Tiara Wheatley

Senior Director, Corporate Engagement & Philanthropy, Chicago Tech Academy

Chicago

Tiara Wheatley, an educator, mentor, equity advocate and lifelong Chicagoan, is the Senior Director of Philanthropy & Corporate Engagement at Chicago Tech Academy High School (ChiTech) where she leads school culture, corporate engagement and philanthropy.

Tiara joined ChiTech in 2011 after a successful career in corporate retail management. After exploring different career options, Tiara realized that her passion was working with Chicago’s youth. In 2011, while exploring different career options, Tiara found an amazing opportunity at Chicago Tech Academy. It was there that she began her career and her lifelong mission to make an impact on the lives of Chicago’s most deserving students.

Through her work at ChiTech, Tiara has become a strong advocate of advancing the opportunities for young women and minorities in the field of STEM. Through a number of volunteer opportunities, Tiara is actively working to bring opportunities and awareness to the amazing work of the students at Chicago Tech Academy.

It was during her first year at Chicago Tech Academy that she founded the Young Women’s Leadership Society. The Young Women’s Leadership Society provides support for female students’ professional advancement as future leaders in tech and entrepreneurship. YWLS aims to increase the number of female (and female identifying) people who pursue tech related careers and degrees. YWLS has a unique, multi-layered model that includes Tech & Entrepreneurship Skill Development, Real World Learning, Social-Emotional Learning & College & Career Readiness - all delivered through a culturally relevant, equity focused lens. YWLS examines stereotypes, explores the development of healthy relationships, and fosters the skills necessary for the cultivation of valuable professional networks.

Tiara is also the creator of and brains behind the annual Little Black Dress Night (LBDN). LBDN brings together Chicago’s female (and male) STEM and business community members and celebrates women who are recognized as emerging women in tech and whose efforts are turning the tech industry on its heels and challenging the status quo! In 2020 Little Black Dress Night hosted its 6th annual event and raised over $90K for tech programs at Chicago Tech Academy.

Tiara is a Chicago native and a proud product of the Chicago Public School system herself. Tiara completed her undergraduate degree in Business Management at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and recently received her Master's Degree in Educational Policy Studies from UIC as well. In her free time she enjoys baking, shopping, blogging and spending time with her parents, four sisters and two nieces.