Expanding Math Opportunities for Every Student in Chicago

Doug O'Roark

Doug spent the last decade leading the Math Circles of Chicago, which has grown to be the largest math enrichment program in the US. Previously Doug led the NSF-sponsored AIM-TRU research project at DePaul, which worked to improve math teaching across CPS. He also founded and led the secondary math component of the UChicago Urban Teacher Education Program and was the 1st teacher hired at Payton HS. He was awarded the Radio Shack National Teacher Award, the MAA’s Sliffe Award for Distinguished Math Teaching, the ICTM Rine Secondary Math Teaching Award, and the Museum of Math's 2020 Rosenthal Prize for Innovation and Inspiration in Math Teaching. The City of Chicago Math League and Payton Prep have awards named in his honor. He lives in the South Loop neighborhood with his wife, a researcher at UIC; both of their children are graduates of CPS. ‍

Michelle Harton

Michelle taught for 13 years at Morgan Park High School in CPS. Michelle has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee State University (TSU), a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a Master’s Degree from Northwestern University in Education and Social Policy. For many years, she worked as a research engineer at Motorola. In addition to her love of math, she enjoys reading, traveling, going to the movies, and playing the viola and piano. She is married and has two adult children.

Graham Rosby

Graham loves a good math problem. He's had the good fortune of learning and solving many as a volunteer with Math Circles of Chicago since 2011, and as a student at the University of Chicago (AB '11) and Harvard's Graduate School of Education (MA '18). He grew up in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago, and now lives in Bucktown with his wife, a veteran CPS teacher, and son. He also enjoys long distance running, crossword puzzles, and quiz shows.

Jessica Young-Eleazar

Jessica is a middle school educator and doctoral student passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in education. She holds Illinois teaching endorsements in Math, Language Arts, and Music, and is pursuing her EdD at Loyola University Chicago. As a Filipino-Chinese American, Jessica works to design learning experiences that reflect students’ identities and empower them as social justice advocates. You can usually find her at DivaDance Chicago, trying new restaurants, or hanging out with her partner and their hedgehog, Iggy.

Lauren Sawyer

Lauren is a Middle School Math Lead Teacher + Advisor for a school in West Town. She's an educator of 10 years. She taught as a 3rd - 5th contained classroom teacher and specialized in 3rd - 8th math and science. Outside the classroom she's written math and science curriculum, coached teachers in math, and managed the education program for a city park in Saint Louis. Lauren and her family live on the UChi campus and love to play board games with any free time they have.

Valeria Leiva

Valeria Leiva is a proud Colombian American from South Florida. She has Bachelor's in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University. With as an educator, Valeria has always prided herself on connecting with her students and helping them find joy and confidence in mathematics. Valeria is deeply committed to promoting equity in education, ensuring that every student has access to quality learning opportunities. She is a dedicated daughter, loving wife, and devoted dog mom.

Angelica Ledezma

Angelica Ledezma joined Math Circles of Chicago in 2024 as the operations assistant. She has a bachelors in Social Work from Northeastern Illinois University. Outside of Math Circles, she loves to spend time with her family and travel.

Stephen Cimaglia

Stephen has been a proud mathematics teacher for 10 years. He started his career at Iowa City High School and has moved back home to Chicago to teach at Lake View High School. Stephen has a passion for empowering ALL students in their mathematical identities by building positive relationships and challenging them to think critically and problem solve collaboratively. Stephen puts students at the forefront of learning everyday. Stephen was awarded the promising new math teacher of the year award from ICTM in 2019 and spoke at the NCTM conference in 2024 about his successes and challenges of creating a building thinking classroom. This upcoming school year, Stephen is teaching his first ever ELL Algebra 1 course! Outside of the classroom, Stephen enjoys rock climbing, biking, traveling (especially to National Parks), hanging with family (his niece and nephew) and friends, and live music.

Patrick Beatty

Patrick Joined match circles of Chicago in 2024 as the site coordinator at Payton College Prep. Patrick has been a paraprofessional at Payton since 2022 and did his undergraduate in history at North Central College and his masters in education at National Louis University in Chicago. When not working with students Patrick enjoys traveling, reading about other cultures, listening to podcasts, and playing video games.

Barbara Manjarraz

Barbara has been a math teacher at Back of the Yards College Prep since the school opened in 2013, teaching a variety of International Baccalaureate courses. Barbara graduated from St. Olaf College in Minnesota with a bachelor’s in mathematics. Outside of math, she loves coaching badminton, spending time with her two children at soccer and baseball games, traveling, and spending any spare moment in Minnesota with her family!

Almasa Burnell

Almasa Burnell has been with Math Circles of Chicago since the spring of 2022. Since 2018 she has taught Calculus and Algebra II at Lane Tech. In her spare time she enjoys going to concerts around the city of Chicago, walking along the lakefront while listening to audio books, and spending time with the people closest to her!

Mat Wimberly

Mat is currently the Business Coordinator for the Math Department at the University of Chicago. He moved to Chicago in 2016 after completing his B.S. at The University of Alabama and recently completed his M.S. Degree at Drexel University. In his spare time, he likes to see plays at Steppenwolf, play Ultimate Frisbee as part of the CMSA league, and spend time with friends exploring the city. He joined the MC2 program in Fall of 2021.

Alexis Stokes

Alexis was a CPS classroom teacher for 19 years, with experience teaching from 2nd grade to 6th grade. Since 2022, she has been a Math Content Specialist in the CPS Department of STEM. Alexis has been connected with Math Circles since 2021, when she ran an after school program at her school in Bronzeville. Outside of work, she enjoys walking, biking, and spending time with family.

