Who We Are

Arianna is our Lead Director of Recess. She oversees recess strategy and partnerships.

Arianna came to her role at UI because she has always been passionate about helping people. As a graduate of an underserved CPS school, Arianna knows the importance of helping students recognize their ability to achieve their goals, and she sees sports-based youth development as a powerful tool to motivate young people.

Growing up, Arianna played two sports that molded her into the person she is today.
Basketball helped her understand the importance of being a part of a team. Track taught her discipline.

Jackson first attended Loyola and then graduated from Tulane with a degree in International nonprofit management and Economics. Prior to his time at Urban Initiatives, he worked in Argentina and worked with the Catholic Charities of Chicago. Jackson is now excited for his new role as take the lead program manager.

Paul provides strategic leadership and planning in collaboration with senior leaders, staff, board members, and advisors to oversee UI’s fulfillment of its vision, mission, and strategic plan, fostering of values, and management of internal and external operations. Since earning his B.A. from Northwestern University, Paul has dedicated his professional career to improving outcomes for young people, including as a teacher, nonprofit professional and executive leader, and school district administrator. Beyond UI, Paul enjoys time with his amazing wife, Christine, and their three daughters on the South Side.

Lakita Chandler is a mom of 3 intelligent, beautiful young ladies. Her passion and joy for working with youth goes back to her childhood when she was always the teacher or mom. She’s been a volunteer and cheer coach with CPS for 6 years. She is so excited to be apart of the UI team and to continue to fulfill her passion of empowering our youth.

Julie is the Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Urban Initiatives. She dedicates her time to developing strategies to actualize our mission and vision-driven plans. She provides internal organization leadership.

Julie’s entire career has been dedicated to recreation-based youth development. She studied education policy at Brown University, and ever since, she has aimed to address inequities in opportunities for young people to develop outside of the classroom. Julie
originally got involved as a volunteer coach with UI in 2008 and quickly learned that she would add more value by developing systems to help our organization grow.

Julie loves to play backyard games with her three kids. From soccer, to baseball, basketball, and to jump rope, you will often find her outside playing!

Adrians is an Indianapolis, IN native. She graduated from Butler University with a B.A. in Journalism. Prior to joining the UI team, she worked for Sigma Nursing. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with her pup, Monte.

David is a dedicated professional with a strong background in education and community development. Formerly a Physical Education teacher at CPS, David’s passion for fostering growth and well-being has now led him to his role as the Program Manager (OST) at Urban Initiatives in Chicago. His tenure as a PE teacher at CPS allowed him to witness firsthand the transformative power of sports and physical activity in young lives, laying the foundation for his commitment to creating positive change.

Ruby has been in education for the past 8 years teaching Spanish and Physical Education. She was also the head Track and Field coach. She is currently completing her Master’s at NEIU in Higher Educational Leadership through a fantastic program designed to prepare leadership that will create change responsive to the educational needs of Latinx students and an increasingly diverse college student population. Some of her interests include restorative practices, social justice, trauma-informed teaching, self-care, and collaborating with stakeholders to create change.

Jim graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Political Science. He started his professional career as a substitute teacher at Cabrini-Green’s Byrd Academy, where the inspiration for Urban Initiatives began. Jim serves on the Governor’s Council on Health and Physical Fitness and is a member of Leadership Greater Chicago’s 2014 class. He is in his eleventh year as a professional soccer coach for the Wilmette Wings Soccer Club. Jim oversees the day-to-day external operations of Urban Initiatives.

Diana was born in the northside of Chicago and moved to the Pilsen neighborhood at the age of five. As the daughter of Mexican Immigrant parents, she is proud of her Mexican heritage. Diana has experience coordinating one of the largest Latino festivals in the Midwest, and is a leader in her community, passionate about youth empowerment. She is excited to continue working and investing in the Chicago communities to empower the youth and our children to become leaders. In her free time, Diana enjoys traveling, spending quality time with her family, and cooking.

Yolanda Givens is Chicago born but grew up and lived the majority of her adult life in the Los Angeles area. This University of California, Irvine (UCI) alum, has over 20 years of experience in the K-12, Higher Education and Nonprofit Sector. Yolanda has a wealth of knowledge and experience with the Community Schools Initiative model and is excited to now join the team at Urban Initiatives.

