Heather Y. Anichini

As the President and CEO, Heather drives The Fund’s work to make Chicago the best city in America to lead a public school. She believes that leaders matter and has raised nearly $90 million to support that belief. She is responsible for hiring, supporting, and keeping the city’s most talented nonprofit team, and is proud of The Fund’s positive reputation for strong execution, unwavering belief in educators, and steadfast partnership. She fosters The Fund’s existing partnerships with stakeholders, including educators, investors, Chicago Public Schools, and other nonprofit leaders.

Heather came to The Fund from Teach For America, where she spent six years co-creating support for educators across the nation. She helped launch dozens of programs for teachers who wanted to pursue leadership roles, make policy changes, and innovate within and beyond the classroom. She began her education career working on Chicago’s West Side. After completing her graduate thesis on Umoja Student Development Corporation, a nonprofit school-community partnership based at Manley High School, she taught middle school social studies at Goldblatt Elementary School.

Heather serves on the advisory board for Teach For America Chicago-Northwest Indiana and mentors several new executive directors in Chicago. She is a member of both the Economic and Commercial Clubs of Chicago, as well as a member of The Chicago Network. She completed executive leadership training at both Harvard Graduate School of Education and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and has a doctorate in Education Leadership. Heather is a certified teacher, administrator, and superintendent in Illinois, and regularly teaches at the college level.

Outside of work, Heather juggles her family of six with her husband, a former biology teacher and football coach at Farragut Career Academy. Their lives are very full . . . and very loud.