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ABOUT US
Our team is courageous, compassionate, cooperative, creative, and tenacious.
We bring an asset-based approach to each partnership with the goal of ensuring that all students engage in liberated learning - learning that is not only academically rigorous, but also affirms student identity, prepares students socially and emotionally, and creates meaningful opportunities for students to explore their interests and shape their communities.
We are hiring! Contact us if you're interested in joining our team.
WE
BELIEVE
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Students deserve liberated learning experiences.
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Authentic partnerships with families and communities are essential.
3.
Leaders and teachers must have a roadmap and robust structures to support their growth.
To engage students in liberated learning that draws on the assets and uniqueness of each school community.
OUR MISSION
To fundamentally change the way leaders partner with school communities to reimagine and implement liberated student learning experiences.
OUR VISION
How It All Started
LiberatED Way emerged from Academy for Urban School Leadership's learnings from over 15 years of transforming neighborhood public schools in Chicago. Our work began as a pilot within the AUSL network to embrace innovation in school improvement.
How We Developed
We have leveraged our learning to develop our LiberatED Way model, a school revitalization partnership approach tailored by and for each school community. Our LiberatED Way team serves as a strategic partner to schools and districts nationally who believe in the power and potential of a community-driven approach to school improvement.
What We Can Do For Your School or District
Our experienced team of current and former school and systems-level leaders works arm in arm with your leadership team to:
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Inclusively design a whole-child vision for the student experience
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Establish and sharpen foundational structures for culture and instruction
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Foster authentic family and community partnerships
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Create robust leader and teacher development systems aligned to the desired student experience
OUR TEAM
Martin’s ultimate goal and aspiration in life is helping others, especially young people, unlock the self-efficacy and courage they need to live their purpose. He hopes to make the most out of every day, whether that’s by helping to unearth a critical insight with a client, enjoying a cocktail or two with his wife, or driving home the game-winning run on the softball field.
Prior to LiberatED Way, Martin led an array of strategic teaching and learning priorities at Tulsa Public Schools. Key projects included the design and implementation of the Tulsa Way for Teaching & Learning and associated teacher development roadmap, revamping the district’s novice teacher experience, redesigning report cards to drive more meaningful engagement with students and families in their academic and social-emotional learning progress, and implementing the district’s first learning management system. Prior to his work at Tulsa Public Schools, Martin was a Manager at Deloitte Consulting, leading projects across a variety of industries including higher education. Martin is a proud graduate of the Broad Residency in Urban Education, received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and graduated with a BA in Comparative Literature from Williams College.
Martin has a unique affinity for karaoke (specifically early 90s R&B) and the New York Yankees. He’s also a superfan of TV series’ The Wire and Sopranos.
MARTIN GREEN
General Manager
Ulric Shannon believes that school can be a transformational experience where educating is the practice of freedom and schools are hubs for healing. As a product of Chicago Public Schools, he attests his professional and personal success as a Black man to the adults, in and out of school, that provided meaningful moments that enabled him to show up complete and whole. Ulric dreams of the day that we redefine student success that allows all students to gain the confidence needed to instinctually believe that they are enough in every space.
Ulric began his career in education with Chicago Public Schools as a 3rd-grade teacher. His experience in the classroom is when he realized his calling was to disrupt the current way of educating students and provide them with an 11-star educational experience that enabled all students to thrive. His leadership and passion took him to Chicago Public School's Office of Local School Council, where Ulric developed and led the family and community engagement strategy for over 90 schools. In this role, he recruited, trained, advised, and coached Local School Councils, Parent Advisory Councils, and school & district leaders in making sure that all decisions are made in the best interest of children and representative of the communities' voices. Before joining AUSL, Director of External Affairs at Civitas Education Partners. served as the Managing Director of Recruitment for Teach For America.
Ulric volunteers on the Chicago Scholars and Chicago Debates Associate Boards. He is a Surge Institute Alum, Chicago Urban League/ University of Chicago Booth School of Business Impact Fellow, Posse Scholar, and University of Illinois Civic Leadership Fellow. Chicago Scholars recognized Ulric as one of Chicago's 35 under 35 making an impact in Chicago. And he is a proud University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Alum, where he received his bachelor's and master's degree in Political Science. He has two additional master's degrees in Teaching and Business Administration.
