Heather Y. Anichini and Dr. Tony Smith

Heather Y. Anichini is President and CEO of The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund), a nonprofit philanthropy working to more than double the number of great public school principals in Chicago by 2018. Anichini will discuss findings from The Fund’s new report: Chicago’s Fight to Keep Top Principals. Anichini came to The Fund in 2012 from Teach For America (TFA), where she served as Vice President for Career Leadership Initiatives for six years. During this time, she built leadership pathways for TFA teachers to stay in education, including routes to principal roles in cities across the country. Anichini began her education career working on Chicago’s West Side with Umoja Student Development Corporation, a nonprofit school-community partnership originally based at Manley High School. She later taught middle school social studies, also on the West Side. Anichini is a member of the Economic and Commercial Clubs of Chicago, and serves on the Illinois School Leadership Advisory Council (ISLAC). She earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Political Science from Marquette University in Milwaukee, which is as far away from Chicago as she has ever lived. She is a certified teacher and administrator in Illinois. Anichini is married to Brennan Young and has two sons and one daughter – Devan, Garrett and Delaney.

Dr. Tony Smith serves as the Illinois State Superintendent of Education, appointed by the State Board of Education effective May 1, 2015. Prior to his arrival at the Illinois State Board of Education, Dr. Smith was the executive director of the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation, which annually awards more than $5 million in grants that support children's development and education. Before joining the Stone Foundation, Dr. Smith led the Oakland Unified School District in California, where he helped improve academic outcomes, district finances, family engagement and organizational coherence during his four-year tenure. Dr. Smith has served in a wide range of leadership roles, primarily in his native state of California. Prior to being superintendent in Oakland, Dr. Smith served as Deputy Superintendent for the San Francisco Unified School District, where he led efforts to close the achievement gap. He also served as Superintendent of the Emery Unified School District. He previously led the Math, Science and Technology Initiative at the Emeryville Citywide Initiative. He oversaw several major programs at the former Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools, now known as the National Equity Project. Dr. Smith earned his bachelor's degree in English in 1992 from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was captain of the football team. He went on to earn his master's and doctorate degrees in the Division of Language, Literacy and Culture from Cal's Graduate School of Education. Dr. Smith and his wife, Kathleen, an Oak Park native, and their two daughters reside in River Forest.