Carlos Rivas
Member
District 3B
Carlos Rivas was born and raised in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. He is currently the Director of Public Affairs with The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). Rivas joined COPA in June 2022 after serving eight years at Noble Schools. A lifelong educator, he works to build connections in communities across Chicago to build trust and expand COPA’s reach in underserved communities. Rivas began his career at Chicago Public Schools, where he served as a security officer, Teacher Assistant II, and long-term substitute at James Russell Lowell Elementary School, his alma mater. He later joined Teach For America, where he was placed at UIC College Prep, a Noble School.
Rivas served as the Alumni Supports and External Affairs Manager at UIC College Prep. He joined the staff at Noble in 2014 as a Spanish instructor. Later, he joined the College Team as an Alumni Counselor supporting many of his former students. During his time as Alumni Counselor, the six-year college graduation rate for alumni broke 50% for the first time in network history. Each year, Rivas’ caseload achieved the highest in-network college retention rates, paving the way for students of color and low-income students to lead choice-filled lives. As the External Affairs manager, he was responsible for building parent and family engagement. Rivas successfully developed parent programming at the school to provide structured support for families, earning their trust and becoming a dependable ally whom families turned to during challenging times.
A licensed teacher, Rivas obtained his bachelor’s degree in Government and Spanish from Claremont McKenna College. He holds a master’s degree in Teaching from Dominican University and a master’s degree in Education Leadership: Higher Education Administration from Northeastern Illinois University. He is a member of the R3 Program Board with the State of Illinois, Vice President of the Fulbright Alumni Association Chicago Chapter, and a member of the board of directors of House Choice Partners.
