Staff Announcement - March 2019
Today, we are pleased to share two important announcements:
Cheryl Flores will be joining the Golden Apple staff as the Director of Academic and Social Emotional Supports for the Scholars Program, succeeding Lauren Perez-Pietruszka.
Norma De La Rosa will be returning to the Golden Apple staff as a Manager of Recruitment and Scholar Support.
Cheryl Flores, Director of Academic and Social Emotional Supports
Cheryl will be supporting undergraduate Scholars in the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois program and will report to Alan Mather, President. Her goal is successful attainment of a Bachelors in Education for all Scholars by providing the requisite academic and social emotional supports.
Cheryl comes to Golden Apple from the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC), a community-based organization on the southwest side of Chicago. While at BPNC, she served in different roles for the organization related to civic engagement, youth development, and education. In her most recent role as the Director for Community Schools & Youth Services, she was responsible for ensuring the implementation of quality programming and services for students and parents across seven partner schools. Before working with community schools, she worked as a youth organizer. It was through this work that she became more active in the fight for equitable education.
Cheryl earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Gender Women Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Masters of Public Administration from DePaul University and was recently inducted as a Surge Fellow by the Surge Institute.
Cheryl’s first day will be Monday, April 1st, 2019.
Norma De La Rosa, Manager of Recruitment and Scholar Support
Norma will be responsible for the recruitment of applicants to the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program, under the direction of Dave Marcial on the Scholar Recruitment team. In addition to recruiting, Norma will assist in the coordinating the processes for Scholar selection and support the transition of newly inducted Scholars into the program.
Norma has held various roles in education over the last nine years ranging from Bilingual Teacher’s Assistant to University Academic Advisor. She most recently served as an Academic Advisor at Aurora University. Norma is returning to Golden Apple after previously serving as a Recruiter in the 2016-2017 school year. We are pleased to welcome Norma back!
Norma earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a Minor in Latin American Studies from Illinois State University and her Master of Arts in Education Leadership in Higher Education from Northeastern Illinois University.
Norma’s first day will be Monday, March 18th, 2019.