Our Team

Corrie

(she/ella)

Corrie Wallace is a multilingual anti-oppression educator and consultant dedicated to building collaborative partnerships that enrich the lives of marginalized people through community outreach locally and internationally. She’s taught Spanish at ETHS (Evanston Township High School) and UWCSEA (United World College of South East Asia) as well as English at Kogai Shogako, a Japanese public school in Tokyo. Corrie is an Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University and was the founding director of the Niles Township Schools' ELL (English Language Learner) Parent Center helping adults learn how to navigate U.S. schools and the township’s first Equity Director.  She was the Chicagoland Coordinator for the National SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Project and introduced SEED to Niles Township schools in 2014 at the high school level. She went on to share it in the elementary schools and in the  neighboring community where she co-facilitated the inaugural SEED seminars in Evanston/Skokie School District 65, the Skokie Public Library and through Evanston’s Cradle to Career, as well as at the Latin school in Chicago. Corrie is a founding member of the Illinois Coalition of Educational Equity Leaders. She trained with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond which has been providing Undoing Racism workshops since 1980. She’s also a PEG Affiliate who’s led Beyond Diversity seminars along the North Shore and has conducted cultivating consciousness and inclusion trainings for nonprofits, community organizations, businesses and libraries.  Corrie was a member of the 3rd delegation of Seattle-Limbe’s Sister City Association which delivered sustainable feminine hygiene kits that enable girls in Cameroon, Africa to stay in school while on their periods, as well as teaching about reproductive health and African-American history.  She is the Founder and Executive Director of corrie LLC, Cultivating Opportunities for Respectful Reflection on Identity through Education. Corrie has a BA in Women’s Studies and Spanish from the University of Michigan and an MA in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University. She loves to travel, read and enjoy good food. 

Ivette

(she/ella)

Dr. Ivette M. Dubiel is the Founder/CEO/Chief Equity Officer for Systemic Educational Equity, LLC, wherein she provides a wide range of equity-focused support and services to school districts, such as Equity Audits, Equity Action Plans, coaching/mentoring, and a robust listing of professional development sessions. She has served as the Executive Director of Equity and Professional Learning for the DuPage Regional Office of Education, Director of Educational Equity for Indian Prairie School District 204, Assistant Director for Community Unit School District 308 and has also served as a classroom teacher. Dr. Dubiel currently leads the Illinois Coalition of Education Equity Leaders and was a member of the Illinois State Board of Education, Diverse and Learner Ready Teacher Network. Dr. Dubiel has attended and presented in state and national conferences on equity and social justice. She currently serves as an Adjunct Professor teaching diversity, social justice and critical transformative leadership at two universities - Lewis University and Aurora University. Dr. Dubiel has faciliated equity-topics to a wide range of participants including partnerships with the YWCA Evanston/North Shore, Recently,  Dr. Dubiel was selected to serve as the Community Leadership & Equity Advisory Council for U.S. Representative,  Lauren Underwood, of the 14th District.  Dr. Dubiel has a unique career background as an  Investigator with the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards and with the State of Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General. She was the founding president of the Illinois Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents and has written several blogs for Huffington Post ‘Latino Voices’.  Dr. Dubiel has three master degrees and a doctorate. Her terminal degree and research emphasized transformative leadership towards equity and social justice. Ivette and her husband are working hard everyday to raise their two teenage children.

Ushma 

Dr. Ushma Shah is the Superintendent of Oak Park Elementary School District 97.  In her former School District U-46, the second largest district in the State of Illinois she served as a member of the Superintendent’s Cabinet since 2011. Her scope of work has ranged from supervision of the district’s 40 preK-6th grade elementary schools and the Departments of English Language Learners, Early Childhood and Assessment & Accountability to concentrated school transformation work at Title I sites formerly designated as being in federal restructuring status.  During her 28+ years of experience in the field of public education, Ushma has held positions as a teacher, principal, principal supervisor, adjunct professor and curriculum designer.  Ushma focuses on equity, standards-based leadership & using reflective practice to get at both. Her goal is to make sure school leaders are thinking about how our professional practice supports the academic success of all students, ensuring that an explicit commitment to students historically under-served by public schools is hard-wired into what we do every day. Ushma has served on several statewide professional groups including the Illinois Advisory Committee for Bilingual Education and the Illinois College/Career Pathways Endorsement Education Committee .   Ushma earned a Bachelor's degree in Educational Studies and Anthropology from Knox College, a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois and a Doctorate from the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard University.  She is currently pursuing a Chief School Business Official endorsement.  When no one is looking, Ushma writes poetry and dreams of being a gardener.

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