Alignment

Alignment is excited to welcome Katelyn Mucci Segura as Associate Executive Director and Daija Bates as Community and School Program Coordinator. Their combined experience in nonprofit leadership, education, student engagement, community partnerships, and workforce development brings valuable new perspectives and strengthens Alignment’s ability to connect students, schools, businesses, and community partners across the region.

“Katelyn and Daija joining us is an exciting step forward for Alignment,” said Executive Director Nancy Coleman. “We are strongly positioned to serve students across 11 high schools, supporting the work of our four partner school districts while also championing support for the Elgin Neighborhood Network.”

Katelyn Mucci Segura
Associate Executive Director

Katelyn Mucci Segura brings extensive experience in real estate, nonprofit, business leadership, education, and mental health, along with a strong commitment to community impact. As a nonprofit board president, she helped guide a significant CEO transition while strengthening governance, financial oversight, and community partnerships. She also brings entrepreneurial experience and a passion for developing people, mentoring future leaders, and building meaningful relationships throughout the community.

“The future success of our community and local businesses lies in the hands of the next generation, and I’m passionate about empowering young adults to find their place in the workforce,” said Katelyn. “I’m excited to join forces with Alignment to grow its mission and vision, build stronger connections between young people and our business community, and explore how we can impact even more lives.”

Daija Bates
Community and School Program Coordinator

Daija Bates joins Alignment from Clarke University with a strong background in higher education and a passion for helping students recognize and pursue opportunities for their futures. Her experience includes student engagement, program coordination, outreach, relationship management, and developing programs that support academic and career success. She brings valuable experience collaborating with educators, community organizations, and diverse stakeholders, with a particular interest in career exploration and workforce development.

“I’m excited to be part of Alignment because I love having the opportunity to support students and help them see the possibilities for their future,” said Daija. “I’m looking forward to bringing my experience in higher education to the Elgin community, building meaningful relationships, and being part of a team that truly cares about helping students succeed.”

Together, Katelyn and Daija add new energy, experience, and connections to the Alignment team as the organization continues building partnerships and expanding opportunities that help students become academically and career ready.

The Alignment Collaborative for Education is a 501(c)3 organization working to align community resources in support of public school and post-secondary strategies that raise student achievement preparing students to be academic and career ready. The goal is to create responsible, productive, and contributing members of society that advance the economic and social well-being of the Northern Kane County region.

Position Summary: 

Alignment is seeking an energetic and passionate individual committed to future workforce development who can plan and deliver coaching and career preparation planning and programming for students residing in school districts U-46, 300, 301, and 303. This planning and programming must be inclusive of the business community to include organizations representing business, municipalities, non-profits, post-secondary, and school district personnel. Candidate must have an appreciation for working effectively within the diverse community that Alignment serves.

Desired fill date is on or before August 15, 2026.

Essential Job Functions:

• Assist with the recruitment and deployment of a large volunteer pool to facilitate collaboration and the sharing of business and community resources for the effective delivery of programs to students that positively impact career planning.
• Coordinate large scale off-site events such as the annual Explore event and the Regional Job Fair ensuring recruitment practices and communications are in place to provide a strong representation of participation from diverse business and community organizations aligned with the region’s high school pathway models.
• Ensure Alignment’s program resources are fully utilized to address the region’s current and future workforce needs by continuing to be abreast of changes in the regional and national labor market and expected workforce shortages, designing programming to familiarize students with these specific career pathways.
• Provide technical assistance to team members and volunteers to ensure that program delivery combines live, hybrid, and virtual programs to maximize access for students and teachers.
• Track key organizational metrics such as students served and volunteer hours invested to ensure that Alignment meets its annual performance metrics as approved by the Governing Board.
• Assist the Executive Director in promoting Alignment’s work with youth, showcasing the return on investment to the community and its contribution to current and future workforce development by being involved in community organizations that have complimentary missions.
• Expand Alignment’s access to students served by developing new and innovative programs while also continuing to analyze existing programs and opportunities for improvement.

Knowledge & Skills Needed:

• Demonstrated organization and project management skills necessary to manage an extensive volunteer pool where human resources are aligned with educational pathways and career opportunities ensuring the optimal utilization of an array of business and community volunteers. 
• Demonstrated experience in working successfully in middle and high school environments fostering career planning. 
• Ability to set priorities, execute programming and project management practices that best utilizes resources from the business community for the benefit of students.
• Proficiency in the use of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Google applications.
• Proficiency in generating and posting social media communications and promotions to increase awareness of program offerings with students, parents, school personnel, and the business community.
• Experience in coordinating remote and hybrid meetings/events as well as small and large scale in person events. Some examples of these events include Explore, Regional Job Fair, and the U-46 Postsecondary Days.
• Strong oral and written communications skills as evidenced by the ability to help plan and develop both instructional and recruitment flyers that provide a marketing plan aligned with ensuring maximum, quality participation from students and teachers at the individual high schools.
• Creation and maintenance of an annual program and events calendar that reflects all programming within the four school districts under Alignment’s coordination from August to May of each school year.
• Creation and maintenance of a comprehensive summer internship calendar that reflects all start and end dates for each internship program offered.
• Experience in conducting program evaluations that are inclusive of all relevant stakeholder audiences including the development of surveys and interviews to gather feedback from students, school administration, and the participating business community.

Experience and Interests:

The ideal candidate will hold a minimum of an associates or baccalaureate degree with evidence of strong academic performance. Based on a review of previous experience, the candidate will show a history and passion of working with youth in a current or former position or volunteer capacity that includes utilizing business and community volunteers. 

Experience in training and development in a corporate setting is a plus along with bilingual skills, specifically Spanish proficiency both oral and written competency. Demonstrated experience in event planning along with the design and execution of various training programs.

Compensation/Work Schedule:

Compensation will be based on experience and depth of skill necessary in meeting the knowledge and skills needed for the position. The work week, based on Alignment’s event and meeting schedule, can be flexible allowing for a combination of in office and out of office work completion. Position may also require infrequent evening and weekend meetings/events in virtual and live settings. A competitive benefits package is offered to include a generous paid leave policy.

Position Salary Range: $55,000 to $65,000

Application Process and Timeline:

Interested candidates should submit their cover letter and resume to the following email ace@align4edu.org. Position will remain open until filled. Desired fill date is on or before August 15, 2026.

The Alignment Collaborative for Education is a 501©3 organization promoting equitable employment practices