Career Advancement Center
Advancing Your Impact in Education
At Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana, we support our alumni as they grow as leaders and pursue impactful roles throughout the education landscape. Our career advancement resources are here to help you take the next step whether that means deepening your impact, expanding your skill set, or exploring new leadership opportunities.
From school-based roles to policy, advocacy, and nonprofit leadership, we’re here to help you move forward with clarity, confidence, and community.
Upcoming Events
-
Alumni can sign up for a 1:1 with a NACE Certified Career Coach
Our Coaches offer individualized support based on your career pathway. -
We're excited to share a free summer opportunity from Teach For America!
The Summer Career Navigator Series is a six-part virtual program designed to help early career alumni and corps members build leadership skills, strengthen their professional brand, gain financial confidence, prepare for interviews, and create a plan for their future.
This series offers practical tools, resources, and guidance to help you move forward with confidence.
Learn more and register: https://bit.ly/TFA-SummerSeries26
Harnessing Your Strengths: Turn Your Top 5 into Your Next OpportunityGallup’s CliftonStrengths is a research-backed self-assessment that helps you identify your top talents and understand how you naturally think, feel, and work—providing a strong foundation for self-reflection, personal growth, and more intentional career development.
Alumni can join a team-based Gallup Strengths workshop led by a certified Strengths Coach to receive a free CliftonStrengths code and discover their Top 5 strengths. Through collaborative activities and guided reflection, alumni will explore how to understand and apply top 5 strengths in professional settings, recognize how strengths combine and show up in your career, and leave with a strengths-based elevator pitch that can be used in interviews and networking opportunities.
Register for a Gallup Workshop
All workshop dates have passed. Stay tuned for future workshops!
-
Download these tools to update your materials, sharpen your story, and prepare for next steps with clarity and confidence.
Getting started:
5 R’s FrameworkThe 5 Rs are here to guide you through your career advancement journey whether you're exploring, preparing, or growing into new leadership. Use this guide to navigate our list of resources based on where you are in your journey.
Reflect:2020 Vanderbilt Career Center Created by Katharine Brooks and Grace J. Foy
This interactive workbook from Vanderbilt University uses quick, creative visual thinking exercises to help you clarify your goals, uncover new insights about yourself, and take the first step toward career clarity and confidence.
This region-specific guide highlights key roles across education leadership, policy, and nonprofit sectors designed to help you explore advancement opportunities, deepen your impact, and take the next step in your career journey.
Refine:
Skip to page 2 for a Resume 101 snapshot
Reach out:
Role Application:
Navigate your next Teaching Opportunity
A step by step guide for current 2CM & Alumni Educators wanting to explore their next teaching role.Josh K-12
An external job board that helps you access education roles across the country and in Illinois.
Share a job or find your next opportunity through the alumni network.
Alumni
Looking to stay connected or explore new opportunities? Join our alumni LinkedIn group to access weekly Opportunity Blasts, engage with fellow alumni, and share roles, events, and updates across our network.
Employers
Hiring at your organization? Use our content submission form to share job openings—we’ll feature them in alumni-facing career communications and resources.
Schedule a Coaching Session
-
Diana Diaz
If you just finished the corps or are seeking general career coaching support such as resume critique or interview prep, Diana is your person!
Diana (she/her/ella) is a proud first-generation college graduate born in Mexico and raised in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood. Having experienced firsthand the doors education can open, she is passionate about making opportunities accessible and supporting alumni as they envision their own impact in education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business and Marketing and began her career in marketing before transitioning into education, serving as a College & Career Counselor. In her current role as External Affairs Manager, Diana supports alumni engagement and public affairs initiatives while bringing a wealth of knowledge in career exploration and resources to her coaching practice. Outside of work, she enjoys playing soccer and spending time with her husband and two dogs.
-
Caryn Lichtenberg
If you are in the classroom, interested in school leadership down the road, or want to understand how to grow your impact in schools, Caryn is your person!
Caryn (she/her) is the Managing Director of Alumni Leadership and brings 15+ years of experience in teaching and nonprofit leadership. She began her career as a 2008 Teach For America corps member in the Bay Area and has since served in the Chicago nonprofit sector at City Year before returning to Teach For America, where she supports alumni in staying connected to their commitment to education. Her background in career coaching deepens this work, as she helps educators and leaders navigate professional growth and change with clarity, connection, and purpose. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and currently resides in Chicago with her husband, two energetic boys, and their goofy dog, who keep her grounded and inspired.
-
Jasmin Rosales-Montas
Jasmin (she/her/ella) is a proud first-generation college graduate with Mexican roots from Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. She has dedicated over 12 years to policy, advocacy, and organizing, and currently serves as Managing Director of Public Affairs, where she helps lead the region’s state funding requests and alumni engagement strategy. Jasmin is a 2021 Negocios Now “40 Under 40” honoree and an alum of the Surge Fellowship Class of 2024. She also serves as the Vice President of the True Value Boys & Girls Club Council, the very club she grew up attending. Jasmin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Syracuse University and a Master’s in Public Administration from DePaul University.