Kris De la Torre

Kris De la Torre (she/her) is the Director of Sustainability and School Food at the Academy for Global Citizenship. Previously, she facilitated a Critical Participatory Action Research initiative with Advocates for Urban Agriculture that emphasized equitable funding distribution and financial fluency for BIPOC farmers. Kris spent five years working for the Chicago Botanic Garden as a coordinator for transitional jobs and youth development programs.

She has stewarded land in rural and urban settings to grow and maintain a diversity of fruits, vegetables and livestock. Kris received her M. Ed. in Human Development & Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Certificate in Culinary Nutrition from The Natural Gourmet Institute in New York, NY and a BA in Museum Education & Spanish from Lake Forest College. Her work in sustainability, experiential education and social justice has taken her to over 15 countries. She brings a global lens to facilitate nuanced conversations that build a joyful, collective vision for authentic and identity affirming learning environments.

The land on which the Sacred Place at Academy for Global Citizenship is located is particularly important for Kris.

“The land on which our school, community building and farm are built on is a storied piece of Chicago’s South West side. The Sacred Place and surrounding greenspace provide an opportunity for reflection, memory and homage to the communities that called that space home before us. Even the process to design and construct this space with multiple stakeholders will play an important role in remembering and honoring the LeClaire Courts Homes that previously occupied 20 acres and was raised in 2011 while celebrating the grassroots efforts to heal and bring community resources back to the area.”