Who We Are
The Center for Urban Teaching (CfUT) is a Christian nonprofit organization that exists to identify, prepare, and support high-performing urban teachers, leaders, and schools.
Core Values
We are Christ-centered.
We believe that our faith in Christ compels us to demonstrate unconditional love, acknowledge a purpose beyond self, and consistently guides our behaviors.
We are relational.
We believe in team and family. We serve the person first and the professional connection second through respect, trust, and open communication.
We are joyful.
We believe that you choose your mindset. As a result, we embrace risk and face adversity with a reflective and optimistic attitude that is filled with a contagious hope, joy, passion, and energy.
We are courageous.
We believe that the educational crisis facing our nation’s urban students can and must be solved; therefore, we operate with a no excuses, do whatever it takes mentality.
We are intentional.
We believe that bold leadership requires an unreasonable commitment to what should be. As a result, we remain laser focused on our mission and vision, make strategic decisions regarding opportunities, and refuse to be distracted or pulled away from what God called us to do.
We are dedicated to high performance.
We believe that teacher quality is the single most important factor in student achievement, and the leader impacts teacher quality. Therefore, we are relentless in pursuing our purpose to improve teacher and leader quality within a data-driven culture.
Leadership Team

Krysta DeBoer
Executive Director

Jose Rosario
Dir. of Mission Advancement
Mission Advancement & Operations Team
Mission Advancement & Operations Team

Tania Trippler
Mission Advancement &
Operations Associate

Cavell Samuels
Mission Advancement &
Operations Associate

Wendy Greenfield
Fundraising & Marketing Specialist
Talent Recruitment, Development, & Support Team
Talent Recruitment, Development, & Support Team

James DeMint
Talent Recruiter
& Developer

Grace Marquardt
Talent Recruiter
& Developer

Kris Newman
Talent Recruiter
& Developer

Stephanie Laird
Talent Recruiter
& Developer

Ilse Merlin
Talent Recruiter
& Developer

Tessa Ray
TRD and MAT
Associate

Amanda Rusch
Talent Coach

Al Scharrer
Talent Coach

Ashley Stege
Talent Coach

Rachel Schultz
Talent Coach

Lucia Floryance
Talent Coach

Emma Riccardi
Talent Coach

Robin Johnson
Talent Coach
Founder

Ray Dusseau