Deborah Lynch

Deborah Lynch taught in urban elementary and high schools for twenty years. She also worked as an assistant director of the Educational Issues Department of the American Federation of Teachers. She was instrumental in the award of a $1.3 million MacArthur grant for an education reform and teacher leadership initiative to the Chicago Teachers Union and served as its president from 2001-2004. Lynch earned a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, was a full professor, and is now adjunct professor and Professor Emeritus of graduate studies in the College of Education at Chicago State University. She also holds a master’s degree in Addiction Studies and is a certified addiction counselor with Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. She is a SMART Recovery volunteer facilitator and current president of the Serenity Academy Board of Directors, a non-profit organization committed to advancing alternative peer groups (APGs) and recovery high schools.