鈥淎round 3rd or 4th grade, I got in trouble because I did my friend鈥檚 homework. But I just loved school! So I didn鈥檛 see it as doing this terrible thing.鈥澛�

In fact, her love of learning was so clear that her teacher told her mother, 鈥淚 hope you can send her to college one day.鈥澛�

It was this hope for more education opportunities, as well as a desire to leave poverty, that influenced Nieves and her mother to immigrate to the US when she was 12.聽

But Nieves said that, at first, leaving her extended family behind and adjusting to a new culture and language actually had a negative effect: 鈥淭hat passion that I had for school as a little girl, quickly diminished, and I came to really dislike school.鈥�

Fortunately, a strong bilingual program and incredible middle school teachers helped Nieves and her mother navigate the new system and rediscover her love of learning. With their advocacy, within three years, Nieves not only moved from a bilingual education program to an English only program, but also graduated valedictorian of her middle school.聽

鈥淭hese are individuals who saw me for the person I was, acknowledged the experience and challenges I was having, and didn鈥檛 dismiss me. They sought to understand who I was and my background.鈥�

Nieves said about her success, 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly a testament to the dedication, love, passion and commitment that my middle school teachers poured onto me, and their ability to understand who I was and connect with my mother and empower her to make those decisions that she needed to make.鈥澛�

Today, as principal at Peterson, it is impossible to separate Nieves鈥� leadership philosophy from this history 鈥� one of immigration, a hard-working single mother, English language learning, and impactful teachers who helped her through it all.聽

鈥淚t was my experience that drove me to education,鈥� Nieves reflected joyfully. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what I want to offer to my kids: strong social emotional support and culturally relevant education where they feel empowered to have a voice.鈥�

In practice, at Peterson, these supports look like 30 minutes of social and emotional learning a day, two in-house counselors instead of just one, and the implementation of restorative practices in the classroom.聽

These practices are crucial for ensuring the emotional well-being of the over 800 students who attend Peterson, the majority of whom are low-income and nearly 40% of whom have limited English skills.聽

But while some might view diversity as a challenge, Peterson thrives on it. For example, an annual International Night celebrates the cultures of students鈥� families, who collectively speak 49 different languages. In addition to arts and crafts and food and school materials translated into different languages, Nieves said of the night, 鈥淲e鈥檙e all here in the same space embracing each other, wanting to learn from each other.鈥澛�

But Nieves added, 鈥淗aving International Night one day a year is not going to cultivate the environment and community we want for our kids. We actively have to plan and partner with our kids and families to give rise to our vision, College Graduates, Community Leaders and Cultural Ambassadors.鈥�

Additionally, an ongoing project to foster inclusion and student empowerment is Peterson鈥檚 鈥減op-up libraries.鈥� These spaces exist as several bookcases surrounded by comfy chairs, and are managed by students who developed norms for this space, and can go to their ELA teachers to ask for specific books.聽

Nieves said that allowing children to self-advocate for the books has 鈥渞esulted in a library that鈥檚 truly diverse, reflecting the kids and community that we serve.鈥澛�

But Peterson doesn鈥檛 just reflect the community; it also empowers it.聽

Years ago, Peterson surveyed parents about their needs and values, and subsequently established several programs to facilitate participation in their children鈥檚 education. Nieves said this is a core part of Peterson鈥檚 mission: 鈥淲e seek ways to empower and partner with families so that we can collectively support the needs of our kids.鈥澛�

Some of these programs include workshops about Chicago鈥檚 high school system and the US college admissions process. In another such program, the school partnered with Northeastern Illinois University to offer English classes to parents at Peterson, an effort supported by the school鈥檚 non-profit fundraising arm.聽

Nieves also draws on her own background to empower families.聽

鈥淚 grew up not feeling very comfortable speaking Spanish because of peoples鈥� reactions.鈥� Nieves continued, 鈥淏ut here, I speak Spanish to families and kids. It鈥檚 the natural thing to do because we鈥檙e a community that values what everybody can bring to the table.鈥澛�

This dual approach of parent and student empowerment has allowed Peterson to thrive academically; the school has received a Level 1 rating.聽

But for Nieves, ultimately, it鈥檚 about more than just that. The success of the Peterson community goes back to her own educational journey.聽

鈥淭his reminds me of home. This reminds me of my middle school,鈥� she summed up. 鈥淚t makes me happy. I鈥檓 just thankful and grateful that I鈥檓 here.鈥澛�

It鈥檚 important because it affects the future of Chicago. In my family, education is highly valued. For most people, it is something very near and dear to them. We are an organization that funds educational improvement through professional development. I think that’s a really unique way to be involved and a great way to affect the health and the growth of the city and the larger community outside of Chicago.

How have you 鈥渞edefined leadership鈥� in your own life?

For me, it鈥檚 about engaging with others, showing respect and trust. At the end of the day, there are structures of power in most things. Those in leadership positions have more responsibility but that shouldn鈥檛 affect their commitment to the people around them. From my experience working with various leaders, the best leaders, the leader I choose to be, is one who is collaborative, humble, and one that focuses on the human aspect of the work. It鈥檚 easy to become overly mission driven and lose sight of the individual. It鈥檚 important to remember that the people you work with owe you things, but you also owe them for their effort. As a leader, you also have to be vigilant of those who are not living up to their responsibilities so people who are doing a good day鈥檚 work aren鈥檛 hindered.

