SEPO

SEPO Dedicated to sustainability, education, and progress in western Zambia and northeastern Wisconsin.

SEPO is a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainability, education, and progress in western Zambia and northeastern Wisconsin. Guided by anti-colonial and anti-racist principles and strategies, SEPO identifies local needs, harnesses community strengths, develops global partnerships, and builds more sustainable futures.

05/25/2026

We just wrapped up SEPO’s 2nd cohort of our BLACK Program, and these young scholars from Oshkosh North showed out. It's powerful to witness their brilliance, their questions, their courage to challenge ideas. They remind me of my own debate days, learning the strength of voice and critical thinking.

Huge gratitude to Dr. Sam Coleman for his leadership and for pushing students beyond the surface in ways that matter.

And to our scholars’ families: thank you. Your guidance, your grounding, and your sacrifices are foundational and impactful. We know systems often overlook your role, but SEPO never will. Your children come to us with brilliance already in them. We’re just honored to help make space for it to grow.

Happy Africa Day from SEPO!We celebrate the continent that grounds our mission and connects our communities. Today we ho...
05/25/2026

Happy Africa Day from SEPO!

We celebrate the continent that grounds our mission and connects our communities. Today we honor the strength, creativity, and brilliance of the African continent and the deep connections that bind our SEPO family across oceans.

Africa Day reminds us that community is not defined by borders. It is carried in our stories and our shared commitment to dignity and possibility.

Africa is creativity. Africa is resilience. Africa is home.

From Oshkosh to Mongu, from the SEPO Center to the communities we serve abroad, we celebrate the hope that continues to shape us all.

Tonight, I had the honor of receiving the Nancy Tonies Inspire and Impact Award on behalf of SEPO. The award celebrates ...
05/03/2026

Tonight, I had the honor of receiving the Nancy Tonies Inspire and Impact Award on behalf of SEPO. The award celebrates the legacy of Nany Tonies, a woman whose life embodied service and community. It was a privilege to speak with her family who continue to carry her work forward.

Throughout the evening, people spoke about how the work requires the entire “village” (the collective care/responsibility/strength that make community possible). As someone raised in a literal village, that concept is not at all abstract to me. It is the foundation of SEPO’s work. Our mission is rooted in that same truth: we rise because we move together.

Deepest gratitude to Future Urban Leaders (FUL) for hosting such a powerful gathering and to the brilliant young people from FUL who traveled from Milwaukee to share space with us. Their presence was solidarity in action. FUL is a Milwaukee-based organization, yet they continue to see, uplift, and invest in the work happening in the Fox Valley. That kind of cross-city commitment builds a true pipeline of excellence for Wisconsin’s youth.

It was SEPO’s deepest privilege to stand alongside SiStar Society, whose leadership and relationship-rooted work inspires us and strengthens the ecosystem of care and advocacy across the state.

This work can be draining and exhausting. It happens quietly, behind the scenes, with limited resources and without the expectation of recognition. But last night reminds us that the work is seen. And, more importantly, the kids, families, and community we walk with are seen.

Thank you to Future Urban Leaders, the Tonies family, and everyone who nominated SEPO. A luta continua

If you’re a parent, guardian, family member, or friend of a recent, current, or future early learner (preschool or 4k) i...
04/28/2026

If you’re a parent, guardian, family member, or friend of a recent, current, or future early learner (preschool or 4k) in Oshkosh, SEPO would love to hear from you. We are hosting community conversations to understand how to best meet the needs of learners and families in Oshkosh preschool or 4k programs.

Attend any one of these upcoming sessions:
• May 4, 5:30–7pm — Copper Hall
• May 17, 1:30–3pm — Oshkosh Public Library
• May 18, 5:30–7pm — Menominee Elementary
• May 20, 5:30–7pm — Carl Traeger Elementary

🍽️ Food + gift cards for all participants
🧒 Childcare available
🚗 Transportation available
🌐 Translation available

RSVP with the QR code below or by going to: https://bit.ly/OshkoshEarlyLearningConversation

04/23/2026

Enjoy these highlights from yesterday at SEPO with B2wins and The Grand Oshkosh!

