Lisa Vahey, an education nonprofit consultant, is moving closer to family and to start a new job with Breakthrough Schools, a charter school network in Cleveland, Ohio.   Vahey is a former director of the Chicago New Teacher Center and of the New Teacher Network at the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago.  Vahey has also served as an area reading coach for Chicago Public Schools.   

Oliver Sicat, has been named CEO and president of Edvocate, the charter management organization overseeing USC Hydrid High School in Los Angeles.  Sicat is a former chief portfolio officer for Chicago Public Schools and the founder of University of Illinois at Chicago College Prep, a campus of the Noble Street Charters Schools.  USC Hybrid High, now in its first year, is a charter school authorized by the Los Angeles Unified School District and designed and built by the University of Southern California Rossier School.  Sicat is an USC alum.

Tony Anderson is the new board chair of Perspectives Charter Schools.  The current board chair, Larry Ashkin, will be become chair emeritus.  Anderson is a former vice chair and managing partner for the Midwest area of Ernst & Young.  While he was at the firm, Anderson build a corporate/school partnership with the schools.

 Cristina Pacione-Zayas is the new education director at the Latino Policy Forum.  Previously, Pacione-Zayas was the culture of calm coordinator at Roberto Clemente Community Academy. Before that, she was the community schools director at Enlace Chicago. 

 The Chicago Math and Science Academy earned second place in the senior division at the 10^th Annual Concept Schools Science and Engineering Fair in Cleveland, Ohio.  In addition, Academy students Cesar Ayala and Safa Slote received gold medals for their environmental science projects; Teliane Bakala and Winifred Obanor received gold medals in physics. Amanda Hyde (zoology), Muhammed Aftab (physics), Milosz Tomaszewski (chemistry), and Ayesha Mirzakhail (botany) won best in their category. Michelle Lopez and Anthony Lazcano received silver medals.  Over 500 students from the Midwest competed. 

 Nine Chicago Public School teachers have been named finalists for Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching, which this year are recognizing high school teachers:  Scott Galson, Payton College Prep; Joanna Hoglund, Solorio Academy; Elizabeth Copper, Lindblom Math & Science Academy; Katherine Dube, TEAM Englewood Community Academy; Dennis Kass, Infinity Math, Science and Technology High; Sandra Shimon, Prosser Career Academy; Ronald Towns, Fenger Academy; John Lydon, Epic Academy and Ernesto Salvidar, Jones College Prep. There are 32 finalists in all. 

Alicia Menchaca de Cerda has been named vice president of development at SGA Youth & Family Services, replacing Leslie Inch, SGA’s former senior vice president.  Formerly Menchaca de Cerda was the director of corporate and foundation relations at Loyola University.  She was also a senior program officer at the McCormick Tribune Foundation. 

Katelyn Silva, the communication director at the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute is moving back to her hometown in Rhode Island to become communications director at the National Academy of Advanced Teacher Education.  Taking over communication duties is Communications Manager Seong-Ah Cho.

The Chicago Math & Science Academy’s middle school robotics team, RoboMinds, won two trophies at the First Lego League Robotics Illinois Regional Tournament. The trophies were for the best robot performance and best robot design and programming. 

This year’s Dolores Kohl Education Foundation teacher award winners are: John Kuijper, Bronzeville Scholastic Academy High School; Folasade Adekunie, Northwest Middle School; and Abigail Weber, Horatio May Community Academy Elementary School. Diane Ravitch, a former U.S. assistant secretary of education, received the Foundation’s first annual Kohl Education Prize.

Felipa Mena, a Community Organizing and Family Issues parent leader, received national recognition for her work at the Wells High School Peace Center through a $1,000 grant from the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation. Mena is the lead peacemaker at the Wells Peace Center, managing a multiracial and bilingual team of parents who provide peace circles for students from the West Town, Cabrini, and Austin communities.

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy is opening a field office at the Beasley Academic Center. Through the new office, IMSA will offer professional development in math and science instruction, provide after-school, weekend and summer programs for students and coordinate math and science programs with local organizations.

Katherine McKnight, a professor of secondary education at National-Louis University’s College of Education, has received a Teacher’s Choice Award for “The Teacher’s Big Book of Graphic Organizers.” Bestowed by Learning Magazine, the award recognizes “the very best in classroom-tested, teacher-recommended products.”

Christopher Cassirer-Malaeb is the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Management and Business at National-Louis University. Previously, Cassirer-Malaeb was president of Capella University in Minneapolis. He also taught at Johns Hopkins University and was an associate professor and endowed chair of health care management at the University of Minnesota.

Tony Pugh, a teacher at Woods Math and Science Academy in Englewood, has been named a 2012 Law-Related Education Teacher of the Year by the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago. The award recognizes outstanding educators for their commitment to teaching, competence in their field, concern for student development, encouragement of students’ abilities to think critically, leadership among colleagues and general efforts to promote civic learning.

Action Now’s Grow Your Own Teachers Program received a 2012 Rose Duhon-Sells Program Award from the National Association for Multicultural Education. Action Now is a convening member of the Grow Your Own teacher preparation program. The award goes to programs that meet the needs of a diverse population, offers a curriculum that responds to the diversity of the nation and fosters connections between home, school and the community.

Elliot Regenstein joins the Ounce of Prevention Fund as senior vice president for advocacy and policy.  Regenstein was one of the chief architects of the Illinois 2006 Preschool for All Program while he served in the governor’s office as director of education reform. He will be responsible for leading the fund’s national policy consultation practice and coordinating its overall state and national policy efforts.

Maureen Kelleher has been named a knowledge manager at the Network for College Success at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. Kelleher will document the network’s transformation efforts under the federal school improvement grant program at Hancock and Wells high schools.  Previously, Kelleher was a contributing writer for Education Week and an associate editor at Catalyst Chicago.

