Alliance Facilitators
For information on the Chicago Schools Alliance please contact any of the following facilitators:Kim Zalent, Director, Public Education Initiative,
Business and Professional People for the Public InterestEmail: kzalent@bpichicago.org
312-759-8258
Kim Zalent brings strong skills and deep experience in organizing to the work of education reform. As Executive Director/Lead Organizer and Senior Education Organizer for the South Bronx Churches/IAF, Kim co-led the effort to create 19 new small public high schools. She was the founding organizer of Lower Manhattan Together. Previously, Kim led Chicago-based initiatives that included the Organization of the NorthEast (ONE) and the Pilsen Resurrection Project (now the Resurrection Project), and coordinated a national Lutheran anti-apartheid and disinvestment coalition. Kim holds a B.A. from Valparaiso University.
Maureen Kelleher, Education Consultant,
Business and Professional People for the Public InterestEmail: mkelleher@bpichicago.org
312-759-8242
Maureen brings ten years of education reporting and experience as a high school English teacher to the Alliance. As a reporter for Catalyst Chicago, Maureen covered high school reform efforts and charter schools, winning three national public service awards for her stories. Before entering journalism, she taught in a variety of settings, including two programs for returning high school dropouts. Maureen is a graduate of Yale University and earned a master's in teaching English from the University of Chicago.
Steve Zemelman, Director of School Innovation and Planning,
Illinois Network of Charter SchoolsEmail: szemelman@incschools.org
Steve Zemelman has helped to start a number of small, innovative schools in Chicago and consults on literacy instruction across the country. Formerly, he directed the Center for City Schools at National-Louis University. Zemelman is co-author of numerous professional books on teaching, including Best Practice: Today’s Standards for Teaching and Learning in America’s Schools (with Harvey Daniels and Arthur Hyde); Subjects Matter: Every Teacher’s Guide to Content Area Reading (with Harvey Daniels); and History Comes Home: Family Stories Across the Curriculum (with Pat Bearden, Pete Leki, and Yolanda Simmons).
