Jackie Taylor

Lifelong Learner, Cultural Connector & Champion for the Arts​

Portia is a lifelong learner. She is a retired educator whose career spanned more than thirty -five years with the Chicago Public Schools. Her areas of specialization are: Educational Administration, High School Spanish Instruction, Reading Instruction and Early Childhood Education emphasizing the family dynamic. 

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Each of these disciplines has provided her with a great view of Chicago’s Public Education System. Portia is particularly interested in Spanish spoken by People of the Diaspora. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in the Teaching of Spanish and a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. 

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Portia is a Community Patron of the Arts and supports many creative endeavors, especially those of her own people. She appreciates all artistic disciplines from Music to Visual Arts and believes that Chicago has a vibrant cultural scene and group of untapped patrons and performers whose works can be shared on a broadened platform. She understands that artistic expression is not only enjoyable, but also that it is a therapeutic benefit for the human soul and unifies people of all walks of life. 

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She has been an active member of the African American Arts Alliance Black Excellence Awards Committee for several years. As a committee member, she has served as Secretary, Chairman of the Visual Arts Committee and is currently the Black Excellence Awards Co-Chairman. 

Ms. McFarland is a product of the South Chicago Community with roots in Mississippi. She has always resided on Chicago’s South Side and credits her parents for instilling her with a love and respect for humanity and the arts.