Efraín Vera recalls the email that didn’t look real 15 years ago. The message changed his life forever.
The Oak Cliff native applied for a Bill & Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship during his senior year at the Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center. The note said he received the scholarship, cementing a full ride to New York University.
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After graduating from NYU, Vera enrolled in Albany Law School. He became a law school clerk extern for a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York. Vera went on to practice commercial litigation at global law firms.
The Education Lab
Efraín Vera, a commercial litigation attorney at Reed Smith LLP, works at his office on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Dallas. Vera, 34, is a former Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program student and Gates Scholarship recipient from Oak Cliff.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
The first-generation college student credited the Brewer Foundation’s Future Leaders Program (FLP) for introducing him to the scholarship. “If it wasn’t for FLP, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now,” said Vera, a commercial litigator at Reed Smith LLP.
“My youngest brother was also [in] FLP, and he became an attorney as well,” Vera said. “My wife is an attorney at an even bigger law firm in Dallas, so I feel like FLP changed the trajectory of my life and my family’s life.”
Vera’s personal journey to professional success mirrors the trajectory of the Brewer Foundation itself. The nonprofit began with proceeds from a pro bono legal office in South Dallas and today propels young students toward new opportunities for success.
The Brewer Foundation marks its 30th anniversary this year. Its two flagship programs, FLP and the International Public Policy Forum (IPPF) debate competition, enter their 25th year in 2026. The foundation is the nonprofit arm of the law firm Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. The nonprofit grew out of the firm’s pro bono affiliate, Brewer Storefront, which provides free legal services to people who lack access to robust legal representation.
Over 200 Dallas ISD students attend year‑round Saturday classes through FLP, which pairs public and private‑school teachers to lead small groups at The Episcopal School of Dallas, St. Mark’s School of Texas, The Greenhill School and The Hockaday School. The program comes at no cost to Dallas ISD or the private schools.
Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program teacher Alvaro Ramos calls on a student during a 9th grade class called “discovering your voice in psychology in society” on Nov. 1, 2025, at St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
Brewer’s debate program has encouraged over 10,000 students to engage in public policy, across 4,245 teams, 30 states and 26 countries, according to the foundation. The top eight teams travel to New York for championship competitions.
The program originated as an opportunity to help South Dallas students from the Storefront, said Bill Brewer, chairman of the Brewer Foundation and the Storefront. But now FLP is “a lifeline” for many, providing skills, networks, and opportunity pipelines for students who might otherwise be shut out, he said.
“It’s been the best thing we’ve done in the last 25 years,” Brewer said. “We were in many ways lucky to have gotten involved in the community.”
FLP’s model: ‘The extra mile’
Students as young as 12 join FLP by seventh grade and cycle through writing, public speaking, interview prep, resume building and structured elevator-pitch drills.
But that’s not all, said Ian Shaw, president of the Brewer Foundation. The foundation recently partnered with JPMorgan Chase to provide quarterly financial literacy workshops. Beginning in January, Capital One will provide FLP career readiness and personal development workshops.
High school seniors spend the year on college applications, essays and scholarships with one-on-one advising, Shaw said. FLP originally began with fifth graders, and Shaw said they want to expand the program back to that range.
Shaw said the rising cost of college can dissuade people from seeking a four-year degree or higher. But students can thrive in college and beyond, especially if they have support from an early age, he said.
“Unless you’re dedicated to getting a post-graduate degree, we’re seeing a mindset shift of students wanting to hurry and go make some money,” Shaw said.
Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program 12th grade class look at college applications during “college counseling” class on Nov. 1, 2025, at St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
For David L. Baad, the Ann and Lee Hobson Family Head of School at the Episcopal School of Dallas, participating in FLP exemplifies the school’s religious identity: service to the community alongside academic excellence.
While ESD students haven’t been directly integrated into FLP, Baad said he could see value in mixed seminars on public policy where students “from different perspectives” can create solutions together.
“We are strengthened as an institution when we engage in public-private partnerships,” he said. “Anytime our teachers can learn and partner with teachers in different environments, our teaching is strengthened, and our students benefit from that.”
