The Chicago Public Education Fund Welcomes Auyana Orr to Its Board of Directors
NOVEMBER 19, 2021 – Today, The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) announced the election of Auyana S. Orr to its Board of Directors. Orr is the Director of Community Affairs for Ariel Investments and has served on The Fund’s Leadership Council since 2018.
Orr oversees corporate sponsorships and charitable giving and acts as a liaison between Ariel Investments and Ariel Community Academy, an elementary school serving 500 students in pre-K through eighth grade on Chicago’s South Side.
Through her work with Ariel Community Academy, Orr has gained valuable insight into the unique opportunities Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and their leaders provide to students. This experience will serve her well as she joins a Board of corporate, civic, and education leaders dedicated to creating equitable outcomes for Chicago public school students, something that has long been at the core of Orr’s own career.
“I am excited to join a Board that believes so fully in the power of leaders to transform schools,” Orr said. “In the private sector, we recognize the importance of leadership. For some reason, that often doesn’t translate to schools. I look forward to engaging in the work of raising the cache of what it means to lead a school. We can’t put a value on educating young minds.”
Before joining Ariel, Auyana worked at Chicago Public Schools for 11 years. Her positions at CPS included School Improvement Coordinator, Data Strategist, and Manager of Data Analytics in the Chief Education Office, where she managed project plans related to calculating the School Quality Rating Policy (SQRP) for all schools and specific measures used in teacher evaluation. Beyond her role at Ariel, Auyana serves on the board of the Sue Duncan Children’s Center, as a steering committee member of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank’s Financial Services Pipeline Initiative, and as an advisory council member for Urban Alliance in Chicago.
“Auyana has long been an important partner in our work,” said Fund CEO Heather Y. Anichini. “Over the last three years, she has pushed us to think differently about how we define the role leaders play in their schools. Auyana brings a wide range of experiences in both the public and private sectors to the Board, and her perspective will drive our work forward in new and ambitious ways. We are fortunate to have her continued support.”
Auyana received her B.A. in Political Science from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and her M.P.P. with a concentration in Education Policy from the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago.
About The Chicago Public Education Fund
The Fund is a nonprofit organization that improves public schools in Chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them. We are a catalyst for accelerating student learning and a long-standing leader in identifying and scaling what works for not only teachers and principals, but also their students. To learn more about the principals we serve and the work we do, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
For more information, contact:
Elizabeth Greiwe, The Chicago Public Education Fund