Author: Kate

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Steve Johnson

Founder & Principal, SJConnects Communications

 

Steve is a seasoned professional with more than 25 years’ experience as senior agency leader, corporate communications executive and reporter. He has worked across consumer, corporate, B2B and sports & entertainment marketing verticals running traditional media outreach, social media executions, issues and crisis response, executive communications coaching, as well as diversity & inclusion/internal communications efforts

After starting his career on Chicago’s airwaves at WSCR-AM, Steve worked for Amoco Corp. (now BP) in a variety of roles before moving to McDonald’s Corp. for an internal communications role. Later, he moved to the agency-side with MSLGROUP leading programs for General Motors, Nike and the U.S. Army’s sports marketing efforts. With a move to Weber Shandwick, he continued to focus on consumer and sports marketing accounts for Army, State Farm and Polaris, while broadening his role to leading diversity & inclusion.

Steve brought all of his expertise to bear as vice president of public relations for sports marketing and media firm, Intersport. There he helped create the firm’s communication architecture and drive visibility in key traditional outlets and social media channels. He started SJConnects just before taking the Intersport role.

Steve has been on award-winning teams as a reporter/documentarian (regional Emmy), on the client-side (NAIC investor relations award), and the agency side (PRSA Silver Anvils, Event Marketer Ex Awards and IT List, Tellys, Cynopsis Media, Sports Business Journal, PR Week, PCC Silver Trumpet). He also is a speaker and mentor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, as well as Chicago incubators 1871 and the Polsky Exchange.

Steve earned his bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign while achieving a minor in history. He lives in Evanston, Ill., with his wife, three boys and a dog named Pablo Picasso. There he serves as a mentor with Evanston Scholars and volunteers at the Soup at Six soup kitchen while trying to revive his side-hustle dream of being a lead singer.

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Natalie Moore

WBEZ Race, Class and Communities reporter and author

 

Natalie covers segregation and inequality.

Her enterprise reporting has tackled race, housing, economic development, food injustice and violence. Natalie’s work has been broadcast on the BBC, Marketplace and NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. Natalie is the author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation, winner of the 2016 Chicago Review of Books award for nonfiction and a Buzzfeed best nonfiction book of 2016. She is also co-author of The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall and Resurgence of an American Gang and Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation.

Natalie writes a monthly column for the Chicago Sun-Times. Her work has been published in Essence, Ebony, the Chicago Reporter, Bitch, In These Times, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Guardian. She is the 2017 recipient of Chicago Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award. In 2010, she received the Studs Terkel Community Media Award for reporting on Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. In 2009, she was a fellow at Columbia College’s Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, which allowed her to take a reporting trip to Libya. Natalie has won several journalism awards, including a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. Other honors are from the Radio Television Digital News Association (Edward R. Murrow), Public Radio News Directors Incorporated, National Association of Black Journalists, Illinois Associated Press and Chicago Headline Club. The Chicago Reader named her best journalist in 2017. In 2018, she received an honorary doctorate from Adler University. In These Times gave her the 2017 Voice of Progressive Journalism Award. Natalie frequently collaborates with Chicago artist Amanda Williams.

Prior to joining WBEZ staff in 2007, Natalie was a city hall reporter for the Detroit News. She has also been an education reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and a reporter for the Associated Press in Jerusalem.

Natalie has an M.S.J. in Newspaper Management from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a B.A. in Journalism from Howard University. She has taught at Columbia College and Medill. Natalie and her husband Rodney live in Hyde Park with their four daughters.

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Amanda Williams

Chicago Artist and Architect

 

Amanda is a visual artist who trained as an architect. Her creative practice employs color as a way to draw attention to the complexities of how race shapes how we assign value to space in cities. The landscapes in which she operates are the visual residue of the invisible policies and forces that have misshapen most major US cities. Williams’ installations, paintings and works on paper seek to inspire new ways of looking at the familiar and in the process, raise questions about the state of urban space and ownership in America. Amanda has exhibited widely, including the MoMA (NY), the Venice Architecture Biennale, the MCA Chicago, and a public commission at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis. She recently won the commission to design a permanent monument to Shirley Chisholm in Brooklyn NY. Amanda has been recognized as a Joan Mitchell Foundation grantee, a USA Ford Fellow, an Efroymson Arts Fellow and a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. Amanda is also a member of the Obama Presidential Center’s Museum Design Team and sits on the boards of the Graham Foundation, Garfield Park Conservatory and Hyde Park Art Center. Her work is in several permanent collections including the Art Institute of Chicago and the MoMA (NY). Williams lives and works on the south side of Chicago.

