Executive Leadership

He also spent 13 years in public accounting including 4 years as an auditor with Ernst & Young, LLP in Chicago. Patrick graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Accounting from Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. He is a CPA both in Illinois, USA and in the Philippines. He ranked 20th place in the 1992 National Philippine CPA Board Examination. 

Patrick attended a public elementary school in the Philippines. Patrick has lived in Chicago, IL since migrating from the Philippines in 2000.

As a school administrator, she served at CPS elementary and high schools, with a particular focus on programmatic innovation, biliteracy, and diverse learner support in inclusive settings. Under her leadership, these schools showed strong and consistent academic growth due to her focus on meaningful student engagement, social-emotional supports, professional learning, and distributive leadership.

Most recently as Chief of Network 4, Asaf was responsible for 35 elementary schools on the city’s North Side. As a Network Chief, she collaborated with school leaders to ensure that educators and students felt safe and supported while having the resources necessary to discover their academic genius. Previously, Asaf served as the Deputy Chief for Network 7, where she assisted school leaders serving Pilsen, Little Village, and other West Side neighborhoods.

Asaf holds a doctorate in educational leadership and a Master’s degree in reading and special education from DePaul University. Her Bachelor’s degree is from Northeastern Illinois University in bilingual/multicultural education with a minor in Spanish literature.

Prior to St. Chrysostom’s, Shelly served as the Cook County Auditor for almost five years, overseeing the audit function for the 2nd largest county in the nation. Shelly has also served in executive-level leadership roles in Illinois government for almost 20 years with a focus in audit, management, technology, contract management, policy analysis, knowledge management, organizational development, and business process improvement. 

Shelly holds a Master’s degree in Management Information Systems, a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, and a Certified Public Accountant designation.

In 2010, Dr. Carmona was named principal of Healy Elementary School, and by 2016, this school had been ranked among the Top 10 CPS elementary schools by Chicago Magazine and a Distinguished School by the National Title IX School Association.

Dr. Carmona’s most recent role with CPS was as the Chief of Network 10, where he provided support and guidance to students, teachers, and school leaders. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Cartagena in Columbia, as well as two Master’s Degrees - one in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Chicago and one in Educational Leadership from American College of Education. He earned his Doctorate in School Administration from Western Illinois University, and met his wife, also a CPS educator, when they were both teaching in Chicago’s Back of the Yards community.  

She served five years as principal and two years as Assistant Principal of Sumner Math & Science Community Academy in Chicago’s North Lawndale Community. Fatima is an experienced educational leader and team player with a proven track record of collaborating with school communities and increasing student achievement. 

Ms. Diego Alvarez spent 13 years at Enlace Chicago, a non-profit community organization based in Little Village, serving as Director of Education. In her previous CPS tenure, she was a Program Manager for Sustainable Community Schools.

Prior to serving in this role, Ben served in several leadership roles within the Talent Office, including Deputy Chief Talent Officer and the Executive Director of Teacher Recruitment. He began his career as a third-grade teacher on Chicago’s South Side.

Originally from Chicago, Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree in education leadership from Harvard University. He is also a 2018 fellow of the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy. 

Whether it was managing the rollout of modern schools, improving access and safety to a public library, or implementing facility assessments for the first time in almost a decade, Ivan has worked within the government to make positive impacts on public facilities for the residents of Chicago. Over the years, Ivan has cultivated excellent working relationships with the various trades unions that are instrumental in delivering this work.

Prior to joining the District, Ivan served as the Deputy Commissioner for Facility Operations for the City of Chicago and was responsible for all the day-to-day operations in over 500 city facilities including managing over 1,200 city and contracted employees. He developed many new initiatives including a major energy retrofit project saving the city over $1 million a month in utility savings. 

Hernandez has extensive experience in the world of procurement, with more than 25 years of service in various roles at CPS. She began her career at CPS with the Department of Investigations and Office of the Inspector General before moving to the Department of Procurement; with experience at all levels of the procurement process, Hernandez has worked her way up from senior buyer to her current role.

Hernandez is a graduate of the University of Illinois - Chicago and throughout her career has obtained several certifications, including Certified Public Procurement Buyer (CPPB). She is also a member of numerous procurement organizations, including the Institute for Public Procurement (NIGP) and the Illinois Association of Public Procurement Officials (IAPPO).

Prior to this role, Megan served as the Chief of Schools for Network 16, where she oversaw the growth and day-to-day operations of 17 high schools on Chicago’s South and Southwest Sides. In this position, she expanded academic opportunities for diverse student populations and led the development and opening of three high schools. She also has experience as a teacher and high school administrator and is a proud parent of two CPS graduates. She lives in the South Shore community where she continues to connect with former students, volunteer, and serve as a block club member.

Megan holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Orleans, a master’s degree in educational leadership from National Louis University, and is completing her doctorate in education policy, organization and leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

Before this role, he served as the principal of Southside Occupational Academy, a transition center for CPS students with disabilities, for more than a decade. He led the creation of numerous vocational learning labs, a school-wide functional curriculum, a differentiated student assessment system, and community-based classrooms across Chicago. He first joined CPS in 2000 as a speech-language pathologist.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and speech and hearing sciences from Indiana University, a master’s degree in communication disorders from the University of North Dakota, and a master’s degree in educational administration from Governors State University. He was a 2016 Cahn Fellow through Columbia University and the proud recipient of the 2019 Golden Apple Stanley C. Golder Leadership Award.

