Jillian Gaeta
(SHE/HER)
Jillian has dedicated her career to ensuring her students use history as a tool to advocate for themselves. Jillian has worked in NYC public schools for two decades, starting her career in the South Bronx and then moving to her home borough of Brooklyn. She taught grades 5-12 in both American and Global history, but her greatest career achievement was securing 80 tickets for her students to see Hamilton. In addition to teaching children, Jillian has worked with graduate students training to be social studies teachers and with undergraduate writing students at Ramapo College. She served as the Director of Middle School History for Achievement First Schools, training and coaching more than 150 teachers during her 7-year tenure. During that time, she designed a new curriculum for grades 5-8 that centered on project-based learning, literacy, and historical thinking skills.
Through Roots to Revolution, she hopes adults feel more empowered to engage their communities. It has been an honor to work with over 10,000 individuals across 24 states, watching them grow. Jillian holds a bachelor's degree in International Affairs from Lafayette College, and a Masters of Education from Pace University. She was a recipient of the Fulbright Award for Global Leaders in 2025 where she had the opportunity to study the education system in Singapore to learn best practices to bring back to the United States. She is a proud mom and aunt, she wants the world to be a more just place for all children.