Charlotte Blackman joined SLI in 2004 as a consultant and facilitator for the Shared Leadership Component.

After receiving both a B.S. and an M.S. in Education from Chicago State University, and earning a Doctorate in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University, Dr. Blackman served the Chicago Public School system for over 34 years; retiring in 2001. She has worked as a teacher, counselor, teacher facilitator and Principal for the last 11 years at Chalmers Specialty School in the North Lawndale Community. While in North Lawndale, she served as a board member of the North Lawndale Learning Collaborative and co-chaired a work group for the North Lawndale Balanced and Restorative Justice Committee. At Chalmers, she led the school through a number of transformations, with several key successes including significantly raising student test scores, facilitating collaboration between all stakeholders, expanding the school budget, and establishing a safe, nurturing environment for her students and staff.

Since her retirement, Dr. Blackman has taught as senior faculty at Cambridge College using the Cambridge model of instruction. She has served at the School Development Program, Yale Child Student Center at Yale University as both a Principal in Residence and Process Observer/Consultant. She also serves as a coach providing training and support for new school principals for the Leadership Initiative for Transformation (LIFT), where Karen Morris also serves as a mentor. In addition, Dr. Blackman works with the Chicago Public Schools Department of Re-Certification as a consultant to review and approve teacher plans for re-certification.

Capitalizing on her expertise and experience, Dr. Blackman will lead the development of a new SLI network in a Chicago neighborhood. She will visit several of our program activities and workshops and begin building the new network's team. She will also help identify and recruit candidates for professional development and other SLI training who could then be trained by our program staff during the coming year as well.