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AV monogram Dr. Angel L. Velez Scholar · Strategist · Advocate
Speaking & Media

Boards, districts,
community rooms

I speak plainly and I bring evidence. Thirteen years of consulting and five of teaching means I can hold a room of skeptics as easily as a room of allies.

What I speak about

Topic 01

Equity-centered leadership

Beyond the illusion of inclusion: fairness as an operating system, and how leaders redesign the way institutions distribute access, resources, voice, and dignity.
Topic 02

From data to action

Continuous improvement as a leadership discipline: turning dashboards into decisions, small tests into system change, and evidence into habits an organization keeps.
Topic 03

Poverty is a policy outcome

Educational opportunity and family economics move together. What six years of research on access says about where students are lost — and where they can be kept.
Topic 04

Austerity is a choice

Progressive revenue from inside the vote: what a $9.88 billion budget and a $732 million deficit teach about why “the only option” rarely is.
Topic 05

Investing where we chose not to

Historically neglected communities were built by decisions, not accidents. How advocacy connects people to the resources that already exist — and wins the ones that don’t.
Topic 06

Co-governance in practice

Governing with communities instead of over them: what shared power with parents, educators, and neighbors looks like inside a real board vote.
Topic 07

Community cultural wealth

The knowledge, networks, and resilience students and families of color already carry. How institutions stop reading culture as deficit and start building on it as strength.

Formats

Keynote

30 to 45 minutes, with Q&A. Conferences, convocations, annual meetings.

Panel & moderation

Education policy, workforce equity, higher education access, Chicago governance.

Workshop

Half or full day for leadership teams and boards. Working sessions, not lectures.

Selected appearances

MAY 2026 Code Your Dreams, Code Together Day Keynote
MAY 2026 Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization, Annual Convention Education panel
MAY 2026 May Day speech, Chicago Teachers Union Speech
APR 2026 Rise Together, Far South Side Community Action Council Panel
SEP 2025 Hispanic Heritage Month welcome speech, City of Chicago Speech
OCT 2023 Think Chicago Launchpad, World Business Chicago & City Colleges of Chicago Speaker

For organizers

Short bio for your program

Dr. Angel L. Velez is an experienced civic leader and Vice President of the Chicago Board of Education, representing District 9A on the South Side. His style of governance matches his lived experience: an Afro-Latino, first-generation college graduate who went from Roberto Clemente Community Academy through City Colleges to a Ph.D. in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he governs the way he came up — evidence first, community at the table, and nothing decided about students without the people who know them. He brings more than thirteen years advancing equitable access in education, corporate, and community settings, and lives in West Englewood with his wife and son, who attends a Chicago public school. Name pronounced Ah-n-hell Veh-lez · he/him

Keep exploring

Next — For organizers The press kit: bios and headshots → Next — Ideas The writing behind the talks →
Bookings Tell me the room, the date, and what you need it to change. Board-related requests go through the Chicago Board of Education office. Sending opens your email app with the details filled in.
Dr. Angel L. Velez · Chicago, Illinois