Part of the program’s impact lies in its alumni network, as well as the Brewer law firm itself. Vera, for instance, joined FLP in ninth grade, worked in the law firm’s mailroom, and ultimately chose NYU. He now helps guide small-business owners via pro bono channels and advises students to always ask for opportunities, a mindset tied to FLP’s emphasis on advocacy.
Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program teacher Karen Bradberry hugs former student Efraín Vera, 34, during the 11th grade class “college writing 101” on Nov. 1, 2025, at St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas. Vera spoke to the class about his journey to becoming a commercial litigation attorney at Reed Smith LLP.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
Oak Cliff native Frederick Walton found FLP after stretches of “couch-surfing” post-COVID. The Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy senior has been “living from place to place” since eighth grade.
But that hasn’t stopped the 18-year-old from investing in his future. After joining FLP as a sophomore, Walton became the Texas representative on the Sandy Hook Promise National Advisory Board. He met several U.S. senators on Capitol Hill to advocate for funding to implement and bolster evidence-based programs to prevent school violence.
Walton also led a school walkout and joined the Student Advisory Council created by state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas. Rated “superior” three years running, the highest rating at solo singing contests, Walton recently met with Sam Houston State’s music director, underscoring how bass singing has opened doors for him.
The aspiring U.S. senator is now working to attend college to study political science and music education. Walton credits FLP for his ability to grasp these concepts, and for his improvements at school.
“They’re willing to go the extra mile for me if I need help,” Walton said. “And I’ve seen it not just with me. I’ve seen it with other students.”
Frederick Walton, 18, back center, speaks to classmates during Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program’s 12th grade class “college counseling” on Nov. 1, 2025, at St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
The leadership program also had an impact on Emanuel Benitez, a senior at Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy. The 17-year-old said he “yelled at the top of [his] lungs” at the dinner table at 8 p.m. on Dec. 1, when he learned he matched with Columbia University through the national nonprofit QuestBridge scholarship program.
Benitez plans to pursue drama, theater arts and political science. He expressed both excitement and fear: It’s always been his dream to visit Broadway. FLP brought him closer to that reality. “We can achieve whatever we put our minds to,” he said.
Current outcomes, future goals
The Brewer Foundation’s latest annual report paints a fiscal picture of the impact of their work with students.
Over 2,000 students have gone through FLP, receiving over $20 million in scholarship offers since 2009, according to the foundation’s report. Fourteen of those awards come from the Gates or QuestBridge programs.
FLP’s work touches over 15 Dallas ISD schools. Those FLP students have gone on to some of the nation’s top colleges and universities, including Cornell and Yale.
Among the students in last year’s graduating FLP class alone, the scholars earned more than $2.5 million in scholarships and awards, according to the foundation’s report. The students received acceptance from the University of Southern California, Northwestern University and Boston University, among others.
Meanwhile, the foundation’s IPPF debate program has already registered over 800 competitors across 528 teams and 39 countries for this year’s event series, according to the foundation.
IPPF’s championship event will occur at New York University’s School of Law for the 25th anniversary next year, Shaw said. In some ways, inviting students to New York for debates also counts as a college tour, though Shaw points out that FLP also gives students the opportunity to do college tours.
That matters, Shaw said, because there are seniors who believe they can’t go to college.
Brewer, an FLP founder, said the foundation is committed to sustaining its Dallas operations. But he also wants to scale the model beyond. His next goal: A program in the Bronx. “Our next big project is to open an FLP 2 in and around New York City,” he said.
Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program teacher Karen Bradberry teaches “college writing 101” to 11th grade students on Nov. 1, 2025, at St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas. Students Michelle Uc and Jeremiah Landrum listen.
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
Brewer’s beliefs hit home for Angel Zavala, a graduating senior from the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy. The 18-year-old recalls feeling “very nauseous” before opening his decision letter.
The Pleasant Grove resident was recently accepted to Princeton University. Thanks to QuestBridge, the son of immigrant parents said his family won’t have to take out loans for his education. He plans to study computational biology.
“I started off at a farm, like a goat herder, with my grandpa in the field,” Zavala said. “I never expected to just go to the No. 1 … university in the U.S. I never expected that. So reach for the stars. Anything is possible.”
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.
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