Like a true Chicagoan, he loves deep dish pizza, and you will never find ketchup on his hot dog. As a kid, he wanted to be the President of the United States, and now, as an adult, he realizes that even as a kid, all he wanted to do was work that would change the world, and working in education, he is allowed to do just that - every day! So, when he finds some free time, he enjoys traveling the world, cooking, and watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit marathons.
Director of Purpose
ULRIC SHANNON
Molly Leger is the Manager of Strategic Initiatives for the LiberatED Way team. Her work is energized by a mission to ensure all students have access to high-quality, identify-affirming educational experiences that set them to successfully navigate and change the world. As a former teacher, she believes in the power of teachers, leaders, students, and community members to lead their schools towards equity and a holistic definition of excellence. She knows all students deserve nothing less.
As the Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives, Molly works across projects to support program leads, continuous programmatic improvement, and business development. Prior to joining the LiberatED Way team, Molly served as a researcher, non-profit director, educational program evaluator, and a school improvement specialist. In these roles, she’s supported non-profits, philanthropic foundations, schools, and districts in vision-building, strategy-alignment, and organizational capacity-building. But, to date, her most challenging and rewarding role was her work as a middle school educator. She holds a Master’s in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s in Instruction, and professional certificate from the University of Michigan in Leading Educational Improvement & Innovation.
MOLLY LEGER
Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives
Shelby works tirelessly to ensure that all students are able to unlock their potential. Shelby works with educators around the country to help schools, leaders, teachers, and parents to grow practice, make connections, and create sustainable systems designed to guarantee student success.
Shelby leads the design, rollout, and ongoing refinement of LiberatED Way content leveraged in the team’s district and school partnerships. Shelby began her education career as a special education teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. After the death of Freddie Gray, the importance of educational equity was cemented for her as a critical component to any education work. She realized that without true honesty about the education system and the role we all play, students in Baltimore would never have an opportunity to chart their own path forward. After leaving the classroom Shelby led teacher and leader development and high quality curriculum implementation work at TNTP. Her partner districts included Baltimore City Public Schools, Guilford County Public Schools, Tulsa Public Schools, and Chicago Public Schools. In addition to bringing a depth of expertise in establishing structures to catalyze rigorous, equitable instruction in schools, Shelby is also adept at leading research-based diversity, equity, and inclusion work across schools and organizations. Shelby is a graduate of Judson University in Elgin, IL and graduated with a BA in Human Services and Walden University where she received a Master’s of Science in education with a focus on Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Shelby is also a proud Fellow of the 2020 Surge Institute - Chicago Cohort, The Disruptors.
Shelby is an avid sports watcher and Baltimore Ravens super fan! She started singing before she could talk and frequently leads the congregation at her church in song, and loves to spend quality time with her family - especially her partner and college-age daughter.
SHELBY HILDRETH
Chief Program Officer
Rick believes that teachers truly can unlock the potential in students that will make them change the world. As a first year teacher Rick lacked the support that he needed to be successful which is why he is so passionate about supporting teachers in this work. Rick has been a founding teacher at 2 high performing charter schools in Chicago where he served in a variety of instructional leadership roles such as Department Chair, Resident Principal, Testing Coordinator, etc.
Before transitioning to the Advisory Services team in 2018, Rick spent several years working for AUSL as an instructional coach and curriculum and development coach. In this work Rick has been instrumental in supporting teachers and school leaders across the AUSL Network with the implementation of a Common Core curriculum and data driven instruction. He has also designed professional development for teacher and school leaders across the network. Rick holds two Master's Degrees. One in School Leadership from Concordia University and another as a Masters of Arts in Teaching from National Louis University in Chicago.
When he is not busy trying to support teachers who are trying to change the world, Rick spends his time living in Las Vegas where he likes to get outside and enjoy Las Vegas by hiking and attending as many live music events as he can.
