As the Vice President of External Affairs, my mission is to: ensure OneGoal-Chicago maintains its financial stability by maintaining and growing a diversified and sustainable investor base, building efficiencies of scale to keep the revenue goal manageable and significantly reduce our cost per student, increase awareness and the sense of urgency to close the college degree divide within the Chicago and amongst post-secondary partners, build OneGoal’s reputation as a leader in the college access and success movement, and elevate the voices and stories of the OneGoal community.

Responsible for setting and executing a multi-year vision for the OneGoal Chicago Program Team’s secondary and post-secondary teams that includes multi-year goals and strategies aligned to our org-wide Phase III strategic plan. I am also building and coaching a strong, results driven team of eight staff members while ensuring direct reports are maximizing their individual potential as team and organizational leaders. Lastly, I serve as a regional leader that effectively builds strong relationships with key stakeholders and influences others to achieve outcomes across all levels of the organization.

Nationally, only eight percent of ninth graders in low-income communities are expected to graduate from college by age 25. These numbers stand in stark contrast to rates for students in America who grow up in the top income quartile: 82 percent of these ninth graders are expected to graduate from college. OneGoal is a rapidly expanding movement dedicated to systemically changing this reality in Chicago, Houston and beyond. As the nation's only teacher-led college persistence organization, we identify, train and support our nation's most effective teachers to lead underperforming high school students to reach their full potential and graduate from college.

OneGoal is the nation's only teacher-led college persistence organization. We strive to empower low-income high school students to reach their full potential and graduate from college. OneGoal accomplishes this by providing teachers with training and support to teach the OneGoal course to low-income high school students and stay with those students through their first year of college. The OneGoal course – as featured in Paul Tough’s bestselling book How Children Succeed – is grounded in a 1400-page curriculum that focuses on developing non-cognitive skills, improving academic performance in core high school classes and standardized tests, enrolling in a match college, and succeeding during the critical first year of college. To date, 87 percent of OneGoal's high school graduates have enrolled in college (more than double the local average) and of the OneGoal students who enroll, 85 percent are persisting in college or have graduated with a college degree.

The Finance Pathway is designed to introduce students to economics and accounting. Students receive a broad view of the food system and the linkage between and among financial institutions, our nation, the world market, government, businesses, and the environment. The course covers topics that give students a general knowledge of agricultural economics and the accounting cycle. Students learn that economics is about the decision making process that arises from our unlimited wants for limited resources. By the end of the course, students are able to explain major economic concepts and identify these concepts in our everyday life along with the knowledge of the main financial statements.

Working for the Office of Diverse Learner Supports & Services at Chicago Public Schools Central Office.

• Led 4 Merchandise Planning teams within Whitehall to meet plan objectives and manage the sales task of $260M annually for Diamonds, Gold, Gems and Watches.• Monitored monthly Open-To-Buy, inventory & receipts plan, made recommendations to adjust forecasts based on performance and trends.

• Drove the Lumber and Plumbing Department ($7.8B in sales annually) Inventory, Fill Rate and Instock results by managing an inventory team towards a plan of $2.2B annually.• Received The Home Depot Associate of Excellence Award for outstanding execution of the FY 2008 Business Planning Season.

• Managed, planned and executed a sales task of $500M a year for 1550 Target Stores through the creation of impactful, compelling assortments in the Small Appliances department.• Strategically analyzed and developed contingency plans with national floorcare vendor for September 2006 nationwide circular front cover which yielded $15.3 million in total sales for the Housewares Division, 55% above forecast – largest front cover in Target history.• Under the direction of Target Senior Leadership, led Target Steering Committee to convert the nation’s largest small appliance vendor into a “Target Strategic Partner”.• Recipient of the Target Senior Vice President’s Award for Outstanding Leadership, Excellence and Execution in the Merchandising Pyramid.• Developed and executed a company-wide strategic business plan to drive incremental sales and reduce unproductive inventory through rotating temporary price cuts in downtrending categories.• Wrote daily purchase orders for over 50 national vendors; proficiency in over 55 replenishment systems.• Developed over 300 nationwide circular promotions for the Housewares Division..• Negotiated a 25% increase in margin (46% over LY), directly impacting downtrending business environment for small appliances through strong vendor partnerships.