Heather Anichini

Heather Y. Anichini is a steady leader in Chicago’s education ecosystem—known for building high-performing teams, launching bold initiatives, and delivering results at scale across public education and philanthropy. Since 2012, Heather has served as President and CEO of The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund), a nonprofit venture philanthropy dedicated to strengthening Chicago’s public schools by investing in the educators who lead them. Under her leadership, The Fund has raised more than $100 million to recruit, develop, and retain principals, build effective educator teams, and help schools reimagine what is possible for students. Today, Fund-supported programs reach 83% of CPS schools. During her tenure, she has partnered with 10 CPS CEOs, positioning the organization as a champion of intentional continuous improvement and game changing innovation. Independent research validates this impact. A Boston Consulting Group study found that principals in Fund programs are 60% more likely to improve, report higher job satisfaction, and stay longer in their roles. Additional research links effective principals to nearly three extra months of student learning annually, while a Stanford study highlighted Chicago’s system-wide gains during years of sustained leadership investment. Heather began her career teaching on Chicago’s West Side and later served in CPS’s Office of Planning and Development during Chicago's first wave of dramatic improvement. She went on to help build Teach For America’s national alumni infrastructure and principal pipelines nationwide. A certified teacher, administrator, and superintendent in Illinois, Heather continues to teach at the college level and serves on the boards of the Illinois Literacy Foundation, the Chicago Education Alliance, and Teach For America Chicago-Northwest Indiana. She and her husband Brennan have four school-age children, which requires daily creativity and a sense of humor.