This department spotlights a relatively recent addition to the workforce, focusing on the person’s educational or working background, daily responsibilities, challenges, passions, frustrations and outlook for his or her future in the field.

Name: Abbey Larner
Age: 24
Company: Urban Students Empowered Foundation (US Empowered)
Title: Chief Development Officer
College Path: University of Michigan, Bachelors of Business Administration
Dominican University, Masters of Teaching

How you ended up here: I was a Teach for America teacher in a fifth-grade classroom on the South Side of Chicago. Teach for America is a two-year program that takes high achieving college graduates and commits them to teaching at least two years in low-income schools. I had a wonderful experience teaching and have since been dedicated to making sure low-income students have the same access to a quality education as their high-income peers. US Empowered is currently run by another Teach for America alumnus, and it addresses the greatest goal I have for my students — college. According to the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research, only 18 percent of incoming freshmen are expected to enroll in a four-year university, while six percent are expected to graduate six years later. Compare that to New Trier, on Chicago’s north shore, where 98 percent of students go to four-year universities. US Empowered addresses this disparity in Chicago high schools. We run a three-year fellowship program for Chicago high school students that teaches them about college, takes them on college visits and essentially gives them a road map for how to get to college. So far, 100 percent of our fellows have been accepted to college and 100 percent are still attending college. How did I end up here? I wanted my students and others like them to have access to US Empowered and came to work for them to help grow the organization.

How long you’ve been at it: I am new to US Empowered, as I started in August 2008.

Who you answer to, if anyone: The Executive Director of US Empowered is Jeff Nelson, a fellow Teach for America alumnus.

What your friends assume you do all day: “Save the world.”

Important projects: As the Chief Development Officer, my job is to make sure the organization has the funds to sustain the growth into new schools to reach more students. My important projects vary from writing grants of all sizes, planning events, strategizing with board members, and running our Race to Empower Charity running team.

What is the main challenge kids face today in Chicago’s public schools? Big question. The main challenge? I think kids face a myriad of problems in Chicago Public Schools, and it’s hard to pinpoint it to just one issue. I also think there are lots of people talking about the problems that students face and not enough talking about the solution. I am a strong believer that the single greatest thing we can do to improve urban public education is to improve teacher quality. Zeke Vanderhoek, a New York City school principal, said: “I would much rather put a phenomenal, great teacher in a field with 30 kids and nothing else than take the mediocre teacher and give them half the number of students and give them all the technology in the world.” I could not agree more. A great teacher can overcome so many of the problems kids face in Chicago’s public schools so that students can learn huge amounts despite any other problems they may face.

Do you think the majority of the population still seems generally unaware of the problems in inner-city schools? Great question! I do think the majority of people know that inner-city schools are in trouble, that they understand that disparities exist between low- and high-income schools. But I also think that the majority of people don’t know what they can do about it. They may often hear the successes of a few individual students or maybe even a whole school, but I think too often they don’t realize the ways they can help urban schools, through programs like US Empowered, or by supporting schools they believe in, volunteering or lobbying locally for school reform. Too often, I think people are bogged down with the “system” that cannot be fixed.

Best perk: A student gets accepted to college or makes a six-point gain on their ACT score, and we get to share that with them. Talking to students is the best perk for me.

In your mind, what is the most important adjustment to make for a kid going from high school to college? According to US Empowered fellows already in college, they needed to adjust to their own independence. In college they have to plan their own schedules, decide what and when to study, seek out resources on campus, etc. They also have to adjust to the rigor of college classes instead of high school classes.

Why you have a smile when you come to work: At US Empowered, we have a philosophy unlike a lot of other places of work. We truly hope that our work will make us obsolete, that eventually we will make systemic change so that urban American schools rival their high-income counterparts and we don’t have any more work. That makes me smile.

Advice for joining the field: By field, I assume we mean the non-profit field. I think the most important attribute for non-profit workers is passion. There are thousands of non-profits, all well intentioned, and all working toward a better version of society in our view. But the key to success in non-profits is a whole-hearted belief that the work you are doing must get done, that your program is the answer.

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