Upcoming Webinars
Meaningful Monitoring: Beyond Compliance
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Time: 1 p.m. EST (12 p.m. CST)
Location: Microsoft Teams
Join the Vander Weele Group for an insightful webinar exploring how grants oversight can expand from a check-the-box process to a driver of systemic excellence. With more than $1.1 trillion in total federal grants at stake, the complexity of navigating thousands of shifting standards often leads to administrative burnout and oversight disconnected from organizational objectives.
This session dives into the "Meaningful Monitoring" framework—a strategic approach that balances strict legal requirements with performance-based goals. We will discuss how to move beyond traditional fiscal and programmatic checklists to identify root causes of non-compliance, such as high leadership turnover and logistical hurdles. Discover how to ruthlessly prioritize your monitoring indicators to reduce administrative burden, align oversight with your organizational mission, and transform compliance into a tool for lasting integrity and improved outcomes.
Can't attend? Register anyway and we'll send you a link to the recording and transcript.
About the Speaker
Maribeth Vander Weele is the Founder and CEO of Vander Weele Group, where she has overseen grants oversight programs in more than 20 states. She is a recognized thought leader, speaker, and author known for her ability to drive strategic and tactical change in large organizations. Among her roles, she has served as the outsourced Inspector General of the Public Building Commission of Chicago.
Prior to founding the firm in 2003, Maribeth authored a nationally acclaimed roadmap for the reform of the $3.8 billion Chicago Public School system. She subsequently served on the CPS turnaround team, overseeing Internal Audit, investigations, Safe Schools and truancy programs, and the Ombudsman’s Office. Appointed Inspector General in 1998, she managed a staff that built construction, procurement, and employee misconduct investigative units. She later served as President of the Illinois Association of Inspectors General, where she spearheaded training programs for Inspector General offices throughout the state.
Maribeth has served on multiple state, county, and city panels. A former award-winning journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times and author of the book, Reclaiming Our Schools: The Struggle for Chicago School Reform, Maribeth has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Teacher Magazine, Education Week, and in the book, Extraordinary Ordinary Women Making a Difference. Her work is cited in the book, Battling Corruption in America’s Public Schools, and in many other publications.