New Board Member Spotlight

Stephen Gilbert is serving his tenth year as a Health & Fitness teacher at Johnson College Prep. Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Gilbert began his career in the non-profi t sector as program director for a college enrichment and aft er school program where he implemented sustainable programs and provided college tours for students in the Englewood community. Gilbert graduated from Chicago State University, where he earned a Bachelor's of Arts and Science in 2007 and a Master’s of Social Work in 2013. He just fi nished his Master's in Public Policy and Administration at Northwestern University.

Gautam Kumar currently serves as the CFO of Rocketmiles, a vacation technology company, and has also held positions at OptionsHouse, McKinsey, and IllinoisVentures. Gautam earned his Bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science from the University of Illinois, and hails from the South Side of Chicago. He is passionate about coding and is seeks to encourage more students from under-resourced communities to learn to code.

Esmeralda Mora is a premier writer for Wayside Publishing and has authored two novels for language learner literature in Spanish, published in the Fall of 2021. She is also the founding director of the Language Learner Literature Advisory Board (LLLAB), which reads and reviews books in Spanish, French, and German, and provides well-rounded feedback about classroom library material. Mora is an alumna of Noble Street College Prep and holds a bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College, a Master’s in Latin American Literatures and Cultures from Northeastern Illinois University, and is completing a Doctoral Degree in Curriculum, Advocacy, and Policy at National Louis University.

Darius Newsome grew up in the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side and graduated from Noble’s UIC College Prep campus, the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminology, and UIC’s College of Urban Planning and Public Aff airs where he earned a Master’s of Public Administration with a concentration in Urban Governance. He currently serves as the Director for Educational Partnerships at UIC and remains dedicated to improving his community and elevating the voices of people who have been traditionally marginalized.

Griselle Torres serves as the Deputy Director for the Offi ce of Disease Control and Laboratories with Illinois Department of Public Health (DPH). She obtained her Master's of Social Work and Master's of Public Health from the University of Illinois Chicago’s Jane Addams School of Social Work and School of Public Health, respectively. Additionally, she holds a certifi cate in non-profi t management from Roosevelt University. In 2014, she obtained her Doctorate in Public Health degree from the UIC’s SPH. Born in Puerto Rico, Dr. Torres is bilingual and bicultural—and a fi rst-generation college graduate.

Dr. Nikos Varelas is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Aff airs and Academic Programs, and Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois Chicago. In his current role, Dr. Varelas directs the university’s student success eff orts. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a University of Illinois Scholar. Dr. Varelas earned his Doctorate in Physics from the University of Rochester and his Bachelor's in Physics from the University of Athens, Greece.