Dominique Jordan Turner is currently the President and CEO of Chicago Scholars, an organization whose mission is to uniquely select, train, and mentor academically ambitious students from under-resourced communities to complete college and become the next generation of leaders who will transform their neighborhoods and Chicago. Dominique is passionate about creating equal education opportunities for underserved youth.  She believes that education is not a merit of socioeconomic status, but a valuable resource to pull marginalized youth out of poverty and into leadership positions that positively influence their communities.

Dominique’s work in the college access space is creating high quality educational opportunities for first generation, and underserved student across Chicago. In addition to Chicago Scholars, she had significant leadership roles at the Posse Foundation and the KIPP Foundation. Outside of her educational experience, Dominique began her career as a Management Consultant at Deloitte, where she focused on process reengineering and customer relationship management. Additionally, she was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Panama.

Dominique has been selected for several prestigious leadership opportunities including Leadership Greater Chicago, IMPACT through Chicago Urban League and University of Chicago, the Trinity Fellows Program focusing on Urban Leadership, New York University’s Lead the Way Fellowship, and the Broad Residency in Urban Education. She is the co-Founder of Black Girls Lead, a supportive network for African American women leading nonprofits in Chicago, and serves on the Chicago Public School Board of Education.

Dominique’s leadership hasn’t gone without recognition, as she was recently announced as the 2016 Woman of the Year for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. Glamour Magazine highlighted her in their annual 50 Hometown Heroes feature that acknowledges women who are making a difference in their community, and esteemed radio show Café Mocha recognized her with the Salute Her: Community Activist Award.

Dominique is fluent in Spanish and holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Clark Atlanta University and a M.B.A. from Marquette University.

You can find Ms. Turner through Chicago Scholars on Twitter and Facebook.