Noble Support Team

About – Brenda Cora

Brenda Cora serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Noble Schools, the largest charter school network in Illinois. As a proud alumnus of Noble’s founding class, a former dean of students, principal, and chief schools officer, Brenda has been a pillar of the Noble community for the past 25 years and has been fully committed to serving Chicago’s youth as a lifelong educator. 

As Noble’s CEO, Brenda oversees the strategy, operations, and academic results of an organization of over 12,500 students and 1,400 staff across 17 campuses. Nationally renowned for preparing its students—98% students of color and 89% from under-resourced communities—to be accepted to and graduate from college, Noble represents 12% of all CPS high schoolers. 

Brenda began her career in East Garfield Park/West Humboldt Park at Noble’s Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy, where she eventually served as principal for six years. As principal, Brenda managed her leadership team and utilized continuous-improvement frameworks based on cultural responsiveness to engage in data-based problem-solving and decision-making. During her tenure, she was able to improve student retention and academic growth significantly and pushed Rowe-Clark’s CPS School Quality Rating to a Level 1. In 2017-2018, under Brenda’s leadership, Rowe-Clark achieved citywide recognition for attaining the 10th-highest overall SAT growth and the 3rd-highest for African-American students in CPS. During her time as Chief Schools Officer, Brenda Cora was tasked with working alongside multiple stakeholders to ensure that Noble fulfills its mission, where all students have equitable and positive school experiences that equip them to succeed on the path of their choice, leading to 75% of alumni completing college. 

Brenda is an alum of Noble Street College Prep’s very first graduating class, where she graduated at the top of her class and went on to earn a B.A. in economics with a concentration in gender and women’s studies at Grinnell College.