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Angelique Power

President, The Field Foundation

 

As President of the Field Foundation, Angelique designed a journey with staff, board and nonprofit partners to center racial justice in the Foundation’s work. Over the past four years, Field Foundation has changed how it funds, who it funds, has created accountability structures for community to review its work, rethought metrics, created heatmaps that illustrate the design of inequity within Chicago and has updated its investment policy.

Through strategic partnerships with other foundations, under Angelique’s tenure the Field Foundation has doubled the size of its giving and its programming – allowing it to fund in the areas of Justice, Art, Leadership Investment and Media & Storytelling. These partnerships allow Field Foundation to fund individuals, for profit organizations along with nonprofits. Additionally, in 2020 the Field Foundation relocated to the nation’s first collaborative community workspace dedicated to social impact entitled FBRK Impact House, an entity she co-conceptualized with former Chicago Bear, Israel Idonije.

Power chairs the boards of 6018North and Enrich Chicago, an organization she co-founded, dedicated to racial equity in the arts and serves on the board of Forefront Illinois and the Advisory Committee of the Illinois Justice Project. Angelique co-chaired Mayor Lightfoot’s Transition Team, serves on the Mayor’s Taskforce for COVID Recovery and is a 2015 Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago.

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Jahmal Cole

Founder and CEO, My Block My Hood My City

 

A champion of social justice, Jahmal Cole’s mission is to build a more interconnected Chicago on the pillars of service and education.

As the founder and CEO of the city’s fastest growing social impact organization, My Block My Hood My City, Jahmal is the creator of an exposure-based education program for teens and a network of volunteer initiatives that serve Chicago communities year-round.

Traveling, youth mentorship and community organizing are the subjects of Jahmal’s highly acclaimed books and speeches. He has spoken to audiences ranging from high school students to the Mayor of Chicago.

In 2019, Jahmal Cole was named to Crain’s 40 under 40, he’s also the recipient of the 2019 Champion of Freedom Award, the 2018 Chicago Defender Men of Excellence Honoree, and the 2018 Chicago City Council Resolution Award. In 2018, he was also named one of the “20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans” by Streetwise Magazine and a Chicagoan of the Year by Chicago Magazine. Most recently he was awarded the 2020 American Red Cross Community Impact Hero Award.

 

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The Time Is Now: Taking Action on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

By Invitation Only: Virtual Meeting

Date:

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Schedule:

8:30am-9:30am – Program

The Time Is Now:
Taking Action on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

 

As leaders in Corporate Responsibility we are tasked with elevating and taking action on the most important issues in our communities. While the struggle to overcome systemic racism has been around since the founding of our country, the urgency to address this issue head on has reached a critical point.  It will take all of us, bringing our experiences, perspectives, and commitment to take action, to overcome this issue.  Hear more from a game changing artist, a pioneering foundation executive, a non-profit trailblazer, and a nationally recognized media leader who are redefining how we address and respond to systemic racism – and actions we can take to drive change.

Moderator:

Natalie Moore, WBEZ Race, Class and Communities reporter and author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation.

Panelists:

Location:

A link to join the virtual meeting will be sent to all registered attendees.

 

If your corporation or organization is interested in learning more about the Corporate Responsibility Group of Greater Chicago, please visit our contact page.

Follow the CR Group on Twitter:

@CRGChi

On LinkedIn:

Corporate Responsibility Group of Chicago

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Vote 2020

By Invitation Only: Virtual Meeting

Date:

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Schedule:

8:30am-9:30am – Program

Vote 2020

Moderator

Steve Johnson, Founder & Principal, SJConnects Communications

Panel:

No matter how you cast it, voting is essential to our democracy. It is also dependent on everyone’s ability to access both trusted information and the ballot box. How can you become more informed? How can communities support their members and companies support their employees? Find out by joining our conversation led by those who are passionate about the upcoming election at the national and local level, and to explore the impact of the 2020 election on the City of Chicago.

Location:

A link to join the virtual meeting will be sent to all registered attendees.

