With support from the State of California, MFEI partnered with the UC Berkeley School of Education to establish the Marcus Foster Fellowship (MFF). MFF fellows work collaboratively with local community organizations to address pivotal education issues, supporting Black and other systemically marginalized populations, leading to improved outcomes at scale. The inaugural cohort of 19 scholars from various disciplines received $1 million in financial support to engage with the four participating community organizations and conduct meaningful research that looks at cultural and systems change to improve educational experiences for students from focus populations.