Prior to this role, he served as the District’s Chief Procurement Officer. In this position, he oversaw vendor management services to schools and Central Office locations to ensure the highest quality and value of goods and services for the District. He also oversaw the Keep Improving District Services (KIDS) initiative—a partnership between CPS schools, departments, and vendors that aims to continuously improve vendor performance through innovative services, increased equity participation, elimination of waste, and value-add philanthropic support. A graduate of CPS, Charles is an Air Force veteran and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master of business administration from Southern Illinois University.

Throughout her 20 years within CPS, Leslie has served as a preschool teacher, instructional coach, professional learning manager, and director of Head Start and Preschool Programs. In her role as deputy chief officer, she led the universal Pre-K expansion strategy and centralized preschool application process for the district. Through a cross-departmental and cross-agency approach, Leslie has launched the OECE vision and the Preschool to 2nd Grade strategy, including the creation of the P-2 Program Management Office.

 Leslie is also the parent of a CPS student who joyfully started her education in an early childhood preschool classroom. She earned her bachelor of arts in early childhood education at Delaware State University and her master’s of arts in administration and supervision at National Louis University. 

Prior to joining the district, Miroslava held senior leadership positions with Benedictine University and Roosevelt University overseeing finances, human resources, facilities management and information technology. Before working in education, Miroslava was CFO of the Chicago Housing Authority during the largest and most ambitious public housing redevelopment effort in the country and spent ten years with United Airlines in multiple international finance roles. Miroslava was named a Business Leader of Color by Chicago United in 2013.

Miroslava earned a master of business administration from Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Universidad de Panama. Miroslava is also a certified public accountant.

She previously served in CPS as Deputy Chief Title IX Officer and the Director of Investigations for the Office of Student Protections and Title IX. Before joining CPS, she worked for more than 15 years with the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center collaborating with law enforcement, child protective services, and prosecutors to investigate and respond to victims of child sexual abuse and other forms of violence.

She earned a bachelor of arts in sociology from DePaul University and was part of the inaugural cohort of the University of Chicago's Center for Effective Government Executive Leadership Seminar Series in 2023.

She most recently served as the Chief of Schools for Network 6, overseeing 23 elementary schools on Chicago’s Near South, Near West, and Near North Sides. In this role, she focused on providing professional coaching for school leaders and staff to support student learning and growth. She also served as the principal of Mitchell Elementary School for eight years. Before joining CPS in 2009, she worked as a teacher in Newark, NJ and Washington, D.C.

She holds a master of business administration from Yale University, a master of education leadership from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Amherst College.

Prior to this role, she served as the Chief of Staff to the Chief Education Officer. In this position, she collaboratively partnered with various CPS teams to ensure schools across the District provided students with rigorous, joyful, and equitable learning experiences. She also served as a CPS principal for seven years and developed a reputation for transforming her school community by supporting and inspiring her staff, students, and parents.

A proud CPS graduate, she earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Arts from DePaul University, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies from Lewis University.

Miguel is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and DePaul University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance. He grew up in Chicago after immigrating to the United States from Argentina at the age of nine.

Roman also served as CPS’ Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, where he managed the District’s collaborative partnerships with local elected leaders while leading the development and execution of legislation and municipal ordinances that affect CPS schools and students.

Before CPS, Roman served in a variety of government relations roles in the public and non-profit sectors. Roman holds a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from DePaul University. 

Most recently, Sitkowski served as the Deputy Chief of Budget and Grants Management where he helped lead the development and management of the District’s $9.4 billion budget. Prior to joining CPS, Sitkowski earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harris School at the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. 

Sitkowski is dedicated to strengthening public services, advancing resource equity, and closing opportunity gaps for Chicago’s residents. A long-time resident of Chicago’s West Town community, Sitkowski and his family live in Humboldt Park.

Wally has also served the district as a debt manager and assistant treasurer. Prior to joining CPS, Wally held corporate sector leadership positions in the municipal banking and brokerage industry, where he worked with clients, like CPS, to facilitate their borrowing and banking needs throughout the state of Illinois and the Midwest.

Wally holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Prior to joining CPS, she served as Senior Advisor of External Affairs at the Chicago Police Department. She has also worked in the offices of Mayors Daley and Emanuel, and several other city agencies, including the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, City Clerk’s Office, and Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.

Ruchi began practicing law at Sidley & Austin, LLP in 2003. She became a CPS lawyer in 2008 when she joined the CPS Law Department’s school law practice area as an Assistant General Counsel.  She was promoted to lead that unit as deputy general counsel in 2012. In 2019, the Board tapped Ruchi to be the first assistant to the general counsel, drawing on her wealth of knowledge and experience in education issues.  

Ruchi is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a B.A. in Political Science and Speech Communications and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.