Miki L. Grace is a business innovator, equity designer, and advocate for creative expression as a form of healing. Here at Urban Initiatives, Miki leverages her skills and experience in equity-based design and business innovation to provide organizational leadership, improve team effectiveness, and lead strategic design initiatives from end to end. When she’s not hard at work, Miki loves to engage in thought-provoking conversations, travel, write, vlog, explore new music, film, fashion, and the possibilities that lie within all kinds of new ideas.

The Program Managers – OST are responsible for maintaining consistent, high program quality and ensuring outputs are delivered at a cluster of schools. They will directly supervise Soccer Head and Assistant Coaches as well as 2 TTL Program Coordinators. The program manager will provide regular communication and professional development support to these staff members and will lead one-on-one and group meetings to provide ongoing feedback, coaching, and support as those they manage will provide direct service to school partners.

Miguel Granados, comes with a background in soccer, parks and recreation, and event operations. Most recently serving as the Athletic Supervisor at the Lemont Park District, where he helped raise enrollment in their recreational leagues (basketball and soccer) and in gymnastics. He helped increase enrollment 30% by surveying the parents and listening and trying to give leagues and gymnastics the proper resources.

Miguel is an avid sports lover with soccer being his favorite and roots for the Chicago sports team. He is a husband to his beautiful wife, Marisol, and has 2 children Mateo Miguel and Celeste and currently lives in Brookfield.

Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, KyJuan attended Kenwood Academy and immediately began working with youth sports programs after graduating. He believes that sports play an essential role in both physical and emotional development- sport has been a safe haven in his own life. He started with Urban Initiatives in 2016 and has continued his growth and development by taking on new roles. He is now excited for his new role as a leader for the CSI team.

Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, Mia spent her first two years at Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga and later returned home to complete her B.A. in Sociology at Roosevelt University. There she was able to continue developing a strong passion for art, social justice, educational reform and activism. Being a first generation graduate only fueled Mia’s passion to become more involved in her community.  She understands how important it is to bridge fun, equitable and quality opportunities for marginalized youth, and is a strong believer in community pride and support. More so, Mia believes the biggest opportunity as leaders is the need to work on giving one another, especially our youth, spaces to develop personal autonomies in a safe and non- judgmental environment.

Originally from Orlando, Florida, Alec moved to Chicago in 2017 after receiving his BA in Communications and Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania. He then became a teacher here in Chicago and taught PreK and received a MS in Early Childhood Education from the Erikson Institute. Outside of work, Alec loves dancing and playing volleyball.

Gina is a member of our Operations team, where she oversees orientation, separations, employee feedback, systems administration, and the compliance of our rapidly growing staff.

She chose Urban Initiatives not just because of the role itself and what it would allow her to do—both for our organization and our team—but also because she believes children are wonderful, curious, and smart and deserve a safe place to learn and develop into strong leaders who can think for themselves. Prior to joining UI, Gina received a Post-Baccalaureate certificate in Human Resource Management from Northwestern University and became well-rounded in many aspects of HR through a variety of different roles.

Gina was a gymnast for seven years as a child and still enjoys watching gymnastics in the Olympics. She’s also a fan of ice skating and recently learned she enjoys watching ice hockey, as well!

Dana is our Lead Director of Procurement. In her role, she oversees all systems and processes across the organization to support school partner recruitment, satisfaction, retention, and organizational capacity. Her big goal is to scale sport-and-play-based SEL programming within CPS.

Dana was drawn to UI’s mission and approach to youth development. While serving as a Teach for America corps member in Atlanta, she experienced firsthand the critical need for SEL development and community-based approaches to closing the opportunity gap for young people. Her passion and commitment to this goal solidified, leading Dana to earn a masters in social work at the University of Chicago. She’s worked in a variety of roles impacting youth development and partnership engagement ever since.

Dana loves long distance running. She participates in multiple community-based running groups and also enjoys the peace and contentment of solo miles.

April is the Director of Program Administration. She works primarily with finance processes like payroll, school invoicing, and regular grant requirements.

April has a masters in education and is a licensed Teacher & School Counselor.
She fell in love with Urban Initiatives back in 2011 and has been here ever since. April enjoys being able to work with schools in every corner of the city!

Outside of work, April loves (needs?) to run, and is an aspiring marathon pacer.

