www.negociosnow.com
58 March 2023
Age: 35
Title: Director of Planning
and Data Management
Organization: Chicago Public
Schools
In her role as director of plan-
ning and data management at
Chicago Public Schools, Iliana
Vargas leads a team of analysts
to evaluate and synthesize
data about district enrollment,
school choice patterns, and
demographic trends to help
inform district planning.
Prior to this role, Vargas
oversaw the creation of school
quality and performance mea
-
sures for over 600 district and
charter schools. Her approach
to working with data within
the public sector draws from
her training as an academic
researcher at Northwestern
University. Additionally, as a
first-generation college stu-
dent and daughter of Mexican
immigrants, Vargas believes
the analysis of data should be
done with specific attention to
the tenets of diversity, equity,
and inclusion.
Vargas received a graduate
research fellowship from the
National Science Foundation
in 2012. Additionally, Vargas
was a member of the Forbes
30 Under 30 class of 2016 in
the science category and se
-
lected as Pacific Standard's
Top 30 Thinkers Under 30 in
2015 for her research on me-
mory and sleep. Vargas holds
a bachelor's degree in psycho-
logy from the University of
Arizona, where she graduated
magna cum laude, as well as a
master's degree and doctorate
from Northwestern Universi-
ty. She credits her success to
her parents who nurtured her
innate curiosity from a young
age, instilled a strong work
ethic, and always supported
her in reaching her goals.
As a resident of Lakeview
East, Iliana loves to find cool
restaurants around her neigh-
borhood and try different cui-
sines. In her spare time, she
likes to read fiction books from
women authors with a pen-
chant for wit and plot.
Iliana Vargas
Informing
better public
school policies
"W
e do this because the world we
live in is a house on fire and the
people we love are burning."
Sandra Cisneros
