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Learning Edge

Learning Edge

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Our Staff and Board

Kara Kalnitz

Executive Director

Kara Kalnitz has been working for Learning Edge since September 2009. Prior to serving as the Thursday Program Manager and now Executive Director, Kara was a volunteer tutor with Cluster for four years. She particularly enjoys seeing the student and tutor relationships formed each year at tutoring--a number of which last throughout their lifetimes. Kara has a MSW from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago, and she was a 2021-2022 Fellow in the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation's Leadership Lab.

Erin Agboola

Program Coordinator, Student Services

Erin was a volunteer at Learning Edge for more than two years before she joined the staff as the program coordinator for Project Next Step which is aimed at those in high school as they look to the future.  Erin has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.  In 2021, Erin was promoted to the Program Coordinator for Student Services.  She is primarily responsible for student recruitment through Austin community engagement, new student onboarding, and developing academic enrichment opportunities for Learning Edge participants.

Bernadette Diaz

Reading Specialist

Bernadette is a veteran teacher now specializing in helping students with reading challenges in the Chicago Public Schools through the nonprofit organization Reading in Motion. Bernadette has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Boston College and a Master of Education degree in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard University.  She has worked with Learning Edge since 2018.

An older white woman sits with a young black girl, with red blocks spread on the table in front of them.

Barbara Mayer

Math Specialist

Barb is a retired teacher with a passion for math. Barb has a Bachelor of Science in Business from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning from DePaul University.  She has volunteered with Learning Edge since 2021 and started as our Math Specialist in 2024.

Our Board

Leslie Hodes (President)

Lenetta Thomas (Treasurer)

Keiona Wright

 

Patricia Feeley

Amy Lazzeretti

Cathy Rennau

Spencer Baker

Amy Stearns

John Lurain

Drew Thompson

Karrah Cullers

Sharon Hermanns

Jamiya Scott

Kevin Cullinane

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Learning Edge is a nonprofit, community-based organization that provides free one-to-one tutoring to more than 100 students primarily in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago’s West Side

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