Brigitte Swenson, EdD, is the Deputy Chief of Options Schools for Chicago Public Schools, where she plays a leading role in advancing outcomes across a network of 36 alternative high schools serving more than 6,000 of the district's most vulnerable students. In this role, she partners with district-managed, contract, charter and ALOP operators to improve graduation and postsecondary outcomes, supports principal leadership development, and drives instructional improvement through collaborative cycles of adult learning. She is leading system-wide shifts to ensure students experience grade-level, culturally responsive, and ambitious instruction that prioritize acceleration over remediation. Brigitte also plays a central role in shaping district policy for alternative education, with a focus on equity and student-centered design.

With nearly 30 years of experience dedicated to urban and alternative education, Brigitte is an equity-driven and student-centered leader known for building distributed leadership structures that foster continuous improvement and for engaging educators in the hard work of shifting mindsets toward asset-based, rigorous, and responsive practice. Her leadership is grounded in the belief that all students deserve safe, supportive, and cognitively demanding learning environments.

Brigitte began her career in the Omaha Public Schools as an English teacher at Omaha North High School, where she also supported alternative education efforts. She later became a founding teacher at Dugan Alternative High School in Chicago, helping to shape what would become Peace and Education Coalition High School. She went on to lead that school as assistant principal and principal, growing it into a respected multi-campus program rooted in trauma-informed practice, high quality instruction, and postsecondary readiness. Her 24-year tenure was marked by strong instructional leadership, deep community partnership, and a profound sense of responsibility to the neighborhood leaders and families who helped bring the school to life.

Brigitte earned her EdD in Urban Education Leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago, an MA in Administrative Supervision and Leadership from Saint Xavier University, and a BA in English Literature and Secondary Education from Knox College.