Golden Apple Foundation
Lesly Ortega is currently a Spanish teacher at St. Laurence High School and a member of Alpha Psi Lambda National, Inc. They have experience as a Scholar at Golden Apple Foundation and served as a Community Ambassador at Landmark Properties, Inc. Additionally, they have worked as a Student Teacher at Urbana High School and have retail experience as a Retail Associate at Target and in the Box Office at Classic Cinemas. Lesly has a Bachelor's degree in English/Language Arts Teacher Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Golden Apple Foundation
The Golden Apple Foundation’s mission is to inspire, develop and support teacher and school leader excellence, especially in schools-of-need. Our leading-edge preparation delivers exceptional teachers who make an impact. We help students thrive in the classroom and in life. Since our beginning, we have recognized master educators annually; and, these master educators help prepare the next generation of teachers through both our Golden Apple Scholars (for undergraduates) and Golden Apple Accelerators (for career-changers) programs. Our vision is one in which every classroom has a great teacher and to realize this, we are committed to making a material difference in resolving the teacher shortage.