It’s days like this that make me look forward to our tomorrows. This afternoon, the SEPO space was transformed. The B2wi...
04/23/2026

It’s days like this that make me look forward to our tomorrows.

This afternoon, the SEPO space was transformed. The B2wins came and gave our youth something that can’t be manufactured: presence, representation, music, and a glimpse at how wide possibilities can be. Our space was alive. Students from our elementary schools, middle schools, high school, and UW Oshkosh were all in one room together. They danced, they sang, they laughed, and they claimed joy together.

But what moved me most wasn’t just the music. Between songs, the B2wins paused to speak with our youth. They sat with them. They mentored. They shared stories of their journey from Brazil to Oshkosh and everything in between. They held up a mirror for our youth to see themselves in. Today, at SEPO, the B2wins reminded our students that brilliance can come from anywhere and that their own dreams, whatever they are, are worthy of pursuit.

When The Grand Oshkosh first approached SEPO about hosting the B2wins, I’ll be honest I was nervous. SEPO had never hosted internationally renowned musicians. But this community has a way of showing up and reminding me what’s possible when we trust each other. And show up they did!

A real, heartfelt thank you to The Grand Oshkosh and their staff (Joe Ferlo, Karl Buelow, and Paige Hovanes) for not only bringing these talented international artists to Oshkosh, but for bringing them into the community, into our space, to spend the afternoon with our youth. That choice mattered. The joy in that room today was real.

Oshkosh, if you haven't gotten your tickets for this Saturday's show at The Grand yet – Go, get them. Now. You won’t want to miss this.

Another energizing afternoon at SEPO as we kicked off the 2nd cohort of our BLACK program, designed to build literacy an...
04/03/2026

Another energizing afternoon at SEPO as we kicked off the 2nd cohort of our BLACK program, designed to build literacy and confidence with our youth. Nearly 90% of these high school students are joining us for the very first time, which says so much about the growing impact of this work.

One of the highlights for me, as always, was hearing each student share why they chose to be part of this journey. Their honesty, ambition, and personal stories are powerful reminders of why this program matters.

It was also great to watch Dr. Coleman in full stride, fully engaged with students throughout the session, bringing insight, energy, and encouragement into the room.

We wrapped up with students thinking ahead and predicting what’s coming next on Tuesday… and I can already tell they’re ready for it.

I can’t wait.

03/23/2026

Community care is an act of resistance.

On Saturday, Unity Oshkosh did something uncommon: they provided families in Oshkosh access, dignity, and belonging, without paperwork, without gatekeeping, without proving they’re ‘worthy’.

At Vel Phillips Middle School, families walked in and found food, hygiene essentials, workforce resources, and people ready to listen. Kids played. Caregivers exhaled. Conversations happened in and across multiple languages, without anyone having to perform their need/worth.

That is not the norm.

Systems are built to fragment us, to make families navigate a dozen different doors, prove eligibility, and fight for scraps of what should simply be available.

Saturday was a refusal of that. A community saying: we will not wait for broken systems to be fixed. We will build what our people need right now.

Ubuntu tells us that none of us are whole until all of us are whole. And our futures are not separate. When a family in Oshkosh gets what they need, when a child feels safe, when a caregiver finally exhales, the air we all breathe changes. And we are all reminded that we are bound together, not just by geography, but by the responsibility we carry for one another’s well-being.

And to those that did the quiet, steady work to make this day possible: THANK YOU. Thank you for building something that centered no one by centering everyone. That is how community is made.

Saturday gave us all a glimpse of the Oshkosh we are building together. An Oshkosh that is shaped by care, not barriers.
A luta continua!

03/23/2026

One more quick look at all the growth and love shared during SEPO's 1st Building Literacy & Academic Confidence with Kids program cohort of 2026. Can't wait for more!

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01/31/2026

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Address

1411 Congress Avenue
Oshkosh, WI
54901

Telephone

+19203122048

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