Dr. Lionel Allen, Jr. is the Co-Coordinator of the Urban Education Leadership Program and Clinical Assistant Professor of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he teaches a signature pedagogy course on cycles of inquiry and co-leads the full-year residency course for aspiring school leaders. Dr. Allen has over twenty years of experience as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and chief academic officer. He is an education reform consultant, principal coach, and a frequently invited speaker. In 2005, former CPS CEO and United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan selected Dr. Allen to become the first turnaround principal in Illinois. Under his leadership, the Sherman School of Excellence went from the second-worst performing school in the state to becoming a national model and a catalyst for future school reform efforts across the country. Dr. Allen is also the founder of ed Leaders Matter (eLM), LLC, a consultancy that aims to improve schools by developing school leaders. Under the eLM umbrella, Dr. Allen has provided professional development and coaching to hundreds of school leaders and scores of schools and school districts across the nation with a major focus on Illinois and the Midwest.