Was there an educator in your life who inspired you?

There are three educators I can point to. In grade school, my seventh grade science teacher. Kathleen Cochran was the first teacher who really took any kind of individual interest in me as a person, not just as a student, but as someone who was growing. Then in college, I took a graduate level course as an undergraduate. It was challenging and my professor, Dr. Gitta Honegger, saw both my struggle and my commitment to the work. The best advice I got from her was that I had to trust myself more, that I was too eager to find validation in someone with a PhD behind their name as opposed to trusting in my own experience and accumulated knowledge. Also in my undergraduate experience, I had a professor who is still a friend to this day, Caroline McGee. She always encouraged me to never live on a timeline. You don’t know what 5 years in the future holds for you. It鈥檚 important to have a goal you are working towards and to track it chronologically, but to not let time dominate or diminish your achievements and progress.

What鈥檚 one thing about your role at The Fund that might surprise people?

How expansive my role is. I鈥檓 responsible for many things, from washing dirty dishes to developing a strategy for how to purchase new computers and recruit talent for the Fund鈥檚 future. It鈥檚 been a real positive experience working here. It has stretched me in ways that I didn鈥檛 expect, and it has helped me gain more perspective for my own career trajectory.聽

鈥�It鈥檚 not just managing the responsibilities that you鈥檝e been given. It鈥檚 taking a look up the road and seeing what鈥檚 next and preparing the people, business, and technology for what鈥檚聽to come鈥攙ersus just managing the status quo.鈥�

With confidence and passion, she summarized, 鈥淚 would say my leadership style is transformational, and actually, this is how many that have worked with me refer to my leadership style as well. I don鈥檛 know what the status quo is. You鈥檙e always improving, getting better or you鈥檙e falling behind.鈥�

In practice, as the North American Head of Private Capital Administration for Northern Trust, Evans鈥� transformational leadership has helped the company recognize and capitalize on market opportunity. Playing a major part in 鈥渢ransforming the current private capital administration business,鈥� Evans has led the business to nearly double in assets under administration in less than two years.

And while this business success is exciting, Evans maintains that developing talent and people is ultimately the biggest impact that she has as a leader:

鈥淭ransformational leadership obviously provides great benefit to the business, external stakeholders and the people who are working to achieve the business goals. The transformation that happens with people is the most exciting and rewarding part of it.鈥�

鈥淲ith the excitement of doing something that has not been done before, people begin to take off their blinders. They not only focus on what鈥檚 in front of them,聽they harness energy and gain experience from exploring what else is possible.鈥�

In fact, it was Evans鈥� desire to effect long-term, positive change for young people specifically that drove her to join the Fund鈥檚 Leadership Council in 2017, and then the Board in 2018.

鈥淚 fell in love with the people at the Fund and then I fell in love with the work,鈥� she stated. 鈥淲hat I get from being on the board is learning from others who are just as interested in investing in the education system for our youth and passionate about giving back.鈥�

About the Fund鈥檚 mission, she stated, 鈥淚 appreciate the fact that the Fund has focused on supporting and developing school leadership. If you want to have a great impact on students, making sure that the leadership is supported and equipped to serve them on a regular basis is聽 one of the best ways to impact our students. 聽Leadership matters in business and in every other system聽that impacts people and it couldn鈥檛 be more critical when it comes to our youth and education.鈥�

Impacting students positively is of great personal importance to Evans because she was a CPS student. And now, she uses that perspective to inform how the board operates:

鈥淚 grew up on the South Side of Chicago. I am a graduate of CPS from kindergarten, all the way through high school. And so I think what I contribute to the Fund is the practical experience of having grown up in the system to help us lead our work forward.鈥�

Although CPS has evolved since her childhood, Evans still said that the need for more youth resources has always been important to her: 鈥淚 remember being a student and seeing the need for additional resources: technology resources and equipment; arts programs; sports programs; things that help young children and adults mature.鈥�

Evans maintains that students, parents, and teachers were resilient even with fewer resources.

She added, 鈥淭hat experience was the foundation to who we are. It鈥檚 also part of the reason that we give back the way that we do.鈥�

Through her work in financial services and education, Evans has realized that one important aspect of giving back is using data intentionally to achieve strategic goals. She stressed that all industries need to take a deep look into their data collection and analysis practices because, 鈥淛ust because something can be measured doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 a measure that will matter to achieve your outcomes.鈥�

For her, collecting the right educational data is a matter of equity: 鈥淲e talk about how many kids attend school or how many kids graduate鈥攂ut how prepared are they to actually contribute to society after their education is complete? That鈥檚 an example of having the right data to measure, and then turning that data into insights that will help achieve broader community and societal goals.鈥�

Most recently, given the heightened needs of students and families during the COVID-19 epidemic, and the increased national dialogue surrounding racial equality, Evans stressed that now is the moment to take care of each other and put these equitable ideas into action.

She said, 鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful that the tension that has been created by this moment is strong enough to get us some sustainable change.鈥�

Luckily, she is the type of leader that might just make that change happen.