Elissa (she/her/hers) has a passion for both working with young people and striving to create policies in service of education equity, as she believes deeply in every student’s right to an equitable and excellent education. She spent five years as a 9th grade English teacher, first in Harlingen, TX, and most recently in Chicago, IL. She has also engaged in several state-level policy initiatives, including work on the Illinois State Board of Education’s Diverse and Learner Ready Teacher Network and Illinois Professional Educator Competencies Committee. She was a 2018-19 Teach Plus Illinois Teaching Policy Fellow and served on Advance Illinois’ Educator Advisory Council for two years. She was also a 2020-21 Chicago Foundation for Education Action Research Leadership Institute Fellow. She completed her BA in English and BS in Secondary Teacher Education at Drake University and received her M.Ed. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
What I Do
Support and strengthen our member and partner advocacy organizations by tracking, analyzing, and sharing resources and facilitating connection opportunities.
Reach out to me about
Collaborating on finding and understanding research, data, and legislation; connecting with folks across the country thinking about and working on similar issues.
When I'm not at Work
You can find me reading, swimming in Lake Michigan, in a dance class, or enjoying a Chicago patio.