Book Talk-UNCHARTERED: How one public high school transformed first-generation college success

Erika Kitzmiller, PhD, studies historical and contemporary policies and practices that contribute to inequality and identifies solutions to end it. She is the author of Unchartered: How One High School Transformed First-Generation College Success (Harvard Education Press, 2026) and The Roots of Educational Inequality: Philadelphia’s Germantown High School, 1907-2014 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022). She studies historical and contemporary policies and practices that contribute to inequality and identifies solutions to end it. She is committed to inquiry-driven, practice-based methods to advance educational equity and social justice. She is a Research Associate Professor at the University of Chicago’s Crown School for Social Work, Policy, and Practice’s Urban Education Institute, a non-resident fellow at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center, and a research affiliate with Gordon Institute for Advanced Study at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Erika has worked as a public and independent school administrator and teacher, and regularly consults with businesses, schools, and non-profits. She has also served on the boards and advisory councils of the Institute for Immigration Concerns, The School at Columbia, Athena Center for Women’s Leadership, and Barnard Center for Research on Women. She earned a Ph.D. in History, a Ph.D. in Education, Culture, and Society, and a Master's in Public Administration at the University of Pennsylvania, and her B.A., magna cum laude, in History and Italian from Wellesley College.

Dominique “Dom” McKoy is the Executive Director of the Kersten Institute for Urban Education's To&Through Project, which strives to create equitable education outcomes for Chicago Public Schools students by helping educators use data for inquiry and impact. 

Through his work, Dominique aims to ensure that education and community leaders in positions to affect student outcomes from the middle grades through college have access to high-quality quantitative and qualitative data to understand student experiences better and to inform the development of responsive student supports. As a leader, he is passionate about facilitating public dialogue and partnerships that focus on disrupting inequitable systems and developing postsecondary pathways that students can access with agency and dignity. 

Krystal Payne serves as the Executive Director at the Kersten Institute for Urban Education's Network for College Success (NCS). She leads a staff of talented and committed leaders toward truly transforming educational and life outcomes for students in Chicago and across the nation by building the capacity of educators to use research and evidence-based practices that are the most predictive indicators for graduation from high school and success in college. She brings with her leadership over 30 years of experience as a teacher, school leader, team and school leadership coach, and consultant.