PHILADELPHIA
— Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
that works to improve early literacy instruction, recently announced the
addition of Lori Taylor to its Board of Directors. Ms. Taylor is senior counsel
and business litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago.
“Lori’s community leadership experience in Chicago and dedication to CLI’s mission make her a terrific addition to our board of directors,” said CLI CEO Joel Zarrow. “Her involvement with CLI as a founding member of our Community Council in Chicago has raised visibility and support for our work that has helped us reach more high-need students. I’m thrilled that she will now bring her passion for advocacy to our Board of Directors. ”
Ms. Taylor has been instrumental in helping the Chicago Community Council raise visibility and resources for CLI’s work in Chicago, and she hopes to collaborate with her Board peers to advance CLI’s mission both in her hometown and nationwide.
“I have a special place in my heart for what CLI does, and I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power high-quality books can have, when they truly speak to the lived experiences of the children reading them. I was inspired from the start by CLI’s commitment to teachers, and the children in their care, who must overcome so many obstacles in their journeys to become readers. I am delighted to join the CLI Board of Directors and continue being an ambassador and advocate for children and early literacy,” Ms. Taylor said.
In addition to her assistance in hosting successful Raise A Glass for Reading fundraising events in 2017 and 2018, Ms. Taylor has led efforts to raise funds to provide books for CLI classrooms in Chicago via the Holiday Book Drive fundraising campaign.
Ms. Taylor is a senior counsel and business litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP in their Chicago office. She is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practices. Her practice involves a wide range of commercial disputes in state and federal courts, including complex securities disputes, commercial foreclosures, commercial contract disputes and product liability defense. Ms. Taylor is also actively involved in pro bono work and represents clients in various matters involving civil rights litigation and appeals. She is a member of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association and the Illinois State Bar Association.
Ms. Taylor has previously been a reporter, news anchor, and producer for an NBC Affiliate station in Missouri. She holds a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
ABOUT CHILDREN’S LITERACY INITIATIVE
Established in 1988, Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, headquartered in Philadelphia, that is focused on improving literacy instruction in public, charter, and parochial schools to ensure that students can read on grade level. CLI’s program provides personalized coaching for teachers and principals, research-based literacy training, and the books and materials classrooms need so that students can become powerful readers, writers, and thinkers. Third-party research has shown that the CLI professional development model can improve educators’ early literacy instruction and student reading achievement. Connect with CLI on Twitter @CLIupdates, or Facebook at Facebook.com/ChildrensLiteracyInitiative.