"The Accelerate Institute is a not-for-profit education organization focused on closing the achievement gap by creating high impact school leaders that accelerate student achievement. Pat Ryan, Jr. is the founder of the three urban education programs which were united as The Accelerate Institute in 2010. After working as both an inner-city teacher and a gang narcotics police officer, Ryan formed Inner-City Teaching Corps (ICTC) in 1991, The Alain Locke Charter School with brother Rob Ryan in 1998, the ExSL New School Leadership Program in 2008 which advanced into what is now The Ryan Fellowship in 2011, all to address critical needs in education and find new high-impact approaches to solving those issues."