MEF Announces Molly Powers as New Metro Achievement Center Director
Former Director to Stay On in Consultant Role
CHICAGO—Midtown Educational Foundation (MEF), the city of Chicago’s acclaimed non-profit organization, guiding low-income urban youth along pathways of success since 1965, has promoted Molly Powers to the position of Center Director of its Metro Achievement Center for girls (Metro). Powers succeeds long-time Metro Director, Erin Aldrich, who will stay on as Director Emeritus, continuing to aid MEF in a consultant role as she transitions her career to be closer to family in her home state of Wisconsin.
New Metro Achievement Center Director, Molly Powers, pictured in Metro’s first floor common area where thousands of Chicago girls have come through and been helped by Metro’s individual attention and commitment to academics and virtue.
Powers started working part-time at Metro in the summer of 2010 as the middle school math teacher. She began working full time at Metro in May 2019 as its Middle School Program Director, playing a key role in Metro’s ability to pivot to virtual education, implement cutting edge student assessment tools, and successfully recruit staff and volunteers despite the associated difficulties caused by the pandemic. MEF is grateful that Powers will continue to run the Middle School Program through this summer.
“Molly is a passionate educator with a talent for leading. She embodies all of the virtues and qualities that we refer to as the Spirit of Metro. I am grateful to have worked with Molly and so incredibly excited for the future of Metro under her watch.”
Although Powers now calls Chicago home, she spent her childhood in Atlanta, GA. She secured athletic and academic scholarships to attend Furman University, where she was a double major and a three-season athlete. She majored in mathematics and Spanish, spending a summer abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico to immerse herself in the language and culture. In addition to All-Conference titles in cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track, Powers repeatedly received Academic All-Conference awards.
After graduating from Furman, Powers earned a Master of Education degree from the University of Notre Dame through the Alliance for Catholic Education. She has taught Spanish, English, and math to students of every grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. In addition to her years as a classroom teacher, she also spent six years as a campus minister at the University of Illinois Chicago, and two years as a full-time mom.
Like our Midtown Center Director, Pedro Caranti, Powers is also a cancer survivor, being diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in 2017, and in remission since June 2018. Her unique appreciation for life combined with her competitive and academic background have molded her into a goal-oriented leader with high standards and a compassionate heart.
Molly Powers with her family on one of many outdoor adventures in Chicago.
When she’s not at Metro, Molly’s favorite activity is spending time with her husband and daughters. The family loves to play board games, do outdoor activities, read, cook, and eat good food.
“I am eager and excited to begin my new role as Center Director at Metro. Metro’s wonderful mission is close to my heart so this is truly a labor of love for me. Furthermore, I don’t think I could find a more excellent and mission-driven staff to work with in the accomplishment of that mission. Our students and families make it a joy to get up and come to work every day, so I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue doing the great work that we do.”
MEF looks forward to Powers leading the Metro family in guiding Chicago's youth along pathways of success through its specific mission of embracing the dignity of the person by focusing on academic excellence, virtue development, individual attention, and parental engagement. Please join us in congratulating and supporting Molly Powers as she carries this mission and legacy of Metro forward into a bright future.
About Midtown Educational Foundation: Midtown Educational Foundation (www.midtown-metro.org), through its Metro Achievement Center for girls and Midtown Center for boys, has helped close the achievement gap for underserved students in Chicago since its founding in 1965. Its programming, focusing on academic excellence, virtue development, individual attention, and parental engagement, has led to 100% high school graduation and college enrollment for its students for over 20 consecutive years.