This quote has served as the driving force behind Myetie Hamilton’s passion for investing in our youth and providing access and support to help them realize their full potential. Myetie is a Chicago native, raised on the City’s south side by a single teen-aged mother, with the support of her grandparents. Her passion for her city and its youth, has led her, over two decades of dedicated service and strategic thought leadership, to become one of the cities impactful change agents. Her mission is to empower students in under-resourced communities and prepare them for success in school and life. 

 A graduate of Alabama A&M, an illustrious historically Black university, Myetie has served in the Chicago Public School System (CPS) as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the CEO’s Office and Chief of School Support Service. Feeling she wanted to make a more direct impact on the lives of children, she pivoted from supporting CPS in an operations and logistical capacity, to the education space where she could realize her ultimate goal. This led to her serving as the Deputy Chief of Schools for Network 9, managing transformation efforts for 28 schools in Chicago’s Woodlawn, Hyde Park, and our beloved Bronzeville communities. Myetie also is the former Executive Director of EPIC Academy, a public charter high school on Chicago’s far southeast side. 

 She is currently serving as the Vice President and Executive Director of City Year Chicago. City Year is a national nonprofit whose mission revolves around supporting students’ academic success in under-resourced communities to spur lasting change and transform our city. 

She had not been in her position a full five months before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. “I had a vision for how we could best serve our students moving forward, but the pandemic forced us to pivot faster than we thought we ever would need to. While serving virtually was not ideal, we could not let those most in need of our services down. Our AmeriCorps members displayed tenacity and dedication to our mission that puts a smile on my face daily,” Myetie said. “When you consider two pandemics struck us; one was attacking our physical health, and the other attacking our mental health and highlighting the racial injustice that has plagued this country since its inception, the resilience our staff and Corps has shown is remarkable. Their passion for empowering our students and their communities is unrivaled.” 

Her vision did not end with the students at City Years’ CPS partner schools. Under her guidance, City Year Chicago has established partnerships with the Chicago Public School System, Noble Charter Schools, and Exelon to provide professional development and potential employment opportunities for their volunteers. “Our AmeriCorps members are the next generation of leaders and agents for change. They are civic-minded, determined, and creative beyond belief. We are continuing to create professional pipelines to continue giving of their talents, very often in the communities they are currently serving. They have many ambitions, including medicine, education, law, accounting, marketing, and fundraising. I want to ensure we set them up for success in life after City Year.”   

In addition to her tireless work in education, Myetie serves as Board Chair for the Provident Foundation, a non-profit with a mission focused on providing urban youth with exposure, mentoring, and scholarship opportunities in the field of medicine, and is a Leadership of Greater Chicago Fellow, Class of 2016.