The National Center for Urban Education (NCUE) through the Chicago Teacher Education Pipeline (CTEP) partners with five communities in Chicago. The five neighborhoods are Albany Park, Auburn Gresham, East Garfield Park, Little Village, and Pilsen. In each neighborhood NCUE work with a community liaison from a community-based organization.
In Albany Park, we partner with the North River Commission; in Auburn Gresham with Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation; in East Garfield Park with Breakthrough; in Little Village with Latinos Progresando; and in Pilsen with The Resurrection Project. We invite you to get to know our community liaisons!
I began working with Chicago schools as an arts education administrator at the Goodman Theatre and was inspired by the wonderful teachers and teaching artists I met and got to work with. It made me see how essential community relationships are for a thriving education system. I am driven to continue to support the educators, students, and families of our Albany Park area and to help create a more equitable education environment.
Education and community are better together! I am privileged to work alongside residents to help elevate these factors in East Garfield Park. embrace the opportunity to deepen the asset-based narrative of our west side community and continue to work on dismantling the negative one.
I was born and raised in Little Village. I am a volunteer, community organizer, and youth worker in my neighborhood. From food pantries to recruiting at risk youth for summer jobs with the Chicago Park District, to organizing a Covid relief fund of $11,000 for immigrant families in Little Village; all within a one month span my community is my why. Seeing activism in my community from shutting down a coal plant to hunger strikes for a high school to be built shows me there is an ongoing lucha in my community. Como dice el dicho, “Born from the struggle, and the struggle continues.”
Besides my time at TRP and community development work, I’ve been involved in organizing within my own community at home and during my school years. The most exciting thing about my position is the connections made through networking to get projects done. My previous professor at UIUC got me interested in getting involved with the causes I cared about; with work and school management, I had to make the time for those things, and I’ve never regretted it.
I work to provide a quality education and a quality life for children in Auburn Gresham. That can be anything from making sure students are showing up to school every day, afterschool programming, career building workshops for the parents and much more. It brings me joy knowing that I can support families in reaching their goals, small or big.
