PROGRAM
WELCOME
Emily Kos
Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana, Advisory Board Member
OUR ROLE IN EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
Anajah Roberts
Executive Director, Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana
FIRESIDE CHAT
Anajah Roberts
Executive Director, Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana
Briana Jocelyn
Assistant Principal and Founding Teacher, KIPP One Academy
THE POWER OF NOW
Steve Ritchie and Hilary Chidi
Advisory Board Members, Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana
DONATE
Your investment enables our work to find, develop, and support equity-oriented leaders who transform education and expand opportunity with children, starting in classrooms across Greater Chicago-Northwest Indiana.
OUR SPEAKERS
Anajah Roberts
Executive Director, Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana
Anajah Roberts was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and attended public schooling throughout her K-12 education. Her personal experiences navigating the educational system in Chicago shape her lifelong conviction and commitment to educational equity. Anajah began her professional journey in education 11 years ago as a Teach For America corps member teaching middle school English in St. Louis. At the conclusion of this commitment she returned home to continue the work joining Teach For America’s staff on the teacher leadership and development team as a coach. For three years Anajah enjoyed the opportunity to develop novice educators as culturally responsive teachers and leaders, specifically within the community context in which they taught. Before acting as the interim executive director at Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana, Anajah served as the vice president of corps member leadership where she fused many elements of the work that she loves such as culturally competent leadership development, leading teams to pursue bold visions, and co-creating a focused and mission-aligned culture to achieve impact.
Anajah holds a BA from DePauw University and a MA in Secondary Education from the University Missouri-St. Louis. Anajah is an ICF certified professional coach through the Blooming Willow Community Coaching program, a healing-centered curriculum focused on transformation and collective liberation.
Briana Jocelyn
Assistant Principal and Founding Teacher, KIPP One Academy
Briana Jocelyn is an Assistant Principal and founding teacher at KIPP One Academy in Chicago, Illinois. Originally from Davenport, Iowa, Briana graduated with her degree in Education from the University of Iowa in 2012. Upon graduation she taught for two years as a Teach for America corps member in Gary, Indiana. Since then, she has led the reading team at KIPP One Academy as the fifth grade literacy centers' teacher, seventh grade U.S. history teacher and literacy content team lead. Her students led the network in reading results for four consecutive years and she was awarded the Harriett Ball Excellence in Teaching Award in 2019. Briana is passionate about helping teachers develop their effectiveness and is proud to work at a school full of fiercely dedicated, hardworking teachers who put students first.