Board
Our Board
Christine Chen is a Director at McDonald's, leading a Restaurant Culture team that focuses on the employee experience strategies of the Crew across all restaurants in the United States. Prior to joining McDonald's, Christine led change management teams in the Life Sciences industry at Deloitte. She also started off her career as a high school Performing Arts and Reading Teacher at a Noble Street Charter School through Teach for America. Christine has been involved with Great Lakes Academy since 2017, and began her role as a Board Member in 2023. She holds an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management and a B.A. in Neuroscience from Wellesley College.
Duane B. Davis, Ph.D. has spent almost three decades teaching, leading, coaching and consulting at a variety of schools and organizations in Chicago and nationally. He recently served as the Executive Director K12 Education Initiatives in the Office of the President at the University of Chicago which includes directing the Chicago Public Schools My Very Own Library Program with 17 local elementary schools and connecting local schools to resources at the university. He also ran the national My Very Own Library Program that focused on literacy, equity and families in five states and in the Dominican Republic. He completed his Ph.D. in Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a focus on early career teachers and runs Raising Expectations LLC, a consulting firm that works with schools, nonprofits and businesses around the country. He currently serves on the boards of Children’s Literacy Initiative, Chicago Positive Impact, Bronzeville Classical Elementary School and Great Lakes Academy. Dr. Davis cares deeply about the experiences of our students in every city, nationally and globally.
Brad Karsh is the Founder and CEO of JB Training Solutions, a company dedicated to helping workplaces thrive. Brad is a public speaker, corporate trainer, and author of three business books including Manager 3.0: A Millennial's Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management. Prior to creating JB Training Solutions, Brad spent 15 years at advertising agency Leo Burnett in Chicago. He received a B.A. in History from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. and resides in Chicago with his wife Lisa and three boys.
- Gloria Gibson serves as the Chief Financial Officer of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Before joining the State of Illinois in 2015, Gibson served as City Comptroller and Director of Finance for several local municipalities within Illinois from 2003 to 2015. Gibson is an active member of Government Finance Officers Association (Women in Public Finance) and National Forum for Black Public Administrators (Former) Fiscal Secretary Chicago Chapter. Gibson holds a Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from DeVry University. She lives in Suburban Cook County with her family.
Ira Rigaud is the Associate Director of Implementation for Assessment for Good based in Oak Park, IL. As a former teacher, he is grateful for the opportunity to work with schools and communities to help them find ways to better serve their students. Prior to joining AFG, he was a Partner Success Director with Ellevation, a company that builds software to serve English Learners throughout the country. He also co-led an elementary school as the Director of Operations at North Star Academy in Newark, NJ. He taught for eight years, most recently as a founding teacher at Ocean Hill Collegiate Charter School in Brooklyn, NY, part of the Uncommon Schools network. He was a 2004 Teach for America Corps Member in the Bronx, and also worked for TFA training and developing new teachers as a curriculum specialist at TFA’s Summer Institute. Ira speaks Haitian Creole and received his Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and an MBA from the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor.
Karen Leavitt is a lifelong educator and independent school leader with more than 25 years of experience in teaching, faculty development, and school administration. Most recently, she served as Interim Head of School at Bernard Zell, following earlier roles there as a divisional leader, mentor, and classroom teacher. Throughout her career, Karen has been deeply engaged in curriculum and instructional leadership, strategic planning, enrollment, family engagement, and school operations. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University and a master’s degree in Teaching and Learning from DePaul University.
Erika Nicole, MA. is a Chicago educator, parent of two, and longtime advocate for students and families. Her daughter has been a Great Lakes Academy scholar since kindergarten, giving Erika the opportunity to experience the school community as both a parent and now as a member of the Board of Directors. With more than a decade of experience in education, Erika currently works with high school students on college and career readiness and has a strong background in family engagement, student advocacy, and postsecondary access. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and is currently pursuing her Ed.S. in School Psychology. Erika is passionate about strengthening partnerships between families, schools, and communities and ensuring that parent voices remain an important part of decisions that impact students.
Adeline Ogbor, RN, BSN is a Chicago native and the parent of two Great Lakes Academy scholars, Azariah and Alyzah Mercer. Her family has been part of the school community since its founding in 2014, with her eldest daughter graduating in the second class of the school’s history. Adeline serves on the Board of Directors and as President of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC). She is a Charge Nurse in the Operating Room at UChicago Medicine, specializing in trauma surgery, and is currently pursuing her Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) degree at Walden University.
Matthew Sloan is a Senior Associate at Seyfarth Shaw LLP in its Chicago office, where he specializes in labor-management relations, workplace health and safety, and whistleblower litigation. Matthew holds a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from the Duke University School of Law. Matthew has been involved with Great Lakes Academy since 2017, and began his role as a Board Member in 2024.
Nicole Woodfork, LSW, MSW is a native South Chicago resident. She holds a Masters with Honors in Social Work from the University of St. Francis and a Bachelors in Social Work from Northeastern Illinois University. For many years, Ms. Woodfork has worked in various capacities as a social service professional, contracted through the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Ms. Woodfork has also served on a Parent Advisory Committee at Larabida Children’s Hospital and was very instrumental in the development of GLA's Power Parents group. Ms. Woodfork and her husband, James, are the parents of two daughters, a recent GLA graduate, and a soon to be graduate. Ms. Woodfork is a licensed social worker and is currently the Mental Health Coordinator/Supervisor at Family Focus in Hyde Park and South Shore.