Leadership

Our management team and board of directors oversee all of the organization's efforts, ensuring that UTRU continues to deliver on its core values and provide dedicated service to the partners.

UTRU Staff

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Anissa Listak, Executive Director

Anissa Listak has 15 years of experience in the private and non-profit sectors. Before founding UTRU in 2007, Anissa worked at the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) as Director of Development & Community Relations, where she experienced success in raising several million dollars for their Residency program. Prior to joining AUSL, Anissa worked for City Year, and helped to bring the organization from a $1 million deficit to a surplus through board development, organizational capacity building, marketing efforts and a comprehensive citywide effort to raise awareness of City Year's work. She has direct experience in business and non-profit development, organizational capacity building, fundraising, strategic planning and board development. Anissa has a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Dayton and a Master of Science in Public Service Management from DePaul University. As Executive Director, Anissa directs the daily operations of UTRU, as well as national fundraising efforts, policy and advocacy, and network development.

Tamara Azar, Policy Director

Tamara Azar has focused on state and federal education policy around educator quality, preparation, training, and evaluation for more than 12 years. As a consultant for the US Department of Education she has had extensive experience in education policy and the educator lifecycle, especially the critical role of teachers and school leaders to change school climate and impact student achievement. Tamara's work on the teacher quality provisions of ESEA, HEA, and the Teacher Incentive Fund provides her with a unique K-16 perspective on the impact of well-trained and high-performing teachers. Tamara taught special education for two years in New Orleans with Teach for America. After teaching, she received a Master of Education Policy from the University of Virginia and holds a Bachelor's in English from Mary Washington College. As Policy Director, Tamara is working to develop UTRU's first policy agenda and advocating for network partner programs within the changing landscape of state and federal education teacher policy.

Vernee Green, Residency for Residencies Program Director

Vernee R. Green has nearly 15 years of experience in the education and nonprofit sectors. She has worked as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools, a guidance counselor and Director of the Office of Student Life at a charter school on Chicago's west side, and an adjunct faculty member at Triton Community College and Governors State University. She has also worked on policy issues at the state level. Most recently, Vernee worked in the School of Education at Dominican University, where she was responsible for developing partnerships between the university and school districts throughout the Chicago region and helped to restructure the curriculum with an emphasis on school-based field experiences. Vernee earned a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University, and a Master of Arts from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, where she was a recipient of the McCormick-Tribune Fellowship in Urban and Community Leadership. As the Residency for Residencies Program Director, Vernee is responsible for the development and implementation of UTRU's signature program, the RRP.

Duane Davis, Partnerships Director

Duane Davis has over 14 years of experience in education. His career in education began as a Teachers for Chicago fellow at Walter H. Dyett Middle School. He served as a classroom teacher in Chicago Public Schools for six years before leaving to take a tenure track faculty position at Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. At Malcolm X College, Duane served as the Chair of the Communications and Fine Arts Department, the largest academic unit at the college, which at the time served over 2000 students and had over 40 faculty members. He also served as a faculty member at Kennedy King College and as an instructor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois. Throughout his tenure as a classroom instructor, Duane has created and maintained partnerships as a volunteer or consultant with several Chicago educational institutions so he brings a breadth of experience to the UTRU team. Duane has a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in English, a Masters in the Art of Teaching from Columbia College Chicago, a Master of Arts in English from Loyola University Chicago and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Chicago in Curriculum and Instruction. As Partnerships Director, Duane is a key member of the UTRU leadership team and is responsible for developing the vision and setting priorities for engaging all partners in the UTRU network.

Sonia Mathew, Network Manager

Sonia Mathew has over 10 years of experience in the education and non-profit sectors. She began her career as a Director of Education and Program Manager with Public Allies Chicago, where she trained, supported and managed a diverse group of young adults apprenticed to local community organizations. After Public Allies, Sonia trained and supported teachers on utilizing a public policy curriculum focused on developing student activism and advocacy for the Mikva Challenge. She most recently worked as a social studies teacher at North Lawndale College Preparatory Charter High School, where she created and implemented new core courses for freshmen and sophomore students. Sonia has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts in education from DePaul University. As Network Manager, Sonia is managing the UTRU Network, connecting UTRU partners and working to build a strong, nationwide network of high-quality Residency programs.

Christine Brennan, Program Manager

Christine Brennan has worked in urban public education for the past five years. Most recently, Christine served as an English Language Arts Instructional Coach in Chicago Public Schools. In this role, she supported high schools in the implementation of an inquiry-based curriculum. In addition to planning and facilitating citywide professional development, she provided school-based support to teachers in the form of observation feedback, model lessons and co-teaching. She also assisted teachers in the use of formative assessment data to drive instructional decision-making. Before becoming a coach, Christine took an alternative route to teacher certification by participating in the New York City Teaching Fellows program, where she spent two years teaching high school English in Brooklyn. Her background in teaching also includes time spent as a Humanities teacher at Salem Academy Charter School, a school focused on college preparation and service to the community. Christine earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Colby College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brooklyn College. As a member of the RRP team, Christine supports and consults emerging Residencies, and takes a lead role in developing and delivering curriculum for RRP institutes.

Diana Clark, Finance and Operations Manager

Diana Clark has more than five years of experience in the education and non-profit sectors. She began her career as a Teach For America corps member in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where she taught middle school language arts for three years. Prior to joining UTRU she was the founding Campus Director of the Citizen Schools after school program at Sharpstown Middle School in Houston, Texas. There she extended the school day for 85 middle school students, supervising seven staff members and building community among teachers, administrators, students, families, and volunteers. Diana has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Spanish from Indiana University. As the Finance and Operations Manager, Diana manages the daily operations of the office to maximize productivity and oversees organization finances.

UTRU Board of Directors

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Joanna Jacobson (Chair)

Managing Director
Strategic Grant Partners

Tom Boasberg

Superintendent
Denver Public Schools

Tim Cawley

Managing Director
Academy for Urban School Leadership

Bob Hughes

President
New Visions for Public Schools

Tim Knowles

Lewis-Sebring Director of the Urban Education Institute
The University of Chicago, Urban Teacher Education Program

Jesse Solomon

Director
Boston Teacher Residency

Rosann Ward

President
Public Education & Business Coalition
Boettcher Teachers Program