Juliana Zavala
Juliana Zavala grew up in Chicago's historic Little Village neighborhood to wonderful immigrant parents. Her parents emigrated from Mexico, like so many Chicago families, in search of a better life. Her family imparted deep values of hard work and dedication. She has a deep passion for athletics. She played many different sports growing up such as cross country, basketball, track, and soccer. This passion guided her professional path. She played soccer in college at Northwestern State University in Louisiana. She also earned a master's degree in Sports Administration. She believes that participation in sports helps build character and foster positive relationships.
When she began with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), she was a Regional Athletic Director, overseeing boys' and girls' soccer and bowling for the Chicago Public League. Currently, she is the Senior Manager of Elementary Sports for CPS. She oversees all sports at over 300 elementary schools. One of her most exciting projects has been launching girls flag football in partnership with the Chicago Bears. The inaugural season started with 21 teams and now there are over 60 teams in the Chicago Public League, 6 teams in the Western Suburban League, and another 6 teams in Rockford. As a female athlete who loves football, she is excited to see that girls now have the opportunity to play the sport she loves on their own. Her hope is for girls flag football to become an Illinois High School Association sanctioned sport.