About Us
Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
Founding Task Force
The following community members came together to begin the work of CIS in the state of Tennessee.
Alene Arnold
Executive Director | Tech Plus Tennessee
Hal Cato
CEO | Thistle Farms
Alice Chapman
Managing Partner | MP&F Communications
Lonnell Matthews
Director | Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods & Community Engagement
Sean McCray
Manager | HCA
Candice McQueen
Commissioner | Tennessee Department of Education
Danielle Mezera
Education Consultant
Kathryn Kubiak-Rizzone
Physical Therapist
Julie Simone
Lipscomb University
Jim Shulman
Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability
Ronnie Stenie
Councilman-At-Large
Kaki Friskics-Warren
Executive Director | Dan & Margaret Maddox Charitable Fund
Jeff Yarbo
Tennessee State Senator
National Network
The story of CIS began in the 1970s, when Founder Bill Milliken, then a youth advocate in New York City, came up with the idea of bringing community resources inside public schools – where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable. Operating in more than 2,300 schools in the most challenged communities of 25 states and the District of Columbia, CIS serves 1.5 million young people and their families each year.
“It’s relationships, not programs, that change children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community.”
- Bill Milliken
Founder & Vice Chairman of Communities In Schools, Inc.