Who Are We?
Board of Directors
Elisabeth Davis
Elisabeth began volunteering with the Chicago Freedom School in 2009, attracted to its commitment to popular education and youth empowerment. Since graduating college in 2007, she has participated in a variety of alliance-building efforts to support social change both in the United States and abroad. Currently, she holds the research analyst position at St. Augustine College, a bilingual non-profit institution based in Chicago.
Demond Drummer, Special Events Committee Chair
Bio coming soon.
Nicole Jurek, Co-Chair
Nicole manages Elev8 programs at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Chicago. She also serves on the Senn High School Strategic Planning Committee. Over the past ten years, Nicole has worked with youth and adults in crisis intervention, advocacy, violence prevention, and youth development. In 2007, Nicole earned a Master’s degree in Education. She believes that a more just world begins when we utilize self-reflection and communal learning to create our collective future. This philosophy brings Nicole to the Chicago Freedom School.
Jacky Luna
Jacqueline began her connection with the Chicago Freedom School (CFS) as an intern in 2008, while she attended UIC’s Jane Addams College of Social Work. Upon graduating in 2009, Jacqueline searched for the intentional, self-reflective, and healthy work environment that CFS provided. During her search, she continued to organize with the Chicago Dyke March Collective and began to volunteer for Rape Victim Advocates as a Medical Advocate. In 2010, she found Violence Recovery Services, where she provides counseling for trauma survivors. Through her position here, she is also able to explore transformative and restorative justice approaches to address violence. Jacqueline is humbled to be on the CFS board and is committed to CFS’ foundation and continued growth.
Naomi Milstein
Naomi began volunteering with the Chicago Freedom School as a librarian in 2008. Prior to that, she worked in Indianapolis, Detroit, and the Mississippi Delta to support youth-led research and action for equitable education and racial justice. Naomi currently works with the Restorative Justice Program at Alternatives Inc. where she helps high schools implement restorative approaches to suspension and detention. Naomi attended the University of Michigan where she studied cultural anthropology and earned a Masters in Social Work with a focus on community organization.
Eva Nagao, Co-Chair
Eva became interested in the transformative powers of pedagogy working with youth on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border to develop dynamic models of popular education in immigrant communities. Eva began her involvement with the Chicago Freedom School as a volunteer librarian and was immediately drawn in by the powerful intergenerational alliances at the Freedom School. Since moving to Chicago, she has played a variety of roles as an advocate in immigrant communities in the city. Eva now works as a paralegal for Loevy & Loevy, a civil rights law firm, as well as working with their University of Chicago affiliate, The Exoneration Project.
Mauricio Pineda
Mauricio is an Ecuadorian immigrant who came to the United States four years ago. His life as a world citizen has been soulfully marked by an instinctive necessity to silently scream his freedom through visual expression. Back in Ecuador he supported ethnic communities to develop their own media, so they can have the power to generate information that’s relevant to their everyday life. Mauricio and his family, like many families in Ecuador, were victims of an oppressive system that establishes ignorance as a strategy to privilege certain social groups; as a result he fostered the belief that education is a real means to liberate individuals. However, growing up in a third world country, he also learned to understand that power dehumanizes individuals and that change can only be achieved when the oppressed acts with love to regain their rights without dehumanizing themselves. Mauricio is currently enrolled at Columbia College Chicago pursuing a masters degree in Art education. His aspiration as an art teacher is to deliver lessons that go beyond simply acquiring a skill to transcend to a level where creativity, freedom, responsibility and critical thinking meet to transform the dynamics of our society and bring peace to every soul.
Chez Rumpf, Human Resources Committee Chair
Chez has been committed to the anti-domestic violence struggle since 2000, when she volunteered at a domestic violence shelter in Chicago through her participation in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Urban Studies Program. Since graduating from college in May 2001, she has worked in a variety of roles at domestic violence agencies in Chicago and was a case manager at the Center for Conflict Resolution, a non-profit organization that provides free mediation services. Chez currently is a doctoral student and an instructor at Loyola University Chicago’s Sociology Department, as well as a research assistant with Loyola’s Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL). Chez earned her master’s degree in Sociology from Loyola in August 2008. Her master’s thesis was a qualitative study of Chicago’s domestic violence courthouse. Through her work and research, Chez has become increasingly aware of the need to challenge all forms of oppression, as well as to develop alternative strategies to respond to social injustices. She strongly believes that youth must be at the center of this work.
Mary Scott-Boria
Bio coming soon.
Christian Totty
Christian moved to Chicago in August 2008 to work with youth who are wards of the state of Illinois. In the fall of 2008 she was introduced to the work of the Chicago Freedom School (CFS) by attending, and eventually, facilitating Theatre of the Oppressed workshops. From that day forward, she has been blessed with the opportunity to become more involved. Christian views CFS as a mindful, passionate, and multigenerational education and leadership development center where youth and adults can learn about how to collectively empower and engage each other, as well as their respective communities, and she has sincere respect for the hard work and commitment of the youth, staff, volunteers, and board members. Christian was invited to join the CFS Board of Directors in the summer of 2010, and is so excited for the awesome adventures ahead! It is her goal to utilize her knowledge and experience in popular education, theatre, and healing to support the growth of this dynamic organization.
Mari Williams, Secretary, Board Development Committee Chair
Mari has held many leadership positions that have impacted her community in a positive way. Her organizational affiliations include the Mahdi Theatre Company and Hands Off Assata. Mari stands by the motto “when you know better you do better” and she values work with intergenerational activist groups. She believes that education equals motivation and with that principle the nation is guaranteed a brighter future.
Ilana Zafran, Treasurer
Ilana Zafran grew up in a Jewish community that valued and was committed to social justice, and chose to pursue these ideas after graduating college by participating in Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps. After completing Avodah in 2007, Ilana began working for Umoja Student Development Corporation, where she currently serves as the Director of Leadership and Justice. Through her work, Ilana has developed an immense passion for working with schools, communities, and young people. Ilana heard about the Chicago Freedom School over an email, and was immediately attracted to their commitments to justice, capacity building, popular education, and their focus on uniting and training individuals and communities to address oppression. Ilana believes that the work of CFS fulfills a critical niche, not just in Chicago, but nationally, serving as a catalyst for individuals of all ages to become powerful agents of change and profoundly impact our world.
Founders and Previous Board Members
Kristen Atkinson – January 2008 – June 2010
Kevin Brown – Founding – December 2009
Lamont Boswell – Founding – December 2009
Quinton Davis – June 2009 – June 2010
Keisha Farmer-Smith – Founding – December 2010
Wendy Harvell-Vendel – June 2006 – December 2007
Ansheera “Ace” Hillard – January 2008 – December 2009
Mariame Kaba – Chair of the Board of Directors – Founding – December 2010
Carrie Kaufman – January 2009 – December 2010
Lesley Kennedy – Founding – June 2007
Micaiah Kline – Founding – December 2009
Kevin Kumashiro – January – December 2009
Francie McGowan – January 2008 – December 2010
Jobi Petersen – Founding – June 2006
Alex Poeter – Founding – December 2007
Yunuen Rodriguez – January 2007 – June 2008
Shamone Shelton – June 2009 – June 2010
Melissa Spatz – Founding – December 2007
Nadeja Wesley – Founding – December 2009
Daisy Zamora – Founding – December 2008
Kristiana Zerom – June 2006 – December 2008