Steve McIlrath

Steve lives in the Austin neighborhood with his wife and three children. He's taught at Austin College and Career High School for more than 30 years. Over the last decade he's worked with colleagues on Chicago's west side to build Project Exigent into an intensive summer math program serving middle schoolers and high schoolers. Exigent and Math Circles of Chicago became partners in the winter of 2025.

Paul J. Karafiol

Paul has been committed to developing talent in young people since his first summer job as a counselor in the UChicago Young Scholars Program. He’s taught math at Phillips Academy, Providence-St. Mel School, and Payton College Prep. Currently, he serves as the principal of Lake View High School. Outside of school, Paul coached the Chicago-Area All-Star Math Team and is the head author of the American Regions Math League Competition. Awards Paul has received include the ICTM Flener Award, the MAA’s Edith May Slyffe Award, and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching. He lives in Hyde Park with his wife, three children (two of whom attend CPS schools), and two dogs.

Gary Jones

Gary Jones is President of Jones Partners, Ltd., an independent consulting firm in the electric power industry. He is a retired Senior Vice President and Owner of Sargent & Lundy, LLC, an international consulting engineering firm in the electric power industry, and served as a Senior Safety Engineer at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. He founded the Chicagoland Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and has served on several boards of directors for non-profit organizations in the Chicago area, including EWB-Chicago, SALUTE, Inc. (which aids veterans and their families), and the Chicago Chapter of the American Nuclear Society. He also served on the Agassiz Local School Council. He enjoys riding bicycles and geometry, and has a new interest in algorithms.

Sendhil Revuluri

Sendhil Revuluri works to improve opportunity for children in high-need schools. He currently serves as the Vice-President of the CPS Board of Education. He previously traded equity derivatives and helped launch a new public high school in the South Bronx (where he was recognized as a Math for America Master Teacher). He chairs the project committee of the Bright Promises Foundation, was recently elected Vice President of the IMSA Alumni Association and to the Board of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics and is a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. His family lives in Pilsen, where his wife is an executive at a non-profit working to improve the lives and opportunities of people living in poverty, and his son is a kindergartener at a CPS elementary school.

Archana Rana

Archana Rana is mom to two CPS kids and is passionate about making education accessible to all children. Professionally, she works at Mars Incorporated, leading their HR Operations Strategy team. Having spent half her life in India and the United States, she considers herself a global citizen. In her free time, she enjoys cooking foods from around the world. Archana lives in Little Italy with her husband and two children.

Troy Boccelli

Troy Boccelli is a CPS alumnus and lifelong Chicagoan. He became involved with Math Circles through his younger brother, a former Math Circles participant. He works for a real estate developer and asset manager. Troy grew up in Little Village and currently lives on the Near West Side.

Lawrence Tanzman

Lawrence Tanzman is a CPS alumnus and a prior student of two of the founding members of the Math Circles of Chicago. Lawrence works for a financial company in Chicago trading equity derivatives. Lawrence has taught a Math Circle session on mathematics in finance and hosts a Guesstimathon every year at the QED Math Symposium.

Benitta Jones

Benitta Jones is a STEM specialist for a Chicago public school in the Little Village community. She is passionate about ensuring that students have access to STEM careers. Before transitioning into this role, Benitta served as a high school mathematics instructor for 15 years. Benitta is a Chicago native, CPS alum, and she currently resides in the North Kenwood community with her husband and daughter.

Gail Ward

Gail was the founding principal at Walter Payton College Prep, one of the city’s most accomplished selective enrollment high schools. After leaving Payton, Gail was named Chief Officer of the CPS Office of Principal Preparation and Development. Gail was appointed to Chicago Board of Education June 2015 by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Retired since 2008, Gail is currently a trustee on the Chicago History Museum; on the Board of Golden Apple Foundation; on the Math Circles Board of Chicago; and the Advisory Board of SESP at Northwestern University; and the Advisory Board of Bennett Day School in Chicago. Gail is a frequent traveler and has visited schools in Africa, China, India, Europe, and the Middle East.

Corey Morrison

Corey Morrison is the Director of Mathematics for Chicago Public Schools. Mr. Morrison has served as a math teacher, department chair, and most recently, the assistant principal of Kenwood Academy where he oversaw the math and science departments. Throughout his 12-year career, he has championed creative ways to provide access and opportunities for all students to achieve advanced levels of mathematics. With a passion for helping all students and teachers find their math identity, he is committed to expanding the love of mathematics across the district.

Jen Turner

Jennifer Turner is a global human resources, talent and culture executive with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries including technology, marketing, analytics, professional services and consumer packaged goods. Most recently Jen was the Chief People Officer at Double Good, and prior to that she was the Global Vice President of People Experience at CSG, Inc. A lifelong Chicagoan, Jen earned her Bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago and is involved with a variety of local non-profit organizations that support her hometown. Jen lives in Chicago with her family and their amazing dog, Keno.

Jose Baca

Jose Baca (he/him) was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side to a father from Michoacán and mother from Monterrey. A product of CPS from K-12, he was able to attend the University of Miami after, graduating Cum Laude.

Vishal Shah

Vishal Shah is the CFO for the Payment Services segment at Discover Financial Services. In addition to his experience in the corporate sector, Vishal spent time as a high school math teacher in Washington D.C. as part Teach for America, sparking his passion for math education. Vishal was born and raised in the Chicagoland area, completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Chicago and currently resides in the West Loop with his wife and daughter.