Advance Illinois Announces Leadership Transition

January 24, 2019

Chicago, IL – Advance Illinois announced today that Robin Steans will be returning to Advance Illinois as President effective Friday, January 25. Robin succeeds Ginger Ostro, who has served as Executive Director of the organization for the past three years. Robin was the founding Executive Director of Advance Illinois at its inception in 2008 and was instrumental in building it into one of the most recognized and well-regarded education policy and advocacy organizations in the state and across the country.“Under Robin’s leadership, Advance Illinois will continue its important work, building on recent progress and helping us shape an equally dynamic set of priorities as we head into our next ten years,” wrote John Edwardson and Marin Gjaja, co-chairs of the board of directors at Advance Illinois in a recent letter to stakeholders. “You can expect us to continue to work on fully funding the new formula, focusing on quality instruction, ensuring all children get a strong, early start, and finding new and innovative ways to create a culture of continuous improvement.”Robin, a former public school teacher in Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago, has been a driving force in public education for over 25 years.  A Chicago public school parent herself, Robin has worked with stakeholders, families and community leaders to advocate for policies that improve student outcomes for all children from birth through college or career. Among other notable accomplishments, Robin was instrumental in the state’s recent success in creating a more equitable K-12 school funding formula.

About Advance Illinois:

Advance Illinois is a bipartisan education policy and advocacy organization committed to ensuring all children have access to a world class education from birth to postsecondary and/or career. For more information please go to advanceillinois.org or follow us on Facebook @AdvanceIllinois or Twitter @AdvanceIllinois.

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