Stephanie arias biography

Stephanie Arias, Evening Master’s Program (EMP) Class of and Director of College Initiatives at the Cristo Rey Network, was a first generation college graduate.

Arias was born in Ecuador, and her family immigrated to Chicago when she was three. “My parents not only demonstrated hard work and discipline throughout their lives, but a spirit of joy and of kindness—even in hard times.”

Inspired by her parents, Arias graduated from Northwestern University in with a BS in Human Development and Psychology Services and Latina and Latino Studies.

She has now worked in education for a decade, first as a college counselor with Urban Prep Academies (where she got to know her husband, Dominique McKoy, AM’20) and later at the network level with the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, where she also completed a Surge Institute fellowship.

While at Urban Prep, Arias drew inspiration working alongside her mentor Kenneth Hutchinson—who subseq