Jonathan earned his PhD in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, where he researched social entrepreneurship organizations scaling for impact. Jonathan has 20 years of experience as a nonprofit leader, serving as a director, instructor, and consultant providing research, evaluation, and strategic development. In his free time, Jonathan coaches his son’s soccer team(s), serves on the OPRF D200 School Board, and spends as much time as possible with his family in and around the Great Lakes.

Originally from Wyoming, Aurora holds a PhD from the University of Chicago in linguistics, where she researched variation in sign languages. During her time in Chicago, Aurora has volunteered for a number of organizations, leading accessibility initiatives for events. She is excited to leverage her skills at Urban Initiatives to support youth in Chicago.

Gaby Mendez was born and raised in the Southside of Chicago. As a CPS student herself, her mission is to help the youth of today through guidance and child development. Gaby first started with UI in 2017 as a recess coach in the Pilsen neighborhood. In 2021 she moved on to be a resource coordinator, where she built meaningful relationships with families and the school staff. She is excited and looking forward to continue giving back to the community and bringing Chicago families together!

Madison Mullen was born and raised in Chicago. She earned her undergraduate degrees in Law and Society and Advanced Leadership Studies from American University in Washington, D.C. As an educator and school culture specialist, Madison has worked at both the elementary and middle school level, as well as at a residential summer camp. Prior to working in education, Madison was a senior facilitator and outreach specialist at StoryCorps, a nonprofit whose mission is to teach the value of listening in order to build connections between people and create a more just world. As a Program Manager for Coach for Success, Madison is excited to build confidence in young people by drawing out, nurturing, and celebrating their strengths, while providing consistent, caring support to help them become change agents in their own lives.

Andy is our Lead Director of Learning. He coordinates professional development for all kinds of people inside and outside of Urban Initiatives. He focuses on creating learning plans for different groups and ensuring that all of our learning work is backed in experiential moments to build personal connection.

Andy has worked in non-profits for almost 20 years, and that work has all been focused on how to create a stronger relational fabric in Chicago. More than any other space, Andy thinks sports and play have the potential to build and repair that fabric.

Andy’s favorite sport and play activity is ultimate frisbee. He, loves the disc in flight and all the different ways it can look.

A Chicago native, Joy graduated from UIC with a Master’s in Education, focusing on Youth Development. After working as a Program Manager at Urban Initiatives for 2 years, she was promoted into the role of Play with Potential Program Director, overseeing recess at 24 local schools. In 2017, she took an opportunity to work with the National YMCA and spent a year and half traveling the Midwest and West Coast, supporting out of school time programming in underserved communities. She returned to Urban Initiatives in 2019 as the Culture and Climate Director and oversaw the day to day operations of our Play with Potential and Community School’s Initiative programs. She will begin her doctorate in Educational Leadership at DePaul in the fall of 2019. Joy is fun-loving supermom with a knack for connecting to people, children, and all things under the sun.

From Chicago to Arkansas and more, Monique (or Coach “P” to the students) is literally an all around the way girl. With a bachelor’s degree in business and 2 Masters’ degrees, she is nothing short of educated. The relationships she’s built and nearly 10+ years of working with youth, she is proud to return home to a home sport that she loves, Soccer. She joined the UI team in May of 2022 as an Assistant Soccer Coach, and has since continued her efforts with us as a Head Coach of the summer camp at Morton. She is now proud to join our team in her new role as Program Manager, OST.

Averill Price is a South Side Chicago native who’s passionate and committed to creating impactful work through youth and community engagement. He’s had the opportunity to enhance his experience across North America in various roles as an educator, facilitator and even a motivational speaker. Averill is looking forward to helping cultivate the new leaders in young people by engaging, inspiring and persisting for positive change in their lives.

James is originally from Louisville Kentucky, and moved to Chicago in 2022 after getting his degree in Sport Management from Xavier University. Playing sports throughout his life, James knows how valuable healthy habits and being a part of a team can be in one’s life. James previously worked with a non-profit the Boys and Girls Club, this is where he found his passion in working with youth helping them grow as individuals both on and off the field.

Daniel played soccer and water polo while studying Sociology at Carnegie Mellon University. After college he worked in Family and Community Engagement for Denver Public Schools, where his passion for school support and community outreach flourished. He is excited to bring his interests together to serve Chicago students and families!

Andrea received her B.A. in Psychology from Concordia University Chicago, and for the past 6 years has worked with south and west side communities to support families experiencing homelessness. As a sports and wellness enthusiast, she looks forward to using her data and nonprofit skills with Urban Initiatives.