 

If your corporation or organization is interested in learning more about the Corporate Responsibility Group of Greater Chicago, please visit our contact page.

Follow the CR Group on Twitter:

@CRGChi

On LinkedIn:

Corporate Responsibility Group of Chicago

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CR Group 2020 Annual Meeting Press Release

CR GROUP ANNOUNCES 2020-2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS


CHICAGO, July 30, 2020 — The Corporate Responsibility Group of Greater Chicago (CR Group) announced the appointment of its 2020-2021 Board of Directors at its Annual Meeting on July 29, 2020. Also during the Annual Meeting, CR Group recognized outgoing Board member Claudia Freed, President & CEO, EALgreen, who during her tenure served as a Director and President.

“It has been a great honor to serve alongside Claudia, and we are grateful for her role as a Director and former President of the CR Group,” said Laura Freveletti, Past-President, CR Group. “Under Claudia’s leadership, the CR Group increased membership and provided exceptional programming for our member companies that strengthened our ties to the City of Chicago and placed the organization on a trajectory for sustained success.”

During the Annual Meeting, Freveletti introduced incoming President, Brian Starr, who will serve a one-year term as the chief executive of the organization. Also joining Starr as Officers of the CR Group for a one-year term are:

  • Brandon Davis, who serves as President-Elect
  • Anne Gross, who serves as Vice President, Treasurer
  • Jake Gross , who serves as Vice President, Secretary & Membership

“I am honored to be elected as the new President and look forward to working with my Board colleagues to advance the CR Group’s mission and vision forward,” Starr said.

Joining CR Group’s Board of Directors are corporate responsibility and community leaders from organizations with roots in Chicago. The new Directors join a dynamic, passionate Board who represent a continuum of nonprofit organizations and corporations, and will work to elevate the CR Group as Chicago’s premier destination for community impact and corporate responsibility education, news and information.

New members appointed to the 2020-2021 Board of Directors include:

  • Damion Heron, Vice President, Community Involvement, JPMorgan Chase
  • Julia Hynes, Director of Corporate Relations, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
  • Kate Nardin, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Chicago Public Library Foundation
  • Monica Tijerina, Director, Global People Strategy, McDonald’s Corporation

The full list of CR Group Board members for the 2020-2021 term are:

  • Brandon Davis, Director of Public Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility, CNA
  • Patricia Harris, Manager, Social Impact, Best Buy
  • Damion Heron, Vice President, Community Involvement, JPMorgan Chase
  • Julia Hynes, Director of Corporate Relations, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
  • Laura Freveletti, Senior Program Officer, The Allstate Foundation, Allstate Insurance Company
  • Anne Gross, Senior Director, Community Impact, KPMG, LLP
  • Jake Gross, Vice President, CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) Officer, Byline Bank
  • Cynthia “CJ” Jones, Associate Director, Corporate Social Responsibility USA, Astellas US LLC
  • Michelle Mahoney, Vice President, Director of Social Impact, Leo Burnett Chicago
  • Sean Moloney, Senior Corporate Relations Specialist, Exelon Corporation
  • Daniel Moss, Consultant
  • Kate Nardin, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Chicago Public Library Foundation
  • Brian Starr, Director, Inspired Engagement, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago
  • Monica Tijerina, Director, Global People Strategy, McDonald’s Corporation

“I am thrilled to congratulate our newly elected Directors and extremely pleased the CR Group is being led by a diverse group of leaders who represent Chicago’s corporate and nonprofit community,” Starr added.

 

About Corporate Responsibility Group of Greater Chicago

Since 1973 the Corporate Responsibility Group of Greater Chicago (CR Group) has promoted and celebrated strong, flexible partnerships between businesses and private, public, and civil society participants that create a stronger civic culture.

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Brian P. Starr – Past President

Board President 2020-2021

Brian P. Starr – Director, Inspired Engagement, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago

 

Brian is the Director, Inspired Engagement at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago. In his role, he has led efforts to create and grow sustainable individual and corporate partnerships. Starr has implemented cultivation strategies leading to long term sustainable donor engagement and corporate partnerships. He employs outstanding customer service focused on creating meaningful donor and volunteer experiences. Starr is skilled at aligning donor philanthropic objectives to organizational priorities. His responsibilities included strategic planning, goal setting, and volunteer management, as well as crafting the tactical plan to generate revenue

Prior to joining YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, Starr led development efforts at United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and the American Lung Association. During his tenure, Starr created and executed the development plan which significantly increased donor engagement and organizational revenue.

