Steans Center > Egan Office > Our Work > Community School Partners

Community School Partners

 School partners

We partner with schools and communities to promote equity and justice for children and the community at large. Part of the critical fabric, as centers of community-wide learning for adults and children, community schools can be one-stop shops for social, health, economic and educational needs. We work in both public and Catholic schools to spark academic achievement through experiential, project-based learning that connects to myriad community resources. To do so, the Egan Office employs teams of two or more tutors and a School Community Organizer, typically a graduate student who builds relationships within the school and community, identifies partners, provides project-based learning opportunities that create greater DePaul synergy, and gives support to the tutors who lead a special project with students.

Catholic and Public Schools Internship Program Coordinators

Kevin Amaro

As the Schools Team Program Coordinator at DePaul, Kevin oversees recruitment efforts, provides support to Egan's tutors and School Community organizers, and co-creates, develops, and implements events and programs. Kevin works closely with the Council of Elders, which works with Egan’s staff and students to share their collective wisdom and knowledge to reinforce the vision and mission statement of The Egan Office. He first started working with The Egan Office as a tutor/mentor. Right before becoming a Program Coordinator, he was a School Community Organizer and worked closely with the Little Village community.

Prior to Egan, he has worked with various organizations in Chicago from Resilience, The Chicago Freedom School, Take Back Our Lives, and The Field Museum. These positions deepend his understanding of current social problems and highlighted the importance of building capacity, civic engagement, and leadership development.

Kevin received his BA in Public Relations & Advertising at DePaul. As part of the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy at DePaul, Kevin is pursuing his MA in Applied Diplomacy, with a concentration in Urban Diplomacy which is dedicated to preparing students to enter this dynamic world of diplomacy.

Amy Acosta

Amy Acosta is the Schools Team Data Coordinator for the Egan Office. Her role consists on collaborating with the Assistant Director, Monica Ramos, on planning, collecting, reviewing, and organizing data regarding impacts on engagement, resources, and partnerships of the communities the Egan Office works closely with.

Prior to her role as the Schools Team Data Coordinator, Amy was a School Community Organizer who worked in the North Lawndale Community in which she focused on partnership facilitations, asset acquisition and community engagement with our partner school, Lawndale Community Academy.

Amy has received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a certification in Teaching English as a Second or Other Language. Currently, Amy is pursuing her M.Ed at DePaul University with a specialization in College and Student Affairs.

Our School Partners

Every team at each of our partner schools consist of two or more tutors and one School Community Organizer (SCO). Tutors can serve in public schools as scholars in our Public School Scholarship program or as work study students in Catholic Schools. SCOs are typically graduate students assigned to one particular school and community area to identify potential resources and partners for the school. SCOs also provide support to their team of tutors. To find out how to get involved with one of our programs please visit Students Opportunities.

School Community Organizers

The SCO serves as a connector between DePaul, Egan school partners and the community. The SCO role wears many hats including: collaborating with the office team, Working with and in communities to build partnerships, building relationships with the administration and community team at their assigned school, managing and supporting a tutor team at their assigned school, and other tasks that come up throughout the school year.

Devan Keys, School and Community Organizer

Devan Keys is a School Community Organizer at Lawndale Community Academy in North Lawndale. She works closely with the Principal and tutors to foster programming and provide resources for students and families that support academics and promote community engagement.

Devan is originally from Michigan where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor certificate in African American Studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. She is now working to complete her master’s degree at DePaul in Counseling, on the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Curriculum track. She has future plans of practicing within the community counseling realm, particularly among marginalized populations of color. She has research interest in mental health help-seeking behaviors among women of color, with hopes to one day share her findings in a counseling publication.

Jonathan Dudley, School and Community Organizer

Jonathan is a scholar, activist, singer, and musician. He has a passion for community work and education. Outside of his position at the Egan Office, he directs a gospel community choir, LiBerated Chorale, located on Chicago’s West Side.

He currently holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Beloit College. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Critical Ethnic Studies at DePaul’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

A. Angela Guernica, School and Community Organizer

As the School Community Organizer for the Auburn-Gresham area, Angela aims to build authentic relationships within the community and schools to create transformative experiences for students. Angela and our team of DePaul undergraduate tutors also work closely with the students and administration at Henderson Elementary in West Englewood.

Angela comes to the Egan Office with a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College Chicago in Interdisciplinary Arts, combining coursework from majors Film/Video, Creative Nonfiction Writing, and Women and Gender Studies. These studies culminate in using documentary-style filmmaking and non-fiction writing to communicate complex human experiences and connections.

Post her undergraduate degree, she worked at Harold Washington College in several capacities. She was the Advisor to the Student Government Association as most cherished; where her privilege of being let into the lives of the young people of Chicago focused as an aspiration to pursue a Master’s in Social Work with a Community Practice concentration at DePaul University.

Luke Schneider, School and Community Organizer

Luke Schneider completed his Bachelor of Science in Communications and Mass Media at Illinois State University in 2017. After working for several years as a teacher's assistant at Chicago Public Schools he decided to pursue a Master's degree in World Language Education at DePaul University.

Luke has been the School Community Organizer at Our Lady of Tepeyac High School and Elementary School located in Little Village since August of 2020.

Josean Amill, School and Community Organizer

Josean is a recent graduate with a Bachelor's degree focused in Public Health from DePaul University. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Public Health from DePaul University as well.

Josean is passionate about educating and empowering populations to establish and maintain healthy behaviors that care for themselves and the identities they carry. He is dedicated to creating social change to positively impact marginalized populations through community health.

Mia Anderson, Family Engagementand and Coalition Initiative Coordinator

As a first generation Latina college student, Mia strives to work with families and children to achieve their utmost potential. She is currently pursuing a Master's is School Counseling. She holds a position as the Coordinator for the Family Engagement and Coalition Initiative. Being raised in a single parent household, Mia deeply believes in the mission of working with families to build beneficial relationship building, reciprocal learning and professional development for parents and guardians.

Mia has volunteered as the president of the Junior Associate Board for In Her Shoes Foundation non-profit and has case management experience with populations who experience homeless and a severe mental illness diagnosis.

Mia obtained her Bachelor’s from The University of Illinois at Chicago in Psychology. She aspires to work as a School Counselor in disparaged communities.