www.negociosnow.com
30 March 2020
Age:38
Title: Director- Title V Individual
Development
Name of Organization: Nor-
theastern Illinois University
Irma Amparo Ortiz has dedi-
cated her professional career to
serving youth in high school and
college.
Irma Amparo Ortiz was born
and raised in Chicago and began
serving youth as a student emplo-
yee at Northeastern Illinois Uni-
versity (NEIU) in 2002 through a
federally funded grant program,
GEAR UP, that focuses on college
access for Chicago Public School
students. After graduating from
the University of Illinois at Chica-
go (UIC), she began to work full-
time as a NEIU GEAR UP Student
Services Coordinator at Foreman
High School.
She eventually led GEAR UP
teams at Clemente, Roosevelt
and Amundsen high schools and
partnered with school-based ad-
ministrators and counselors to
increase college enrollment at
several neighborhood Chicago
high schools. She was promoted
to lead the inaugural GEAR UP
College Transition team in 2018,
supporting more than 5,000 La-
tinx and African-American stu-
dents, many of whom were first-
generation, first-year students.
Ortiz is the director of NEIU's
Title V Individual Development
grant—managing a $2.6 million
budget—intended to increase
retention at the university. She
collaborates with faculty and
staff across campus to develop
programming and providing in-
sight to the university's student
success and retention team.
Additionally, Oritz serves as
the national president for Gam-
ma Phi Omega International
Sorority, Inc., a Latina-oriented
sisterhood, founded in 1991.
She has served since 2016, lea-
ding the board of directors to
manage the operational aspects
and strategic planning for the
sorority's 33 undergraduate and
alumnae chapters in Illinois, In-
diana, Texas, Kansas, Michigan
and Ohio.
Ortiz is a doctoral student
at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign focusing on
Education Policy, Organization
and Leadership. She lives in Chi-
cago with her husband and three
children.
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"T
he education field is
constantly evolving and
can feel hectic. If you prioritize
students' needs and advocate for
them, the outcomes will be worth
every second".
Irma Amparo
Ortiz
Guiding Youth
Pathways
