Linda Lenz is the founder and publisher of Catalyst Chicago, a monthly news magazine that covers the progress, problems and politics of school reform in Chicago. She is also the publisher of the sister publication, Catalyst Cleveland. Catalyst is a publication of the Community Renewal Society, a nonprofit founded in 1882 that fights for racial and economic justice. Catalyst Chicago has won numerous local and national awards, including the national public service award of the Society for Professional Journalists, and has been voted “best newsletter” in contests sponsored by the Educational Press Association of America (now the Association of Educational Publishers) and the Chicago Headline Club.

Before launching Catalyst in 1990, Ms. Lenz was the education writer for the Chicago Sun-Times and before that an editorial writer for the Chicago Daily News. Following graduation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she was a political writer and columnist for the Pioneer Press, North Shore. She is a frequent guest on radio and television public affairs programs and has written op-ed pieces for newspapers in a number of cities.

Ms. Lenz is on the board of the national Education Writers Association and previously served as president of the organization, which has nine hundred members and promotes informed coverage of education in print and broadcast media across the country.