FSCA Convention 2018 KeyNote Speaker

FSCA is pleased to announce Kirsten Perry as a keynote speaker at the 2018 Convention.

Kirsten Perry is a professional school counselor at Lawndale Community Academy located on Chicago’s westside. Kirsten was most recently named the 2017 Illinois School Counselor of the Year by the Illinois School Counselor Association (ISCA) and was named the 2018 National School Counselor of the Year by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).  This is Kirsten’s seventh year serving as a school counselor for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In 2013, she was awarded the Directors Choice Award from the CPS Office of School Counseling for her work with high school matriculation. She has since served as a Master Counselor for the district for 4 years, mentoring school counselors and assisting with the development of district initiatives. She also serves on the CPS Naviance Advisory committee where she helped to develop a middle school college-career companion curriculum to be used by middle school counselors throughout the district.

Kirsten is a career changer. She came into the field of school counseling in her early 30s. She earned her undergraduate degree in 2006 from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in the History of World Religion. She earned her masters in education and school counseling from DePaul University in 2011. Having been a troubled youth and a single mother in her 20s, Kirsten finds strength from the setbacks that life has given her. It is her passion to serve at-risk youth like herself and underserved communities by developing comprehensive school counseling programs that work to create change and close the achievement gap.

Kirsten is also the proud mother of one son who is currently a junior at Roosevelt University studying social entrepreneurship in Chicago. In her spare time, she loves to run (she has ran in around 10 half marathons), loves to spend time with family and friends and loves to try new restaurants!