Rural Partners Education Series

Presented by Teresa Ramos, Former First Assistant Deputy Governor for Education; and Martin Torres, First Assistant Deputy Governor for Education

Join our current and former Illinois Deputy Governors for Education as they cover updates from early childhood through post-secondary, touch on key legislative topics, and foster discussion around the budget context for this upcoming fiscal year.

About the speakers:

Martin Torres is the Deputy Governor for Education in the Office of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. He has served in the administration since Governor Pritzker was sworn into office in January 2019. Prior to his current role, he served as Senior Policy Advisor and later First Assistant Deputy Governor for Education. Deputy Governor Torres oversees five state agencies (IDEC, ISBE, IBHE, ICCB, and ISAC), chairs the P-20 Council and the Illinois Early Learning Council, and leads the appointment process for all education-related state boards and commissions. Before joining the administration, he served as Deputy Policy Director for the governor’s first campaign for office. Earlier in his career, he served as the associate director of the Latino Policy Forum, where he guided the organization’s legislative and administrative advocacy with a focus on education, immigrant integration, and fiscal policy. He also spent several years in Washington DC working at the Alliance for Excellent Education and the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Martin has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

 

Dr. Teresa Ramos is currently the First Assistant Deputy Governor for Education in the Office of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. She previously served as the Vice President of Public Policy, Research, and Advocacy at Illinois Action for Children. She worked to support policy, research, and community engagement teams who advocate for equity in early childcare and education. For over 7 years, Dr. Ramos was the Director of Community Engagement at Advance Illinois – a statewide organization that promotes education advocacy and works to develop a strong public education system. There, she built and managed the Funding Illinois’ Future campaign. She also co-founded the Illinois 60 by 25 Network, which is a community organization network committed to making sure 60% of Illinois residents receive a post-high school degree by 2025. Prior to joining Advance, Dr. Ramos was a community organizer for Organization of the NorthEast (now ONE Northside) and managed the Grow Your Own teacher’s program. 

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Rural Education Issues and Advocacy 
Wednesday, January 15 at 12 PM CT

The conversation will include the status of Illinois’ rural schools and education through a statewide lens, with topics that include the Rural Education Advisory Council, School Funding, Career Technical Education, IDEA funding, and a clear understanding of the definition of rural schools.  Blended into the conversation will be a perspective from the National Rural Education Association.

About the Speaker:

Mr. David M. Ardrey is now in his 12th year as the Executive Director of the Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools (AIRSS). In September 2024 at the request of the National Rual Education Association Board of Directors, he accepted the position of Interim Executive Director of NREA. In 2023 he was elected as the President of the National Rural Education Association (NREA), serving as the 116th President and only the third Illinoisian to hold the position.  Mr. Ardrey has committed the last 12 years serving NREA on its executive committee, the Foundation (NREAF) and its policy Coalition (NREAC). The National Rural Education Association (NREA) was originally founded in 1907 as the Department of Rural Education. It is the oldest established national organization of its kind in the United States. Before joining AIRSS in 2014 he served as the Director of Rural School Partnerships and Outreach at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, he was a founding member and Inaugural Chairman of the Rural Schools Collaborative, an organization that works to build sustainable rural communities through a keen focus on place, teachers, and philanthropy. David’s personal and professional life has been in rural places, growing up in rural southwest Missouri and living and working with his family in downstate rural Illinois.  His work has been focused on creating a place for the rural voice to heard, ensuring the rural voice has a seat at the table and sharing a message that rural resilience should not be confused with equity.

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Reimagining Rural Education

Dr. Dugan will be providing theoretical and practical implications in advancing rural education in Illinois. Through both national statistics and trends, as well as specific local examples of rural innovation, participants will learn more about the advantages of rural education.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Todd Dugan is the proud Superintendent of Bunker Hill CUSD #8 located in Bunker Hill, Illinois.  A rural, distant district in downstate Illinois, Bunker Hill 8 is an award-winning district serving 620 families throughout south-central Illinois. A 2017 Tech & Learning Leader of the Year, the 2018 Illinois State University EAF Superintendent of the Year, the 2022 Lighthouse Award winner from Illinois Association of School Business Officials and most recently a nominee for 2024 Excellence in Small School Leadership from the National Association of School Superintendents (NASS), Todd has presented and published numerous times on innovative models of rural education and disrupting inequity, digital and otherwise.