Ebony graduated from North Central College in Naperville with a Bachelors in Exercise Science. She was a 6x National Qualifier in Shot Put and a 4x All-American in Shot Put. After undergrad she began a career in coaching Track & Field at Lincoln Way East H.S. and then later a coach at St. Laurence H.S. In addition to coaching, she continued to further her education at St. Thomas University in Miami, Fl., where she earned two master degrees- Master of Science in Educational Leadership & Sports Administration. Along with coaching, Ebony is a part of a nutrition club where promoting healthy treats and consistent routines is beneficial to help improve one’s physical & mental confidence. Ebony’s passion and goal in life is to become an Athletic director and continue coaching youth/young adults not only in a track & field setting but in other sports as well.

Meaghan is originally from Michigan, where she grew up with a love for sport, play, and just being outside (particularly on the shores of the Great Lakes). She attended the University of Michigan, where she studied Developmental Psychology and Gender & Health. With nearly a decade of experience in education and sports-based youth development, Meaghan is excited to join UI as the Lead Director of OST Soccer & Take the Lead. While she loves a good kickabout herself, she’s also an avid spectator and fan of the beautiful game! You can often find her cheering on our Chicago Red Stars or supporting her wife, a local soccer coach, from the sidelines.

Aziz Tahir is originally from Ethiopia but spent most of his childhood years in Minnesota. He graduated in December 2019 from Western Illinois University with a master’s in Sports Management and moved to Chicago to start his career in 2020. He started coaching soccer right after graduating from high school because it’s a great way to be involved in the sport and positively impact the confidence, health, and well-being of young people.

Elyse is our Director of Curriculum.

Originally from Peoria, Arizona, Elyse attended the University of Arizona and received a BFA in Theatre Education. Prior to joining UI, Elyse worked as a teaching artist and actor and spent 10 years serving as a Department Head and Theater Teacher for Noble Charter Schools. She has seen how play can help heal and is excited to help UI use the power of play to bring social- emotional learning to children of all ages.

An actor at heart, Elyse loves to play cooperative games that have a dramatic component like
charades!

Annie grew up in a soccer-mad house with her five brothers in the west suburbs. After graduating from Michigan State, she worked with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic for over two years teaching Spanish literacy and building a community basketball court. Now, she loves biking to schools all around the city to see the coaches she manages in action. The best part of her work day is hearing the kids yell “GOOOAAAALLLL” at practice.

Tiffany Washington is an experienced people leader who’s passionate about growth and development. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois @ Champaign, and spent the last decade of her career building and leading high performance teams at Kaplan University. Tiffany is from the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago and is proud to be contributing to the community through her work as the Director of 21st Century Learning.

A Chicagoland native, Morgan Wolcott has been serving as a PE/Health teacher and coaching throughout the suburbs and CPS for the past eight years. She attended Trinity Christian college on a soccer scholarship and is passionate about using her skills and experience to support new coaches as well as providing Chicago youth quality playing opportunities. You can find Morgan attending soccer games with her husband, traveling and enjoying time with her church community and family.

Javon Wright was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. He graduated from Simeon Career academy and attended University of Central Missouri, majoring in Sports Management. He is a dog dad, to his first puppy: who goes by the name of Isabella. Javon started with UI in 2019, as a Recess coach in the Back of the Yards where he left a gracious impact with the students and community.

Laura grew up in the suburbs of Chicago before moving to New Orleans to complete her undergraduate education at Tulane University. She graduated from George Washington University with a Masters of Public Health and managed Tulane Campus Health’s COVID testing and contact tracing programs before moving back up north. She is excited to be back in Chicago and to bring her passion for public health and physical activity to Urban Initiatives! 

Alondra Hernandez’s background is in budgeting, analytics, coaching kids and adults, and overall, knowing how to make spaces comfortable and fun. The sports she enjoys are volleyball, softball, soccer, basketball, and baseball. 

KeAundra is a Chicago native, born and raised in the west side, Garfield Park area. KeAundra has been pescatarian for 6 years now, and is striving to switch over to vegan. She admires children and is currently working on forming a Non-profit called Galore Gems, to help minority children in her neighborhood. KeAundra dedicates most of her time finding programs and resources to benefit neighborhood children. She enjoys reading and swimming in her free time.