Jones College Prep High and Lane Technical High schools have been named 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.  The award is bestowed on public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement.  This year, 21 schools in Illinois received this award.

Mario Perez has been named interim executive director of El Hogar Del Nino, which provides comprehensive bilingual/bicultural early childhood development programs for infants, preschool, school-age children and their families. Perez began working with the organization last year on a project basis and served on the board of director’s finance committee.

Former CPS general counsel Patrick Rocks has become a partner in Jackson Lewis, a law firm in White Plains, N.Y., where he will focus on public sector and education law.

The following assistant principals became principals at their schools: Elvia Garcia-Graham, Spry; Pamela Green, Yates; Linda Johnson-McClinton, Calhoun North and; Andrew McIntosh, Black. Farragut Interim principal Tonya Hammaker stepped up to principal, as did Keller acting principal Delena Little.

Markey Winston is CPS’ new chief officer for the Office of Special Education and Supports. Winston is the former director of student services in Cincinnati Public Schools. Before that, she was a school psychologist and a mental health consultant in Cincinnati. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton, the University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University.

Luis Soria, a former principal at Mitchell Elementary, has been appointed chief of schools for the Midway Network. He is a National Board certified teacher who served as an advocate for teachers seeking National Board certification.

Jennifer Vidis, deputy chief of Alternative Schools and Pathways, has been named chief of the Alternative School Network. She also served as acting chief area officer for Area 30.

Nathan Pietrini, the assistant principal of Ogden Elementary, is now principal of Hawthorne Elementary.

Zipporah Hightower has been named managing director of programs for the Chicago team at New Leaders. Hightower is a former principal of Kellogg Elementary and of Bethune Elementary, an Academy for Urban School Leadership turnaround school. Allison Wagner, managing director of New Leaders, is leaving the organization in August. Wagner recently moved to Milwaukee to live closer to her family. She will become director of growth for Schools that Can in Milwaukee and will help bring national charter organizations to the city and develop teachers and school leaders for those organizations.

Richard Jones has been named senior vice president of community investment at United Way of Metropolitan Chicago. He will be responsible for the leadership, planning, execution and measurement of the organization’s strategic investment in the community under LIVE UNITED 2020. Jones was administrator of employment and family Services at the Child Support Enforcement Agency for Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Before that, he was president and CEO for Metropolitan Family Services for 13 years.

Anna Clarke has been named vice president of marketing and engagement for United Way. Clarke was vice president of marketing and communications at the Chicago Zoological Society, the non-profit conservation organization that manages Brookfield Zoo. She has also held senior marketing positions at BP, Bank One, Coca-Cola and Pizza Hut.

Catching up on board actions at the last two meetings, here’s a roundup of new principal contracts Stephen Ngo, Steinmetz High, formerly principal at World Language Academy; Tawana Williams, Brighton Park, formerly assistant principal at Faraday; Wendy Oleksy, Columbus, formerly principal at Marquette; Maureen Ready, Portage Park, formerly instructional support leader in the Ravenswood-Ridge Network; Gregory Jones, Kenwood, formerly interim principal at Kenwood.

And the following assistant principals became principals at their schools: Mary Kay Cappitelli, Taft High; Michelle Ludford-Naggatz, Beaubien; Trina Tucker, Harold Washington; James Cosme, Falconer; Christopher Dignam, Lane Technical High; Ruth Martini, Addams; Nathan Pietrini, Ogden and Donna Oberhardt, Edison.

Urban Students Empowered, a program that works with teachers to help students enroll and stay in college and graduate, got a makeover this month. The organization is now OneGoal and plans to branch out to Houston. The program identifies, trains and supports teachers who work with underperforming high school students to help them reach their full potential and graduate from college.

George Washington High School student Christopher Loehrke placed first in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Chicago 9^th Annual Citywide Business Plan Competition. Aja Beckham and T’erra Williams, students from Perspectives Leadership Academy, came in second. The three competed against 1,500 CPS students citywide. Loehrke is the founder of Signature Skating, a custom skateboard business. Beckham and Williams co-founded Lip Splash, a custom-made lip gloss party for young women. The three will compete in NFTE’s National Youth Entrepreneurship in New York in October.

Jay Travis is now a program officer at the Woods Fund of Chicago. For more than a decade, Travis was the executive director of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), one of the city’s oldest grassroots organizations.

Butch Trusty has been named senior program officer for the Joyce Foundation’s Education Program, and Jason Quiara is the foundation’s new Program Officer for Education. Both will join the staff in June. Trusty currently is a manager with The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit strategy consulting firm in New York City. He has worked with a wide range of nonprofit and philanthropic organizations focused on education reform and policy change, including two large urban school districts; the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation; the Education Equality Project; and the NAACP LDF. Quaira is from Jobs For the Future, a Boston-based national nonprofit organization that helps states strengthen their education and workforce development policies. As Senior Project Manager for state policy development and advocacy, Quiara has led a multi-state initiative aimed at improving secondary and postsecondary education outcomes for low-income and minority students.

Warren Chapman, vice chancellor for external affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago, is moving over to Columbia College, where he will serve as senior vice president, overseeing the transition to a new president in two years and responsible for marketing, communications, media, planning, compliance and research. Chapman is a member of the Catalyst Editorial Advisory Board and the board of Community Renewal Society, the publisher of Catalyst.

Attallah Wilson, a senior at Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy, and Stevie Bailey, a senior at Chicago International Charter School (CICS) Longwood, were winners of the 7^th annual citywide business plan contest sponsored by the Future Founders Foundation. Attallah won in the products and services division for Stick and Zips, a product that helps keep opened food fresh. Stevie won in the tech