Ebony Joseph

Ebony Joseph currently serves as a Director at Change Summer, where she works to create joyful, inclusive, and transformative summer experiences for young people. Throughout her career, Ebony has focused on building environments where students of all abilities are supported, challenged, and given meaningful opportunities to thrive.

Ebony began her career in education in 2014 as a founding fourth-grade teacher at Uncommon Schools. During her time at Uncommon, she held several roles focused on special education, student support, and program leadership. Most notably, she founded Uncommon North Star Academy’s first program specifically designed to support students with autism and served as its Program Manager. In this role, Ebony led the development and implementation of specialized programming, supported and coached educators, collaborated with families and school leaders, and helped establish systems to ensure students received individualized academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and developmental supports. Her work centered on creating inclusive school environments while ensuring students with disabilities had access to the resources and opportunities they needed to succeed.

Ebony’s professional experience spans special education, autism programming, student support, staff development, program design, and youth development. Across both school-year and summer settings, she is particularly passionate about creating spaces where young people experience a strong sense of belonging, develop greater independence and confidence, and are celebrated for the strengths they bring to their communities.

A proud Nittany Lion, Ebony earned her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies, with a concentration in Child Development, from The Pennsylvania State University. She later earned her Master’s degree in Special Education, with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Disabilities, from William Paterson University. Ebony is certified in both general education (grades K–6) and special education in the state of New Jersey.