Crissy Bruno Mombela

Crissy Bruno Mombela is an educator, coach, and systems leader whose career has been defined by a deep commitment to equity, belonging, and healing in schools. A proud Chicagoan from the Humboldt Park neighborhood, Crissy has spent over twenty-five years in education—as a special education teacher, school and district administrator, and now as Director of Programs and Initiatives at the Partnership for Resilience, where she leads trauma-responsive and community-centered education initiatives across Illinois. Her leadership is grounded in empathy, relationships, and a steadfast belief that every child and adult deserves to feel seen, valued, and connected.

Crissy’s journey has been guided by her own story of navigating belonging as a bicultural Latina and the lessons learned from her family’s experiences with disability and exclusion in schools. Those experiences shaped her life’s work: to build educational systems that center humanity and restore connection. She is passionate about helping educators and community partners reimagine what’s possible when care, curiosity, and collaboration take root in learning spaces.

Through the Acosta Institute Fellowship, Crissy hopes to deepen her own healing journey while exploring how healing-centered leadership can transform educational systems from the inside out. She’s excited to learn alongside peers who share her vision for human-centered schools and to bring that wisdom back to her work—creating environments where children’s joy, curiosity, and brilliance are nurtured as catalysts for collective thriving.