Starr currently volunteers as a docent for the Glessner House and Clark House Museums.   His outside interests include Chicago history, architecture and cycling. A native of Chicago, Starr currently resides in the historic Hyde Park/Kenwood community. He attended University of Illinois at Chicago majoring in business.

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Brandon Davis – President, Board of Directors

President, Board of Directors
Brandon Davis – Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Brandon serves as Vice President, Marketing & Communications, for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. In this role, he is responsible for the oversight, strategy and direction of the Chamber’s brand, marketing and communications.

Prior to joining the Chamber, Brandon served as Corporate Spokesperson and Director of Public Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility for CNA and was responsible for leading and advancing CNA’s strategic external communications, public relations, crisis and issues communications, media relations, awards and recognition, social media and corporate social responsibility initiatives and activities across the organization. Before this, Brandon worked at Jasculca Terman and supported several clients, including the Chicago Community Trust, Urban Prep Academies, the Ford Foundation, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) and Advocate Christ Medical Group on strategic communications, event management and public relations efforts.

Brandon earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Advertising from DePaul University.

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Anne Gross – Vice President, Treasurer

Vice President, Treasurer
Anne Gross – Senior Director, Community Impact, KPMG, LLP.

Gross Anne_profile

 

Anne Gross is an experienced director with KPMG’s Citizenship team and currently leads her firm’s investments in lifelong learning with Junior Achievement, NAF and Enactus.  She has over 20 years of experience as in grantmaking and community engagement, both a practitioner and advisor.  Anne has worked with and for corporate giving programs, grantmaking public charities, universities, private foundation and volunteer service organizations; she works with organizations on local, national and global levels.  She has extensive experience in project management, employee engagement and process design & improvement.

Anne recently earned CREI (Corporate Responsibility Executive Institute) designation from Notre Dame University. She also holds a master’s degree in Education and a B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University – Bloomington.  Anne is active in the Chicago community – consistently serving on one or more nonprofit boards.  She is passionate about education and experiencing new cultures.

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Jake Gross – Vice President of Nominating

Vice President, Nominating
Jake Gross – Vice President, CRA Officer, Byline Bank

 

Jake has spent the majority of his professional career as an adult educator. In 2015, he transitioned into his current role, and focuses on ensuring that bank resources are directed into low- and moderate-income communities throughout the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. Jake’s professional passions lie in fair and affordable housing, community outreach, neighborhood building, and in providing equitable educational opportunities to all students regardless of socioeconomic status.

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Patricia Harris – Director

Director
Patricia Harris – Manager – Social Impact, Best Buy

 

Within her time at Best Buy Patricia has overseen implementation and execution of Best Buy’s signature programs, Best Buy Teen Tech Centers, and Geek Squad Academy. In her current role, she manages the Best Buy Foundation’s Community Grants Program and leads Community Disaster Response for her team. Her additional experiences include successful employee engagement strategies with dollars for doers’ programs, sponsorships, as well as developing digital literacy trainings.  Patricia also has experience with public and private partnership partners with partners such as the White House ConnectHome initiative, an initiative to bring high-speed Internet to low-income households with school-aged children in HUD-assisted housing.

Patricia earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Development from DePaul University.  She is a socially responsible individual committed to promoting philanthropic, community, and diversity initiatives, as well as advocating for human equality.

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Damion Heron – Director

Director
Damion Heron – Region Manager, Community Engagement, JPMorgan Chase

 

Damion is a Vice President within JPMorgan Chase’s Office of Nonprofit Engagement. He manages relationships working with nonprofits focused primarily on consumer advocacy, capacity building, civil rights, research, and those aligned with the foundation’s priority areas of workforce development, financial capability, small business, and community development. Prior to JPMorgan Chase, he held roles as a corporate giving analyst with the Boeing Company, a Harris Graduate Fellow at the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications and a parliamentary assistant in the U.K. House of Commons. Damion holds B.A degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from Bradley University and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Chicago. Damion was a 2015 Edgar Fellow and a member of the 2018 class of Leadership Greater Chicago.

