Term: January 7, 2025 through Reorganization meeting January 2028

My name is Iliana Chevres, I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and I am a proud resident of the City of Elizabeth, the place I call home. I am married, and I am the proud mother of two young men, one of whom graduated from Elizabeth Public Schools in 2023. I come from a family of educators and public servants, where I had the opportunity to begin to develop my interest in community service. These opportunities included being the president of different community organizations, as well as social initiatives to improve the quality of life of our youth. Initiatives that I have continued to implement in the City of Elizabeth as the site director of the Elizabethport Community Center for the past 8 years, where we provide services to youth, parents, and seniors.

After graduating from high school, I was accepted into the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, in its School of Criminal Justice. Once I finished my university studies and began my career, I leaned more towards working in the area of non-profit organizations, but without moving away from my professional career in the area of Criminal Justice, helping young people improve their future and stay away from drugs and risky activities. In the United States, I completed my graduate studies in the Area of Criminal Justice and Security Administration.

At that time, my second son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. His diagnosis motivated my family and me to seek and explore alternatives for children with special needs in our community; including continuing to educate myself in other areas and expanding my knowledge in the area of autism and emotional support for parents facing the diagnosis of a child with special needs. Since that moment fourteen years ago, together with my family, we have worked tirelessly to provide services and alternatives to many Elizabeth families with children with special needs who face the same challenges as us. This also prompted us to create the Elizabeth Parent Support Group, a non-profit organization that provides free integrated services every week to children with special needs, including collaboration with different organizations at both the local and state levels.

My work in the community also includes those young people who have gone through the juvenile justice system, as I am a firm believer that education and sports are the basis for creating a better society and preventing delinquency and school dropouts alike. Therefore, my work is aimed at expanding these opportunities for our youth, without forgetting that the population of children with special needs must be served and deserve an equal amount of services and programs.

I have been able to bring all of these experiences and knowledge to the Elizabeth Board of Education since 2019 when I began my first term as a board member. This opportunity has helped me share my knowledge and experiences on a professional level as well as a mother of a child with special needs. The work we have been able to do on the Board over the past few years has been very meaningful as we have been able to provide more opportunities for our children and continue to represent and advocate for the needs of the families we serve.