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NU/D65 District Pathways Hub

About us

Meet the team

Behind every pathway on this hub is a small team at Northwestern working to make service with District 65 meaningful, reciprocal, and real. They build the connections, match students to the work that fits them, and tend the relationships that keep this partnership strong — school by school, term by term. Reach out anytime; they'd love to hear from you.

Team members

  • Portrait of Kristen Perkins

    Kristen Perkins

    Northwestern/D65 Partnerships Director

    kristen-perkins@northwestern.edu

    Kristen Perkins-LaFollette serves as the Director of Northwestern Partnerships with District 65, as part of the Office of Community Education Partnerships (OCEP) in the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP). Kristen’s work as an innovation broker has created deep lasting relationships with Chicago area educators and school districts, including 14 years building the NU/ETHS Partnership Office. Before coming to Northwestern as a Teacher-In-Residence, Kristen taught high school science in Chicago Public Schools, where she participated in several research-practice partnerships from the practitioner side. Her work has spanned more than 20 years co-designing and nurturing collaborative engagement centering community and school partners with academia. Kristen holds a B.S. in biology education from Purdue University and a Masters in Educational Studies from Northwestern University with a focus on Community Engaged Scholarship.

  • Portrait of Jana Grabarek

    Jana Grabarek

    Assistant Director, Research-Practice Partnership Initiatives, Office of Community Education Partnerships

    jana.grabarek@northwestern.edu

    Jana provides leadership for collaborative education research among Northwestern and Evanston and Chicago public schools. She is responsible for bridging organizations, providing and developing analytic and partnership capacity, maintaining infrastructure for collaborative research, and managing the day-to-day work of RPP staff.

  • Portrait of Carrie Tzou

    Carrie Tzou

    Associate Dean and Professor of Learning Sciences, School of Education and Social Policy

    Carrie Tzou (PhD08) has built her career focused on helping students and educators feel connected to place-based learning. She joined Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy in 2025 as a professor of learning sciences and associate dean. Carrie also serves as the faculty director for the Office of Community Education Partnerships (OCEP), supporting Northwestern engagement with educators in Evanston, Chicago, and beyond.

    Read more about Professor Tzou

  • Portrait of Hailey Cox-Montijo

    Hailey Cox-Montijo

    NU/ETHS Partnership Coordinator

    haileycox@northwestern.edu

    Hailey serves as the office's partnership coordinator. She supports the Northwestern University-Evanston Township High School Partnership Office and the Northwestern-D65 Partnership Office. She works out of the NU-ETHS partnership office located at ETHS and supports school-based and campus activities between the Evanston school districts and community partners, with time also spent on the Northwestern Evanston campus working with the OCEP team (Office of Community Education Partnerships). Hailey graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University in 2020, with a Bachelor of Science in Education and Social Policy with a major in Human Development & Psychological Studies, and minors in Sociology and Gender & Sexuality Studies.

Have a question, or not sure where to start? Email us at kristen-perkins@northwestern.edu and we'll point you in the right direction.