Serving as Assistant Director of Programs for the Division of Family and Community Services overseeing the offices of Family Wellness, Adult Services & Basic Support, Community and Positive Youth Development, Welcoming Centers for Immigrant and Refugee Services, and Workforce Development.

- Collaborate with two organizations to provide backbone support to 15 communities utilizing collective impact to change community access/attainment outcomes impacting 43% of high school students in IL

Establish higher education advocacy portfolio by conducting continuous gap analysis to inform strategic planning, cultivating relationships with advocacy organizations, civil rights and community based organizations, government agencies and public institutions across state Collaborate with external partners to formulate strategy and organize coalition focused driven to close racial and socioeconomic opportunity gaps in higher educationLead creation and implementation of strategic planning across 5 teams to devise organizational priorities, including quantitative and qualitative research, external engagement, political analysis, and stakeholder mapping

- Translate complex policy, build advocate champions, and mobilize diverse leaders with the goal of increasing equity and outcomes for IL students and families across the B-20 educational continuum- Lead creation and implementation of strategic planning process to develop organizational priorities, including quantitative and qualitative research, external engagement, political analysis, and stakeholder mapping - Build coalitions of 50+ prek-higher education advocates, civil rights, faith based, and directly impacted stakeholders bi-weekly or monthly, to engage in state-level policy change across multiple issue areas- Design qualitative data collection methods including statewide focus groups with over 200 participants to inform policy agenda development to later mobilize directly impacted stakeholders to engage in advocacy - Lead and contribute to completion of major reports in collaboration with policy and communications teams, including Education in a Pandemic, a qualitative report focused on COVID-19 learning renewal - Prepare and edit presentations and materials used for conferences, legislative hearings, policy briefs, etc. - Served as an appointed member of the Illinois State Board of Education’s Black History Curriculum Task Force that conducted an audit of every K-12 school district’s history curriculum to review quality of Black History instruction and developed a set of recommendations to inform the board’s position (2019-2021)- Staffed Governor Pritzker’s Education Transition Committee tasked with identifying high-impact solutions to advance equity across the B-20 educational continuum (2018)

- Launch a program to convene 20 diverse educators from across Illinois to share vital perspective, inform policy agenda, and activate communities through issue based community conversations statewide coalition meetings, legislative engagement, and board of education task force appointments- Lead the redesign and project management centering diversity, equity, and inclusion - Manage recruitment, interviews, on-boarding, engagement, and budget for the council experience

- Lead development of diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy in the educator pipeline issue that includesguiding definitions, principles, and racial equity impact assessments- Design engagement strategy​ elevating ​communities traditionally marginalized by policy making processincluding educators, students, parents, community-based, civil rights, and faith based leaders- Translate complex policy, foster relationships, build leadership and mobilize diverse leaders statewide aroundeducator pipeline, school funding, higher education equity, and learning recovery issues- Lead coalition meetings of 50+ K-Higher Education leaders, often bi-weekly or monthly- Supervise a summer fellow to support equity-driven engagement

- Co-create engagement and coalition strategies that include fostering relationships and mobilizing school district leaders, non-profit organizations, political and civic leaders, faith-based, and civil rights organizations across Illinois around issues of educator pipeline, school funding, and higher education- Collect qualitative data by tracking statewide community engagement efforts involving series of 15-20 or more meetings to inform ongoing engagement and policy priorities - Organize and facilitate coalition meetings of approximately 25 members, often bi-weekly or monthly, to receive feedback from school district superintendent groups and other key stakeholders- Cultivate relationships to develop and build the capacity of education leaders of diverse backgrounds to advocate for change at the state level through sharing testimonies, meeting with government and agency leaders, and more- Supervise a fellow and provide a clear project with expected outcomes, track progress towards personal and professional goals, and including fellow in engagement conversations and follow-up tasks

-Collaborated with organization directors to complete funding applications and project reports-Contributed to establishment of funder database system on Salesforce for tracking applications, upcoming meetings, events, and reporting deadlines-Conducted literature reviews including research on teacher retention/sustainability, social-emotional learning, and trauma informed practice in preparation for organization’s 10th anniversary

Developed and executed curriculum that is culturally responsive including essential questions high on relatedness, aligned to SAT standards, and driven by student masteryAnalyzed and compare student data with planning team to problem-solve and attain student growth

Enacted social-emotional learning strategies to encourage mental and emotional well-being in connection to high school promotional requirements for group of twenty-two female studentsAchieved network maximum average student GPA of 3.5 and 91% of students on track for promotion through ongoing daily supports, routines, teaching self awareness and advocacy

Former Secondary English Language Arts teacher at Pueblo City Schools and 9th-grade Multicultural Studies Instructor at the Noble Network of Charter Schools - University of Illinois at Chicago College Prep.

Served as part of recruitment team for the UI campus. Achieved a set goal level of applicants through hosting events, tabling, class presentations and marketing. Sourced possible applicants and connect the representative with prospect students

Prepared and executed rigorous lessons using standards-based, data-driven instruction while implementing culturally responsive teaching practices to build relationships and increase student engagementCollaborated with students, parents, and administration to set high standards of achievement and behavior that included intervention when necessary

Interviewed, hired and trained prospective video reporters. Oversaw a team of 8 videographers to work alongside other newspaper departments while also working on independent long form multimedia stories.Managed a calendar of event and story coverage for reporters. Worked with videographers to problem solve, produce, edit, and publish an average of five videos per week.

Served as assistant to video editor, prepared weekly budgets, trained video staff and worked with other editors to integrate all areas of newspaper

Searched for current news, traveled to areas where events are happening, conducted interviews, developed stories, delivered most recent news to readers from local to national level

Developed story ideas, wrote stories on assigned topic, conducted interviews, met with sources all in preparation for deadline for newspaper publicationMet with University Police Department weekly to develop ideas for beat, interview public safety officials from the University and from the Champaign-Urbana community

Responded to listener requests, prepared live reads, operated soundboard and ensured all functions of radio are working properly for delivery of music

9th grade literature, broadcast journalism and soccer elective instructor. Prepared lesson plans and held test evaluations to assess growth. Experienced up to 30% improvement in literature. Recognized with Outstanding Teacher Award in literature for summer of 2015

Created social media marketing campaigns and managed Facebook page. Worked in conjunction with other marketing student staff to develop ideas for events and event marketing. Increase attendance and awareness of events such as the Dia de los Muertos Celebration from 50 to 150 attendants

Served as main contact for performers, campus organizations, guest speakers and panel participants. Responsible for managing planning committees and organizing campus events including the Latina/o Congratulatory celebration, Dia de los Muertos and Fiesta cultural showcase

Held monthly meetings to discuss events, funding and promote unity of Latino/a registered student organizations