Bound, a program for high school students on their way to becoming the first in their families to attend college. After graduating with a degree in product design from Stanford University, he worked as an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer in East Palo Alto where his main project was working with community partners to design and execute a youth leadership program. He continued working for AmeriCorps as a middle school classroom assistant with the inaugural City Year Louisiana corps. Taking his service overseas, he served as a |  |
| Peace Corps Volunteer in La Libertad, Ecuador, where he worked with local youth and health workers on sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS awareness and youth leadership. He spent a third year in Quito training and supporting other volunteers. He can be reached at nicholas@blueengine.org | |
