Students from Urban Prep Academy tour Chicago Housing Authority

CHICAGO (April 12, 2018): The Chicago Housing Authority recently hosted 48 young men from the Urban Prep Academy as part of its annual “Discovering Our City” all-school field trip.

This program was created to provide exposure for the high school students - many of whom have never been out of their South and West side neighborhoods - to many of the City’s professional, civic, and cultural institutions.

Urban Prep Academies operate a network of charter public high schools for boys in Chicago communities. One hundred percent of Urban Prep’s graduates—all African-American males, mostly from low-income families—have been admitted to college.

The Urban Prep Motto is “We Believe.”

As part of their learning experience, several of CHA’s professionals were chosen to serve on a discussion panel, designed to provide beneficial and encouraging guidance for their journey into maturity and making potentially life-changing decisions.

Panelists included CHA Directors Jordan Townes and Dennis Talisman from Capital Construction, Deputy Chief Bryan Land from Information Technology Services, and Chief Legal Officer James Bebley. Inspector General Elissa Rhee-Lee was also on hand, along with Senior Auditor Ellaye Accoh, to share information about the Office of the Inspector General.

The youth toured several of the CHA floors and offices. They were full of curiosity and asked questions of CEO Eugene E. Jones, Jr., Chief Operating Officer Jose R. Alvarez, Chief Procurement Officer Dee Brookens and Procurement and Compliance Director Angela Arrington-Jones.

After a pizza lunch, a networking activity, and a brief PowerPoint presentation from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the young men thanked the CHA staff and departed back to school.