Jeannette Pawula is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Avanse since 2010. She brings her extensive international experience of working with street children & collaborating with international NGO’s, and leads overall strategic and operational responsibility for Avanse’s programs, growth and execution of its mission. She is the director & producer of Avanse’s documentary series which focus on the underlying conditions faced by street kids & the intervention role and responsibilities of NGOs.  Jeannette currently serves on the advisory board of StandUp for Kids, a non-profit working with street children in Chicago. She is also a member of the Consortium for Street Children Network and the Chicago Council for Global Affairs as well as a was a recent participant in the Nexus Global Youth summit at the United Nations. 

Jeannette was named Chicago Now’s People to Watch in 2013 and was awarded a 2014 feature in Balanced Babe.   Jeannette has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Secondary Education from the University of Iowa and was a licensed high school teacher.  She holds a Certificate from the University of Minnesota on the Resilience on Children Exposed to Trauma, Disaster and War; she also authored a 2011 article, The Army of the Street Child.