Shiyi Van Gorden heads Operations at LEARN Charter School Network, a network of eleven PK-8 public charter schools serving more than 4,100 students in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Prior to LEARN, she served almost nine years in Network Operations at Noble Network of Charter Schools, another high-performing charter school network in Illinois serving more than 12,500 students across eighteen schools. At Noble, she helped prepare the network for a return to in-person schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic, and led facilities and construction during some of Noble's expansion years. Prior to working in education, Shiyi worked in the financial services industry. She received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in economics and public policy studies from Duke University. As a child, Shiyi immigrated to the U.S. with her parents, both of whom had been denied the opportunity to finish middle school due to a multi-year, nationwide school shutdown in China during the Cultural Revolution. She subsequently experienced first-hand the difference in education quality between a district school and a high-performing suburban public school to which she transferred. Due to her and her family's experiences, she is passionate about unlocking high-quality education opportunities for under-resourced communities. Her other work related to this cause includes serving as the Diversity Lead for the Duke Club of Chicago, and a former member of the College Scholarship Committee of her local Boys and Girls Club.