{"id":33823,"date":"2026-06-01T11:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T16:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devcofi.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=33823"},"modified":"2026-06-01T12:42:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:42:50","slug":"chanelle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cofionline.org\/es\/chanelle\/","title":{"rendered":"Chanelle: Dreaming Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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\u201cCOFI parent leaders have been working every day to push for policies that reflect our shared vision of an equitable and better world for our children and families. We won\u2019t stop organizing and advocating until it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Meet Chanelle! She has always had a vision for her family, community, and herself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For three generations, Chanelle\u2019s family made Evanston, Illinois, their home. Despite Evanston being a community with resources, not everyone has access to those resources. But she knew her mother and grandfather had made sacrifices to ensure she succeeded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair that my family had to spend so much money to make sure I didn\u2019t fail. Early on, I knew things needed to change,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After seeing a COFI flier at her daughter\u2019s school, Chanelle began attending COFI training. At the time, she was a single mom and had just lost her father to gun violence. Through the training, she connected with other moms and felt less alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, she felt energized by her new COFI community. The trainers and the moms in the room were interested in her \u2013 her strengths, goals, and vision for the future. Through training and her new community, Chanelle felt empowered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She became increasingly involved in her daughter\u2019s school, which led to her daughter receiving the 504 education plan she was entitled to. She also started a movement to include more Black and Brown parents on the school\u2019s PTA (serving as the first co-chair) and created a peace circle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Chanelle has held many roles at COFI and POWER-PAC IL<\/a><\/span>, including delegate of her branch, POWER-PAC IL Statewide Vice-President, Co-Chair of the Elementary Justice Campaign, and now she is on the COFI Board of Trustees<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy dream for COFI\u2019s 30th is to keep telling more parents that they have power,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Chanelle envisions a community, state, and nation where all residents are thriving\u2013and have equitable access to the resources they need. She sees all schools offering peace circles, safe spaces, and reliable, consistent mental health supports. Chanelle wants to reimagine punitive disciplinary responses \u2013 and to eliminate disparate outcomes for Black and Brown students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor three decades, COFI parent leaders have been working every day to make that vision a reality for all,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we won\u2019t stop organizing until it happens.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” link_option_url=”\/about-cofi\/30-years\/30-stories-for-30-years\/” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

<< Back to 30 Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ellen’s Story >><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a1Les presentamos a Chanelle! Ella siempre ha tenido una visi\u00f3n para su familia, su comunidad y para s\u00ed misma. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

Meet Leah, a longtime partner and supporter of COFI!<\/p>

She partnered with COFI on a parent-led project that COFI Organizer Talibah<\/span><\/a> and other parents worked on to address the lack of developmental screenings.<\/p>

As the director of a statewide community collaboration project, Leah collaborated with seven communities, including Englewood, to boost early learning enrollment. Englewood parents, armed with training from COFI, discovered that fear of stigma and mistrust of systems led some families to avoid developmental screenings for early intervention and special education.<\/p>

Parents pitched an idea to Leah: with funding, parents could support other parents to navigate the early intervention system and the special education system to get children in their community the support they needed.<\/p>

Leah funded the project and parents did it!<\/p>

Fast forward to 2024: during a training with The COFI Center for Action and Learning<\/a><\/span>, Leah visited Parker Academy in Englewood (pictured below) and met parents who were initially part of the project and were still benefiting from it!<\/p>

\u201cI got really emotional about a dad whose son benefited from the program and thrived,\u201d she said. \u201cThe parent-led project in Englewood shows that with a little bit of seed money, families can lead and make their innovations last. It is a systems change success story. This is how things work when parent voices are at the table.\u201d<\/p>

This anniversary and Leah\u2019s dream serve as a reminder of the connections forged through parent-led efforts. Change begins with a parent\u2019s dream, and when they unite with others and partners like Leah, remarkable transformations can ripple out.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testimonials"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChanelle: Dreaming Forward | COFI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meet Chanelle! 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