Agustin has a diverse career spanning over two decades. He is committed and passionate about helping and leading others to reach their goals. He is an outgoing individual who is ready to work with our youth and community to have a better future. He enjoys watching all sports. Soccer, baseball, football and basketball are his favorites. He is a diehard White Sox fan and Mexican soccer fan.

Rashad was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, he earned a Bachelor of Science at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale majoring in Sport Administration. Very passionate through sports & recreation and has a demonstrated history of working in indoor/outdoor facilities. Rashad is looking to help build the young leaders through sports and activities.

Jennifer was born and raised in Chicago, but she has lived in different states. She is a proud mother of six, her oldest being 20 and youngest 8. Jennifer is currently working on achieving one of her many goals of earning her Bachelors in Early Childhood and would one day love to be a first or second grade teacher. Her precious job prior to joining the Urban Initiatives team was as an Infant to Three’s teacher at a center in Andersonville. Jennifer is most eager to learn and grow with the UI team and help children grow.

Jackqulin Johnson goes By Coach Redd. She was Born and raised in South Bend Indiana where from an early age, she showed her passion for people and her community! She has volunteered, tutored youth, and even helped with community clean ups. She moved to Chi-town’s Old Town area in 2009. She has worked in a few job titles such as counter manager at Macy’s in the fragrance department, Uber, a recess coach, a remote learning supervisor, along with a few other roles with Urban Initiatives. She’s loves being a mom to Jaela(11), Lee’ann(6), and Brian (1), along with a list of bonus babies. Lastly, she aspires to one day own scattered site rehabilitation homes to help the homeless, less fortunate, or persons in need of temporary living spaces. 

Shania is a Recess Coach at Gresham Elementary, where she oversees a team of school staff and leads fun, play-based games and activities that support students’ social-emotional learning.

Prior to joining UI, Shania spent three years working as an Early Head Start teacher at a daycare in
Chicago. She was excited to join our team because she loves interacting with the city’s youth.

Shania’s favorite recess game is a classic: musical chairs.

Crystal is our Recess Coach at Jahn Elementary, where she oversees a team of school staff and leads fun, play-based games and activities that support students’ social-emotional learning.

Crystal heard about UI from the Principal at Jahn, where her daughters go to school. She loves
working with the kids at Jahn and treats them like they’re her own children (the students love
Crystal, too—they’ve taken to calling her “Coach Mom.”) She believes all kids should have the opportunity to be active and loves providing a space where kids can be themselves and have fun.

On the playground, you’ll find Crystal playing Sharks and Minnows with the elementary schoolers and playing Switch with the middle schoolers.

Her favorite sport is a tie between baseball and basketball.

Monae Pleasant is a mom of 1 intelligent, handsome young man. Her passion and happiness for working with youth can often go unrecognized. This is because playing with and understanding youth as they grow comes naturally to her as it is similar to her own experiences of when she was growing up as a youth. She is so excited to be a part of the UI team to help kids keep a smile on their face as she does her job.

Nathan has been a lifelong Chicago native. He is an avid basketball fan and lover of all things sports.

Laura is a Recess Coach at Davis Elementary, where she oversees a team of school staff and leads fun, play-based games and activities that support students’ social-emotional learning.

Laura likes working at UI because it’s a safe space where everyone is incredibly welcoming and
willing to hear each other out. Working with the students at Davis has taught her patience and
understanding. When she asks other team members questions, she knows she’ll learn from their responses, which will help her become a better coach and role model for her students.

Growing up, Laura always loved playing volleyball. She’s hoping to join a rec league volleyball team so that she can get back into the sport.

Born and raised in Chicago. Carolyn is a mom of 5 beautiful girls, family is everything.

Monica is a Recess Coach at McCormick Elementary, where she oversees a team of school staff and leads fun, play-based games and activities that support students’ social-emotional learning.

Monica loves playing with the kids at McCormick Elementary and teaching them new games. She strives to bring fun and structure to recess while ensuring her students are playing safely.

At recess, you’ll find Monica playing her favorite sport: basketball.

Paul Whitehouse is a passionate mental health advocate, especially for the youth, and aspires to bring positive change to those that are struggling. He hopes to spread a message of empathy to everyone to ensure that no one feels left out or misunderstood. His passion for creativity and fun is infectious and creates a positive environment for all involved!