Joshua Kaufmann

Josh Kaufmann (he/him) has been the Executive Director of Teach Plus Illinois since 2014, growing the Illinois chapter from a policy fellowship serving 25 teacher leaders in Chicago to a statewide organization supporting over 200 teacher leaders who are shaping policy, instructional practice in schools, and creating affinity spaces for educators of Color. Policy Fellows in Illinois played a leading roles in drafting and passing the Racism-Free Schools Act, reforming the state’s education funding formula, crafting the state’s ESSA plan, and strengthening our teacher pipeline, particularly for early childhood educators and for teachers of color. Teach Plus Illinois has also expanded the Change Agent program, where teachers work with their principals to identify a challenge in their building, and then Teach Plus provides coaching and support to help the teacher leaders lead a change process in their schools. The Illinois Affinity Group network supports nearly 500 educators of color to help improve teacher retention. Prior to Teach Plus, Josh was a district administrator in Chicago Public Schools and a teacher in both New York City and Namibia, and has been working as an educator for 22 years. He holds a BA in theater from the University of Iowa and an MA in public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.