Educator and historical researcher Glennette Tilley Turner was
born November 23, 1933 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her mother,
Phyllis, was a teacher, and her father, John, was the first
executive director of the SCLC. As a child, Turner moved several
times with her family, first to Florida, and then to Illinois.
After graduating from high school, she attended Lake Forest
College, earning her B.A. in 1955, and she later returned to
school at Goddard College to earn her master’s degree in 1977.
After earning her bachelor’s degree, Turner first went to work
in advertising, but made the switch to education in 1962. That
year, she was hired by the Chicago public school system, and she
remained there for four years. In 1966, Turner went to work for
the Maywood-Melrose Park public schools, and in 1968, she began
teaching in the Wheaton-Warrenville public schools. She remained
there for the next twenty years. Today, Turner supervises
student teachers at National-Louis University. In addition to
her work as a teacher,