A.P.P.L.E. LEADERSHIP
Melanie McQueen - Parent
Melanie is a mom of 4. Her eldest daughter (pictured) is a Harvard graduate, a son who is making a difference in the south Chicago communities, a Sophomore and Senior Oak Park and River Forest High School. She came to the Oak Park community 23 years ago as a working single mom. Unaware of the prestigious reputation of Oak Park she was often praised living in the highly desired community. In 2010 her daughter experienced extreme bullying, racism, harassment, and poor classroom environments. She was also harassed by D200 residency officers. This forced her to be involved, learn the laws of education, learn her rights as a parent, the politics of the community, and what it meant to be Black and heavily involved. She served for 3 years as VP of Community with Longfellow PTO, one year with Collaboration for Early Childhood, 2 years as a member of Julian DivCo at Julian Middle School while at Julian she developed JayHawk Talks which focused on Black issues amongst the youth, and Diversity Night. She was the sponsor for the 8th Dance for 2018 and 2019. She is in her 10th year as Set Designer and Parent Coordinator for the Kuumba Kids and Longfellow. In 2010 She caught the attention of Wyanetta Johnson and was mentored into the position of A.P.P.L.E. President and began the role in 2013. She has developed a new board, and new initiatives to meet the needs of African-American students today. Under her leadership, A.P.P.L.E. is now a 501c3 organization, has awarded 11 scholarships in the past 5 years. She upheld A.P.P.L.E.'s seat at the table for the 2nd and last Strategic Planning Committee, serving on the Community Outreach task force, and member of D200 School Board Culture Climate and Behavior Committee since its inception in 2015, and was integral in the historic passing of the Racial Equity Policy and not allowing the policy to be whitewashed and to specifically protect African-American students.
Telicia Moore-Walker - Parent
Telicia Moore-Walker is Co-President of A.P.P.L.E. and participant in the “America to Me” documentary. She is the mother of Terrence & Talib Moore, stepmother to Janiyah, Jeremiah, Terrence Walker, Jr., and wife of Terrence Walker. She has lived in Oak Park for over 10 years while Terrence and Talib Moore are a graduate of OPRFHS and a current junior honor student, respectively. She graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and has her Master’s degree in Health Administration from Strayer University both in Washington, D.C. At Howard University she was the President of the Student Parent Support Group which focused on the well-being of Howard students who were also parents. She has a background in activism starting from her employment at the Center for Urban Progress in Washington, D.C. She was the Vice-President of the PTO at Meridian Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. She was the Parent-liaison to Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA) in Oak Park. She was a member of the Longfellow and Julian PTO. She is a current employee at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine on the Chicago campus.