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ABOUT CIMA
CIMA of Illinois is a consulting company that supports professional learning in diversity, equity and inclusion for a variety of organizations including educational and non-profits. CIMA, meaning mountain top in Spanish, as an acronym stands for Culture, Identity & Multilingual Advocacy and has dual significance for founders Lissette Jacobson and Maurice McDavid. CIMA of Illinois was founded in 2022.
ABOUT US
LISSETTE JACOBSON
Lissette Jacobson has dedicated her professional career to multilingual learners, having worked with culturally and linguistically diverse students in grades K through 8. She brings both classroom and administrative experience to
this role. She has provided professional development in MTSS, curriculum mapping, standards-based instruction, and differentiation. Lissette's passion for education stems from her own experience as a first-generation Mexican-American in the public school system. It is crucial for her to affirm the identities of her students and elevate the status of the Spanish language. She married her college sweetheart, Brett, and has two sons, Maxwell and Miguel.
MAURICE
MCDAVID
Maurice McDavid has a wide array of experience in education. He has taught middle school history and Spanish as well as high school world geography. Maurice moved into administration as a dean at a high school 60 miles west of
Chicago and has continued his administrative career, now serving as principal in a district in the western suburbs. Social justice and restorative justice have always been driving factors in the work he has done. He has offered PD in both of those areas in various settings. He also serves on the Illinois Diverse and Learner Ready Teacher Network and helped to author the CRTL standards. Maurice is married to his high school sweetheart, Samantha, and has three children, Ezekiel, Cinderella, and Zariah.
Maurice and Lissette have been colleagues and friends for several years. They taught together, earned their Masters degree together, and are currently completing their coursework together for their Ed.S. In 2020, an idea to start a podcast together came to fruition - Black, Brown, and Bilingüe. Their playful bantering, often described as sibling rivalry, and synergy make them an engaging and dynamic duo!