Dr. Natalie C Neris leverages over two decades of experience in public education to advocate for social justice and equitable access to a high-quality education for all students. She is a national leader in inclusive system design and stakeholder engagement - recently spearheading efforts at Chicago Public Schools to redesign its school accountability policy to be more inclusive and equitable - ultimately engaging more than 20K stakeholders across Chicago. Natalie carries deep expertise in instructional leadership, accountability, and change management. As a third-generation public school graduate, Natalie is keenly aware that access to a quality education is a game-changer, especially for students living in communities most impacted by injustice. She has committed her life to this work.

Natalie earned her undergraduate degree from Northeastern Illinois University and her graduate degree from Concordia University. While in the classroom, Natalie earned a Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching and became a Nationally Board Certified teacher. Natalie completed her doctoral studies at National Louis University in 2021, where she focused on designing systems for radically inclusive policy design. Most recently, Natalie served as Chief of Community Engagement at Kids First Chicago. Natalie is a 2017 Surge Fellow, a 2020 Chicago United for Equity Fellow, and serves on the Board of Directors for Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center and Epic Academy Charter School. She is the parent of two teenage daughters, a plant mom, a lover of words, travel, food, connection, and a fighter for the underdog.