Wanakee Trask was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. A proud Roseland resident, Wanakee discovered at an early age that she had a passion for helping others. With a strong desire to impact the youth in her community, after graduating from Harlan High School, Wanakee decided to take up education at Northern Illinois University. A former hooper herself, Wanakee began volunteering at Harlan as a basketball coach, all while completing her post-secondary education. 

Immediately after graduating, she accepted a position as an AVID facilitator at Harlan. In addition to this, Wanakee enlisted in the military as an Army National Guard member and is currently serving in that role. As the only daughter amongst her siblings, it was important for Wanakee to follow in the footsteps of her brothers, who also served in the military. From there, Wanakee worked at many schools within CPS as both a basketball coach and a teen outreach facilitator. 

Eventually, Wanakee went on to teach 10th grade math for the Noble Network of Charter Schools. This is where she realized that she needed to do more. During her tenure at Noble, Wanakee felt a strong desire to expose students to post-secondary options that were not confined to attending four-year colleges and universities. Wanakee felt so strongly about this idea of “college not being the only option”, she eventually parted ways with Noble, as it is primarily a network of college-preparatory schools. Upon her departure, Wanakee wanted to focus directly on community service and impact. She, alongside Danny D., Gabby G., and Courtney T., started a non-profit organization called Good Vibes Only – Chicago. The purpose of this organization was to host community events that raised money and provided supplies for Chicago students, schools, and mothers. GVO-C would host monthly community events and donate all proceeds to kids; leftover items not used would be donated to the homeless. 

Shortly after, Elevate Greatness was born. It was extremely important that Wanakee figured out a way to create a space that truly elevated students’ gifts outside of the classroom. Through EG, Wanakee has had the opportunity to work with students directly who required alternative methods to unlearn behaviors that weren’t positively serving them. The goal? To realize the impact certain behaviors were making and to strategize about how to modify those behaviors in order to achieve a greater impact. When others see a “problem child”, Wanakee sees a kid who wants to grow and be better, but is simply missing a few tools from their toolkit. She works deliberately and diligently with kids to sharpen their tools. On the Elevate Greatness podcast, guests include thought leaders, community organizers, and organizations that serve black and brown students to engage in deep discussions about the state of education and how best to teach our kids so that they are prepared to live purposeful and meaningful lives for themselves and their communities. 

Wanakee thrives in situations where she is able to help others, especially young people, and she is grateful to continue to do so through Elevate Greatness and in partnership with schools who serve kids who look like her.