LILA LEFF
– Chief Executive Officer
Lila Leff founded Umoja Student Development Corporation in 1997 as a
one-person organization providing leadership opportunities to a small
group of under-served high school students on Chicago’s West side.
Currently, Umoja is a million dollar organization that provides academic,
social, leadership, and college and career supports to more than 2,000
young people living in some of Chicago’s most challenged neighborhoods
as well as professional development to more than 200 teachers within
those school communities. When Umoja began its college counseling program
at Manley Career Academy in 1999, fewer than 10% of the seniors were
enrolling in college after high school graduation. In 2008, with Umoja’s
help, that figure stood at more than 60%, with Manley graduates attending
colleges and universities throughout the country.
Prior to her work with Umoja, Lila was the co-founder and founding director
of Illinois’ first federally funded education-to-careers initiative
sponsored by Senator Paul Simon. Lila’s vision for youth development
includes creating meaningful opportunities for young people to assume
responsibility for themselves, their development and their role as active
citizens; building bridges between schools, business, and community
in support of holistic youth development; and furthering positive relationship
development between youth and between youth and adults. Over the last
twelve years, Lila has provided support and consulting to organizations
and schools in Chicago and across the nation in the development of cooperative
partnerships, school-to-work programs, curriculum integration and project-based
learning, and holistic youth development.