RICK JAGER
Teacher Development Partner
Dina McReynolds Everage believes and is committed to the belief that birth does not dictate destiny. Education enhances the “life chances” of an individual. She feels it is her moral responsibility to provide all children she is privileged to serve the same quality of education she was afforded and demands for her own children. One of her most memorable experiences was teaching a third-grade class full of students that the school had deemed low achievers. By the end of the semester, all of the students were on grade level and six of those children were on the “gifted” spectrum. Her students out scored all of the third grade students in the district on the standardized test and were asked to retest... only to perform better! This early moment in her career ignited a passion that grew like wildfire and has yet to be extinguished. There is very little you can tell her about what children cannot do when the conditions are right.
Dina has spent her entire career creating those conditions and proving that all children, when given the correct opportunities, experiences and exposure can achieve their life’s goals. After graduating college, Dina’s first job was working with the Boys and Girls Club in Chicago’s inner city providing social and emotional support for her team of children. From there she began working as a third grade teacher in District 160 in Country Club Hills. She then transitioned into Chicago Public Schools holding positions as a Middle School teacher, Math Coach, Assistant Principal and Principal in two of the most challenging communities in Chicago. Throughout her career, not only did she create unmatched school communities for her students, she created dynamic work experiences for her teachers. As a result, she has had the opportunity to watch them flourish and become high level school leaders in CPS and across the state.
Dina holds a Masters Degree and multiple certifications in Education. This career educator entered her first classroom at 21 and has spent the last 30 years doing her “life’s work!” Now, this rewired educator is fully committed to developing the next generation of school leaders to continue championing the work for children who “need” school.
When Dina is not managing programs for AUSL, she continues to immerse herself in the culture of youth by helping many of her “old” students become great parents, productive entrepreneurs and community leaders. But greater than any accomplishment, although widowed unexpectedly, her young adult children have become Amazing Humans who are fully contributing to their chosen professions. Khylah, a recent graduate of Howard University (‘21) with a BA in Strategic and Legal Communications, is a Development Officer and Khalil is a working actor who has already had significant roles. And that, to her, is her greatest work!
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." -John Quincy Adams
DINA EVERAGE
Leadership Development Partner
Christine Diaz, School Systems Leadership Subject Matter Advisor- Christine is a Leadership Development Partner on the LiberatED Way team. As part of her role, she supports and builds capacity among school leaders and teachers across various schools and school districts. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise in systemic leadership, change management, data driven leadership and is passionate about educational equity. Christine brings 19 years of K-12 educational leadership experience in traditional district, charter schools, and alternative schools with a strong record of results. Prior to joining LiberatED Way, Christine has served in a variety of roles: Principal, Assistant Principal, Chief Education Officer for one of the largest K-12 Charter networks in Chicago and most recently, as VP of Schools for IDEA Public Schools in Ft. Worth, TX. Christine holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology, a Masters in Educational Leadership from Northeastern Illinois University. In addition, she is a proud alumn of both New Leaders for New Schools and the Surge Institute.
CHRISTINE DIAZ
Leadership Development Partner
Zataya is a mission driven educator who has committed the past 25 years to advocating for equitable academic experiences for black and brown youth. She firmly believes that a child’s zip code should not determine the quality of their academic or enrichment opportunities and that every child deserves a highly qualified and caring teacher throughout the course of their time as students.
Zataya graduated with a bachelor of science degree in Psychology with a focus on adolescent development and a minor in English from Saint Mary’s College of California. At 21 years of age, Zataya began her teaching career in California’s Bay Area. She taught 6th grade language arts and social studies for three years at Vallejo Unified School District. While it wasn’t the first time she was confronted with the fact that the disparities in access to a high quality education and high quality teachers disproportionately affected black and brown children, it was as a first year classroom teacher with little resources and even less training, Zataya began to realize the systems of power and privilege that were at play.
With the understanding that there was more to learn about public schools and education as a system, Zataya moved to Chicago in 2002 to study at DePaul University’s School of Education in Education. She earned a Master’s of Education degree in Social and Cultural Foundations in Education.
Over the next two decades, Zataya has worked as an advocate of equitable educational outcomes. She was a founding teacher at ACE Technical High School and founding Dean of Students of Noble Street High School-Rauner College Prep. She has served in various school level and network level leadership roles, including principal and Director of Strategic Supports at CICS-Civitas Education Partners. Recently, Zataya founded the role of Director of Youth Development at Thrive Chicago, a non-profit organization focused on life-sustainable outcomes for Black and Brown youth in Chicago. As a project manager at Thrive Chicago, her work focused on social-emotional and mental health care support for school aged youth.
