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Meet the Leader
Verneé Green has over 25 years of experience in the education and nonprofit sectors, including three years as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools, joining Mikva Challenge three years ago as the Chief Program Officer. She most recently served as Executive Director of Mikva’s Illinois chapter. She’s excited to be in this role to advance Mikva’s mission to help youth develop civic knowledge, leadership skills, and transform their engagement in the political process. Verneé holds a Bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. At the University of Chicago, she was a recipient of the McCormick-Tribune Fellowship in Urban and Community Leadership. Verneé is a fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago and Allstate’s Executive Leadership Program.
About the Organization
Founded in 1998, Mikva Challenge began as a small pilot program with an all-volunteer staff in four Chicago schools; now 25 years later, Mikva has grown to serve over 17 states, 3500 teachers, and more than 300k students annually. Over two decades, Mikva has developed an education model based on the principles that: 1) youth voice matters, and 2) youth are experts on the issues that affect them; and 3) our communities and schools are stronger when youth leaders are involved in all aspects of civic life.
Meet All the Awardees
Each leader is transforming education across the United States. They're building new learning models, developing talent pipelines for the classroom and beyond, and creating pathways to economic power for Black students and communities.
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