From Urban Teachers to
City Teaching Alliance
A new name, visual identity and recruitment website for a teacher preparation nonprofit serving Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Philadelphia.
Launched July 2023 · In partnership with LLT Group
The Recruitment Challenge
Urban Teachers had expanded to four markets, but recruitment was losing momentum. In Baltimore, one of the program’s founding markets, Summer Institute starts fell from 98 in 2021 to 30 in 2022. As the organization developed its next four-year strategic plan, it was time to look at how prospective teachers understood the program and whether the brand reflected the partnerships behind it.
I led the research to answer those questions, examining how Urban Teachers compared with other teacher preparation programs, what mattered to prospective applicants and what the existing name communicated. I analyzed the findings and presented them to the rebrand working group to inform decisions about positioning, messaging and naming.
98 → 30
Baltimore Summer Institute starts, 2021–2022
The Research Behind the Rebrand
Our typical applicant was 22, so I started by looking at what Gen Z candidates valued in an employer and how other teacher preparation programs spoke to them. I conducted 17 interviews with staff and coaches, reviewed research on Gen Z and analyzed competing programs. I presented my findings to the rebrand working group, and we used them to sharpen how we described the program’s benefits and what set it apart.
I then tested four names with three audiences: residents and fellows, staff, alumni and coaches, and an external group of 18- to 24-year-olds in major U.S. cities. I asked respondents to rank the names, share what each one brought to mind and tell us how they interpreted the word urban.
When I analyzed the responses, City Teaching Alliance ranked first among residents and fellows, as well as external audience. I presented the data to the working group. We recommended City Teaching Alliance as a descriptive name that could build national recognition while giving each region room to speak to its own community.
Why City Teaching Alliance
The working group wanted a name that would be clear to prospective applicants, recognizable across markets and flexible enough for each region to speak to its own community.
City kept the focus on the communities the program served and addressed concerns about how people interpreted urban. Teaching put the work itself at the center. Alliance captured how the program worked: aspiring teachers learned alongside experienced educators, with support from schools, universities and local communities.
Choosing a Symbol for the Alliance
I initiated the agency search for the rebrand, reaching out to LLT Group and other firms. I helped evaluate the options, and our team selected LLT Group to develop the visual identity and redesign the recruitment website.
LLT Group explored several logo concepts for the new name. The selected design uses a leaning pillar to represent educators supporting one another. Together, the three shapes suggest the word “all,” reflecting City Teaching Alliance’s commitment to inclusive education.
Logo explorations and final identity by LLT Group.
Managing the Rebrand Project
I managed project planning for the transition from Urban Teachers to City Teaching Alliance. I initiated the agency search, helped select LLT Group and built a rollout plan that connected the agency’s visual identity and website milestones with the work teams across the organization needed to complete.
I created a Gantt-style timeline that made deadlines and dependencies visible to teams and stakeholders. It gave them a shared plan for sequencing their work and preparing for the July 2023 launch.
Launching the Recruitment Website
My research helped the working group sharpen how we explained the program’s benefits to prospective teachers and what set it apart from other preparation programs. LLT Group redesigned the recruitment website, and I built the rollout plan that aligned its website and visual identity milestones with the work our internal teams needed to complete for the July 2023 launch. The first application cycle under the City Teaching Alliance name opened the following month.
Recruitment & Growth
206 new residents recruited nationwide for the 2024 cohort
City Teaching Alliance opened its first application cycle under the new name in August 2023, alongside updates to outreach and recruitment operations. The organization also reported 187 residency-year participants for the 2024 cohort.
Cumulative Reach Across Four Markets
Students served
350K+ as of 2023 → 450K reported in 2025
Partner schools
350+ as of 2023 → 500+ reported in 2025
2023 impact figures · 2025 annual report
City Teaching Alliance is also working with Loyola University Maryland to develop accelerated teacher preparation in Baltimore. Beginning with the 2027 cohort, Southern Methodist University will offer an online master’s degree to incoming participants across all four regions.
What I Brought to the Rebrand
Over the course of the rebrand, my role moved from research to execution. I started by learning what mattered to Gen Z candidates and how Urban Teachers compared with other programs, then tested new names with the audiences we needed to reach. City Teaching Alliance ranked first with staff and with 18- to 24-year-olds, and it became the working group’s recommendation.
From there, I managed the project itself. I led the agency search, helped select LLT Group and built the rollout plan that kept teams across the organization working toward a July 2023 launch. The new name opened its first application cycle that August, and the following summer more than 200 aspiring educators arrived at Summer Institute, up from 124 the year before.
Image & Video Credits
Logo explorations and brand identity visuals are sourced from LLT Group’s City Teaching Alliance project. Website screenshots and additional imagery are sourced from the City Teaching Alliance website. The video at the top of this case study is from City Teaching Alliance’s YouTube channel.