Crysta Weitekamp is a 2019-20 Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellow. Crysta is an exceptional needs specialist in English and science at Southeast High School in Springfield, Illinois. She sits on the IEA Teacher Leaders and National Board Outreach Committee, the NEA Resolutions committee, and her district’s AVID committee focusing on Culturally Responsive Teaching. Crysta has been a featured speaker at several public events advocating for educational equity, women’s issues, solving the Illinois budget crisis, and the need for a fair tax. She is a member of the Faith Coalition for the Common Good and Teachers for Illinois Future coalition with Advance Illinois. She became a National Board Certified teacher in 2005, recertifying in 2015. Crysta graduated from Western Illinois University with a BS in Specialized Education and received her Master’s in Specialized Education from Illinois State University.
