Celebrating the Kersten Institute for Urban Education

Program Speaker

Paul Alivisatos is the 14th president of the University of Chicago and the John D. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Chemistry, the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, and the College. A celebrated chemist and accomplished administrator, he previously served as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost at the University of California, Berkeley, and as Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

A pioneer in the field of nanoscience, President Alivisatos has made groundbreaking contributions to the synthesis and application of nanomaterials, including innovations used in biomedical imaging and renewable energy. He has authored more than 400 publications and holds over 50 patents. His honors include the National Medal of Science, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, and the Priestley Medal. A University of Chicago alumnus, he earned his BA in chemistry from UChicago and his PhD from Berkeley.

Program Speaker

Deborah Gorman-Smith, PhD, is Chief Strategist for Community Engagement and Partnerships at the University of Chicago and the Emily Klein Gidwitz Professor and Dean of the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. For more than two decades, she has advanced research to understand and prevent youth violence, leading studies that examine its developmental impact and evaluate community- and family-based interventions.

Before joining the University of Chicago, Dr. Gorman-Smith was a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois–Chicago and served as faculty director of the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and numerous foundations.

A past president of the Society for Prevention Research, Dr. Gorman-Smith is an elected fellow of the Society for Prevention Research, the American Society of Criminology, and the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Program Speaker 

Dr. Ming-Te Wang is a Professor at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and Faculty Director of the University’s Urban Education Institute. His research focuses on understanding and improving youth learning and development across diverse ecological contexts, with an emphasis on equity, opportunity, and inclusion.

Dr. Wang’s work addresses educational and health disparities among historically marginalized youth and informs policy and practice to promote academic and social-emotional well-being. He applies psychological science through longitudinal, strengths-based research that highlights how sociocultural contexts shape development and educational outcomes.

Widely recognized for his scholarship, Dr. Wang has received national and international early- and mid-career awards from leading organizations in child development, education, and psychology. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and ranks among the top 1 percent of highly cited researchers in the social and behavioral sciences.

Interview Facilitator

Seth Green is the Dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago. He brings a career spanning higher education, nonprofit leadership, and social enterprise to his work advancing innovative lifelong learning opportunities.

Before joining the University, Green was the founding director of Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility, where he launched a nationally ranked MBA program and new initiatives in social innovation. Earlier, he led Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.), guiding a $16 million campaign to build a state-of-the-art youth center.

Green began his career at McKinsey & Company and holds a J.D. from Yale University, master’s degrees from Oxford University and the London School of Economics, and a BA in politics from Princeton University. He serves on several civic and philanthropic boards in Chicago.

Presenter

Beth Swanson is the CEO of A Better Chicago, where she leads efforts to fight poverty by investing in organizations and leaders creating opportunity for Chicago’s youth. Under her leadership, the organization has invested more than $83 million in innovative youth-serving nonprofits, reaching over 135,000 students.

Previously, Beth served as Vice President of Strategy and Programs at The Joyce Foundation, where she oversaw a $50 million annual portfolio, and as Deputy for Education for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, guiding the city’s education policy. She has also led the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation and held senior roles at Chicago Public Schools.

Beth holds a BA in English and American Studies from Amherst College and a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. She is Vice Chair of the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees, serves on the board of the Partnership for College Completion, and is a member of the Illinois P-20 Council.

Panel Moderator

Paige Ponder is the Senior Executive Director of the Kersten Institute for Urban Education at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. She works closely with Faculty Director Ming-Te Wang and the leaders of the five organizations that comprise the Institute to lead field-building research and partner with communities and practitioners to improve student outcomes at scale.

Paige has been a leader in education for two decades, including her tenure as CEO of One Million Degrees from 2012 to 2021 and her earlier roles at Chicago Public Schools, where she focused on ninth-grade on-track success and district-wide student support. Her work has consistently centered on designing practical, research-informed strategies to remove barriers for students.

Paige holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a BA from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. She lives in Chicago with her husband, their three sons, and their dogs, Wally and George.

Panelist

Dr. Fatima Cooke is the Chief Equity Officer for Chicago Public Schools, bringing more than two decades of pre-K–12 experience in school and system-wide transformation. She leads efforts to identify and address inequities in policies and programs, closing resource gaps and removing barriers to high-quality academic opportunities.

A proud graduate of Chicago Public Schools, Dr. Cooke is committed to ensuring that all students receive the education they need to thrive. Her experience as a teacher, instructional coach, and administrator gives her firsthand insight into the challenges faced by students and families.

Before her current role, Dr. Cooke served as Network 5 Deputy Chief and as Principal of Sumner Math & Science Community Academy in North Lawndale. She holds a Doctorate and Ed.S. from National Louis University and an M.S. from Chicago State University. Her roles as an educator and mother fuel her dedication to supporting leaders in disrupting inequities and fostering authentic community engagement.

Panelist

Dr. Janelle R. Goodwill is a Neubauer Family Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Her research focuses on promoting mental health and preventing suicide among Black Americans by exploring how strengths such as hope, social support, and meaning in life can protect against adverse outcomes.

She is the founder and director of the Positive Urban Research and Prevention of Suicide Experiences (PURPOSE) Lab, which develops accessible resources to address racial disparities in mental health care and supports the well-being of residents on Chicago’s South Side.

Janelle currently leads a school-based suicide prevention intervention for Black students in Chicago, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. This pilot program reflects her commitment to advancing evidence-based, community-centered approaches to improving mental health outcomes.

Panelist

Dominique McKoy is the Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s To&Through Project, which works to create equitable education outcomes for Chicago Public Schools students by helping educators use data for inquiry and impact. He focuses on ensuring that education and community leaders have access to high-quality data to understand student experiences and develop responsive supports.

Dom is passionate about fostering public dialogue and building partnerships to disrupt inequitable systems and create postsecondary pathways that students can access with agency and dignity. Originally from Portland, Oregon, he began his career in Chicago in 2011 as a mentor and educator for ninth-grade young men on the city’s South Side.

Before his current role, Dom served as Director of School Partnerships at OneGoal Chicago and as Deputy Director of the To&Through Project, which he joined in 2018. He holds an MPP from the University of Chicago’s Harris School and a BA from Kenyon College. Dom also serves on the board of Project OneTen, a mentoring program supporting young men of color in their transition to high school.