Zataya is the mother of three girls, a member of two book clubs and is passionate about ending childhood food insecurity through her volunteer work at Beyond Hunger, a food pantry in Oak Park, Il.
Zataya Shackelford
Program Director
Dr. Huff is a Leadership Development Partner on the LiberatED Way team. In her role, she supports and builds capacity among school leaders and teachers across various schools and school districts. She believes that equitable outcomes for all students can be realized through proper alignment of policy, curriculum, instruction, data, research, and resources. She leads successful teams by leveraging individual expertise, identifying solutions for adaptive or technical problems, and providing support to build capacity within teams.
She brings 13 years of experience in leadership, coaching, and instructional capacities at the school and district level. She began her career in education as a tutor for the 21st Century Learning Program and then became a Science Teacher in East St. Louis, Illinois. Following several school closures, she went on to become a Physics and Biology Teacher at Confluence Preparatory Academy in St. Louis, Missouri where she started her first administration position as Dean of Students. Dr. Huff returned to East St. Louis School District as the District Science Content Specialist, leading the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards and curricular development for the district. She participated in several competitive leadership development programs with the American Institute for Research and New Leaders. She then served as an Assistant Principal for several years at both the middle school and high school level before leading as Principal at a middle school during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Huff teaches as an Adjunct Instructor at Southern Illinois University and previously taught at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Dr. Huff holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching and her Education Specialist in Education Administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She was recognized as the 2015 SUIE School Leader of the Year. She served on the Illinois State Board of Education Assessment Content & Bias Review Team and the Diversity in Teacher Pipeline Task Force funded by the McCormick Foundation and National Center for Urban Education. She was an Organizer of the 2015 “St. Louis Student Summit on Race” following the death of Michael Brown and she was a panelist at the Illinois Association of School Board Members Joint Annual Conference.
DR. DANIELLE HUFF
Leadership Development Partner
Jessica is excited to serve on the LiberatED Way team as a Strategy and Implementation Partner, working to realize our team’s vision of fundamentally changing the ways leaders engage school communities to reimagine and implement liberated learning experiences for all students. In her role, she directs the contextualized implementation of the LiberatED Way model in multiple geographies by identifying core challenges, establishing project goals, milestones, and activities, managing towards goals adaptively, designing and facilitating high-quality professional learning and coaching experiences, and leveraging data for continuous improvement.
In her nearly fifteen years of nonprofit and education experience prior to joining the LiberatED Way team, Jessica has worked as a district leader and nonprofit director to design and implement district-wide strategies and project plans, manage multi-million dollar budgets, facilitate professional learning and continuous improvement cycles, and lead teams to provide high-quality learning experiences in and out of the classroom. She considers herself to be a compassionate questioner, a strategic connector, and a steady supporter- always looking for ways to improve practices, tools, and systems to better meet the needs of the individuals, families, organizations, and communities she serves. A deeply Hopeful person, she grounds her work in the power of community and believes it takes all of us- youth, educators, families, community organizations- to create and sustain the conditions in which young people are able to find their purpose, set and achieve goals, develop, grow, and thrive. Jessica is a proud Social Worker, having earned her MSW from the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work at the University of Oklahoma, and graduated with a bachelors in Educational Psychology from Oklahoma State University. Additionally, she holds several DEI, continuous improvement, and emotional intelligence facilitation and process certifications.
Jessica is a proud citizen of the unconquerable Chickasaw Nation- Chikasha poyakat iláyya’sha katihma!- and is dedicated to finding ways to honor indigenous wisdom in her life and work. In her free time, you can find Jessica reading, illustrating, listening to podcasts, planning trips, spending time with her husband and their two dogs, or enjoying an outdoor patio with friends!
JESSICA STITTSWORTH
Strategy and Implementation Partner
Sarah Cohen
Program Director
Sarah Cohen is a Program Director for the LiberatED Way team. She is committed to working at the intersection of urgency, equity and a people-first mentality to accelerate student achievement. Informed by her first career as a journalist and subsequent years of working with stakeholders across educational spaces, Sarah believes in the power of communication and relationships to create systemic change and disrupt inequities.
