Zack Milkovich
Co-Founder
Zack is the current City councilman for an urban District in East Akron. His commitment to helping inner-city kids stems not only from his position of service but his humble up bringing as well. Zack’s family immigrated to America when he was three, bringing with them two suit cases and an American dream. Zack found that dream but he had to do it the hard way, working in a tire mold shop for twenty years before being laid off permanently at the age of 40. Zack truly understands the importance of education and is committed to helping low-income inner-city kids just like him.
Ernie Tarle
Co-Founder
Ernie and Zack have been best friends since they were three. They grew up in a troubled neighborhood in East Akron. Unlike Zack, who went right to work after high school, Ernie went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Masters in Political Science. As an educator, Ernie got to observe firsthand the troubles in the Akron public schools of which he is a graduate. As a longtime community activist Ernie has fought for political and educational reform. When he learned about the dramatic summer learning losses, he and Zack sprang into action by creating and funding The Leap Frog Collaborative. Their goal is to scale the program state-wide and end the achievement gap for inner-city kids in Ohio forever.
Andrae Long
Andrae is a community activist that has been helping the children in our community since 2007. His first opportunity to serve our youth came at a drop out recovery program for at-risk youth. That experience helped Andrae to discover his purpose helping children. Through Rites of Passage, community organizing, mentoring, tutoring, teaching, and training, Andrae has found many ways to be of service to the youth in our community. He is affectionately known as “Brother Long”, and he has been assisting with the development of the Leap Frog program since Ernie and Zack first brought the concept to the Akron area.