active exchange of insight + innovation

Sana Jafri was recently appointed as Executive Director of the Chicago Learning Exchange (CLX). Sana has been with CLX for over six years and during this time, her accomplishments include creating the City of Chicago's first festival for experiential learning entitled Remake Learning Days Chi, developing organizational-wide strategy, securing new funders, launching the City of Chicago’s first digital media and technology landscape scan, as well as generating a communications strategy for local and national outlets.

Sana has diverse personal and professional experiences that are woven together by an emphasis on improving lives and communities through racial equity and social change. Her previous professional experiences include working in development and at a philanthropic consulting firm that conducted program development and evaluation for foundations and nonprofits internationally and nationally, working with the Clinton Foundation, advancing community development and Muslim issues with Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), as well as serving as a journalism and English teacher in Chicago and India.

Interested in learning more about systems change, Sana completed her Master's in Public Policy and Administration with an emphasis on early childhood education at Northwestern University. Sana received her undergraduate degree in secondary teaching from the University of Illinois at Chicago. During her free time, she is writing a dual-language children's book and enjoys spending time with family.

Gina Grant develops programs and services to grow and add value to the CLX community through professional development opportunities, meetups, conferences, and other tools and resources. Prior to joining CLX in 2018, she served as Senior Manager of Digital Engagement at the Chicago Architecture Center and was an active member of the CLX community. Gina also spent several years as a district administrator for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), leading training and strategic planning in the offices of Mathematics and Science, E-Learning, and Teaching & Learning. Ms. Grant is passionate about data and learner analytics. While at CPS, Gina served as co-lead for a project focused on summer school learning outcomes, and her leadership with a multi-year middle grades specialization and social-emotional learning project received national recognition and helped author the district's middle grades specialization policy. Gina holds a Master’s degree in Education Leadership from American College of Education, a Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Clark Atlanta University.

Kiara Hardin is currently a Program Associate for Partner Support at CLX. Most recently, she comes to CLX as an independent contractor for the Economic Awareness Council and the North Lawndale Restorative Justice Court. There, Kiara gained extensive knowledge of recognizing learning through badging.

Kiara completed a year of service as an AmeriCorps Vista at Roosevelt University working in the Office of Experiential Learning and the Policy Research Collaborative. While there, she constructed promotional materials to increase student and faculty participation in experiential learning programming and fostered existing community partnerships.

Throughout her career, she hopes to bridge the gaps between exposure and access within underserved communities, specifically in education and workforce development. She aims to disrupt systemic blockades through advancing innovative and collaborative partnerships to curate economic opportunities. During her free time, Kiara has served on the associate boards for BUILD Chicago and The Red Cross of America and participated in the Obama Foundation's Community Leadership Corps. Kiara graduated with her Bachelor of Art in Communication from Western Illinois University and her Master of Science in Public Service Management from DePaul University.