After working for Youth Advocate Program, Inc. for 11 years and serving our families in Chicago Public Schools, in prevention, juvenile justice, and violence reduction programs, workforce development, she now serves as Chief Strategy Officer at ASPIRA Il focusing on continued service to our families in community, schools and the Miguel Del Valle Youth Leadership Development Center. April is a co-chair of the Violence Prevention Committee for Senator Cristina-Pacione Zayas. She sits on several community committees such as Health First Advisory Council, Northwest Collaborative, National Positive Youth Development Council, Transition-Age Federal Coalition, and National Housing for Child Welfare (Senior Policy Fellow). Since sitting on her first board in 2000, she has been strategizing as a consultant for nonprofits and forprofits on how to maximize the board, councils, workgroups, and staff productivity. April takes her passion to helping an organization thrive by facilitating strategy sessions. She guides nonprofit leaders through a board development strategic planning decision-making process to improve services, demonstrate impact, shape conversation, secure funding, and inspire change in the lives of the people and communities they serve. April has provided intensive advocacy for ultra-high-risk Chicago Public Schools students City Wide for the past 15 years. She had to identify, recruit, hire, train, monitor, and supervise all direct service professionals and administrative staff. She also developed data programs to monitor and manage outcomes for programs, manage budgets, and write grants. She partnered, developed, and served as a liaison with Chicago Public Schools, Juvenile Courts/staff, Probation, Community Organizations, Chicago Police Department, and DCFS. She facilitated Child and Family Team meetings and developed Individualized Service Plans for each family and Peace Circles. She is a restorative justice circle keeper. She is a firm believer that it is not good enough to be trauma-informed but to practice the healing-centered approach when working with our communities. She hosts monthly restorative circles with her community.