As a Program Director, Sarah provides leadership oversight and partnership to project teams implementing the LiberatED Way approach with clients and partners. Prior to joining the team, Sarah served as a nonprofit leader, programming designer, state education specialist and teacher. In these roles, she has overseen organization-wide strategy, scaled high quality teacher preparation programs, and managed multi-million dollar grants. Her passion for liberated learning is rooted in her experiences teaching third and fifth grades at a dual-language elementary school.
Sarah holds a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, and a professional certificate in project management. Sarah lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, daughter and two spoiled dogs. She loves traveling and the Denver Nuggets.
Sarah Cohen is a Program Director for the LiberatED Way team. She is committed to working at the intersection of urgency, equity and a people-first mentality to accelerate student achievement. Informed by her first career as a journalist and subsequent years of working with stakeholders across educational spaces, Sarah believes in the power of communication and relationships to create systemic change and disrupt inequities.
As a Program Director, Sarah provides leadership oversight and partnership to project teams implementing the LiberatED Way approach with clients and partners. Prior to joining the team, Sarah served as a nonprofit leader, programming designer, state education specialist and teacher. In these roles, she has overseen organization-wide strategy, scaled high quality teacher preparation programs, and managed multi-million dollar grants. Her passion for liberated learning is rooted in her experiences teaching third and fifth grades at a dual-language elementary school.
Sarah holds a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, and a professional certificate in project management. Sarah lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, daughter and two spoiled dogs. She loves traveling and the Denver Nuggets.
Erica Wright
Strategy and Implementation Partner
Erica is a Strategy and Implementation Partner on the LiberatEd Way team. She has over 15 years of experience working with schools and nonprofits that serve our most vulnerable youth. Erica is a firm believer that equity in education is one of the most fundamental ways to level the playing field. While our young people are our most valuable asset, it takes an entire village to come together to ensure their success.
Erica is a practicing Mental Health Therapist and prior to joining the LiberatEd Way team, she served as a counselor and Restorative Justice Facilitator in schools and organizations in several cities throughout the country. She holds a B.A. in English and Black Studies, a Masters in Education for Counseling Psychology- as well as Certificate in Mental Health Therapy.
Aquabah Gonney-Buckner
Leadership Development Partner
In a pursuit to change the status quo and strive for transformational change through innovation, Aquabah Gonney-Buckner has dedicated her career to teach and lead in urban schools. As a teacher in both New York City Public Schools and Chicago Charter Schools, Mrs. Gonney learned the importance of having strong teachers to support students struggling with academic achievement and trauma. She realized that the best way to transform schools is through leadership. After completing the Aspiring Principals residency with the New Leaders organization, Mrs. Gonney joined the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL). She became the Principal of Lewis School of Excellence, a turnaround school on the north-west side of Chicago that had been failing for over two decades. During her time as Principal, she transformed Lewis into a Personalized Learning school, through Leap Innovations, and provided students with an individualized approach to education. She established systems for social emotional learning support, restorative practices and trauma informed training for staff and families. She was featured for her work and her push for Habits of Discussion in the final chapter of “How Schools Work” by Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education under President Obama. During the pandemic, Mrs. Gonney was featured in the Chicago Public Fund’s Principal Response to the Pandemic report for their bi-weekly culturally responsive teaching professional development for teachers and staff to discuss diversity, inclusion and equity in education.
Her push for a personalized approach to education, culturally responsive practices and social emotional learning systems set a new standard of excellence for students and a new vision of what school could be. Lewis School of Excellence moved from a Level 3, Intense Support to a Level 1, Good Standing (according to the Chicago Public Schools Quality Rating Report), achieved a 4.2% increase in student attendance and a 82% decrease in student discipline infractions from 2016.
For the last 4 years, Mrs. Gonney-Buckner has worked with LiberatEd Way to help educators improve their practice. As a leadership partner, Aquabah Gonney-Bucker consults district leaders, principals, and teacher leaders to support their efforts in improving their school communities.