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Julia Hynes – Secretary and Vice President of Membership

Secretary and Vice President of Membership                                                             Julia Hynes – Director of Corporate Relations, Chicago Council on Global Affairs

 

Julia joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2015 and is the director of corporate relations. In this role, she develops relationships with company representatives and creates engaging outreach strategies for employee involvement. Prior to joining the Council, she worked in external relations at the Field Museum and Marillac St. Vincent Family Services and received her BA from Ohio University in psychology and history

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Cynthia (CJ) Jones – Director

Director
Cynthia (CJ) Jones – Associate Director, CSR USA, Astellas US LLC

 

Cynthia (CJ) has spent 15-plus years in CSR/Social Impact roles.  As Associate Director at Astellas, CJ develops and executes the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), volunteerism and philanthropic efforts. She works in close collaboration with other members of the CSR and Corporate Communications groups to ensure regional alignment of efforts.  CJ represents Astellas and the Astellas Global Health Foundation externally with multiple community leaders, for leading communications support for all CSR strategies and programming.

Prior to joining Astellas, CJ was Sr. Strategic Partnerships and Programs Manager at Tuthill Corporation, where she identified, developed and managed cause partnerships, oversaw community giving and employee engagement programs and resources, as well as internal/external recognition programs. CJ also served as a champion across the company’s philanthropic initiatives in partnership with foundations, social enterprises, and communities.

CJ has served as a Points of Light Faculty Member, Co-Chair of the Forefront Employee North Suburban Network, member of the International Association of Volunteer Efforts’ Global Corporate Volunteer Council’s Steering Committee, and Chicago Cares Corporate Council.

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Michelle Mahoney – Vice President of Marketing & Communications

Vice President of Marketing & Communications
Michelle Mahoney – Vice President // Director of Social Impact, Leo Burnett Chicago

 

Michelle is Vice President, Director of Social Impact at Leo Burnett. This role is part of an innovative team approach supporting the company’s overall Diversity, Equity & Inclusion mission. Michelle is responsible for cultivating and executing an integrated strategy built in partnership with executive leadership.

These actions strengthen, streamline and grow the agency’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, focusing on civic engagement, sustainability and charitable giving. Leo Burnett is one of the world’s largest agency networks with 85 global offices, partnering with some of the world’s most iconic and valued brands.

As a member of Publicis Groupe’s Talent, Engagement and Inclusion Lead Team, Michelle collaborates across 35+ Publicis agencies, supporting 7 actions that continually drive positive change for employees, clients and communities. As the parent company of Leo Burnett, Publicis Groupe is built on The Power of One and offers its clients seamless access to the expertise of its 80,000 talents across four solution hubs and has agencies in over 100 countries around the world.

Michelle is currently pursuing her MBA and is a proud Mentor for those inside and outside of the creative industry.  She is a founding member and co-lead of two local employee resource groups and recently helped to grow one of those into a national business resource group. Michelle is also an active volunteer across many local, national and global non-profit organizations.

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Sean Moloney – Director

Senior Corporate Relations Specialist, Partnerships & Events, Exelon

 

Passionate about corporate responsibility, Sean strengthens the Exelon community by acting as a change agent and understands that successful CSR programming must align with business goals and purpose.  He is a liaison between Exelon, its employees, and nonprofit partners and drives employee engagement by managing major volunteer initiatives across Exelon and its operating companies.  He currently sits on the board of two of Exelon’s Employee Resource Groups, the Developing Young Professionals, promoting service and professional development opportunities; and the ECO Team, where he serves as Director of Events Planning.  He also serves on the Auxiliary Board at the Shedd Aquarium.  Prior to Exelon, Sean worked for two Chicago-based environmental nonprofits, Friends of the Chicago River and Openlands.  He earned a Master’s degree in Conservation from James Cook University and a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from DePaul University.

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Daniel Moss – Director

Director
Daniel Moss, CFRE – Director of Development, The Chicago Academy of Sciences/ Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

 

Daniel is responsible for the partnerships with Trustees, members, current and past donors, corporations, and foundations. In this role, he manages the annual fund;identifies key prospects; cultivates and solicits major gift prospects; creates and executes campaigns; coordinates planned giving, and plans and develops fundraising and stewardship events.

Prior to joining the Nature Museum in 2020, Dan served as Senior Director of Development at Lyric Opera of Chicago, overseeing all corporate, foundation, and government relationships, and he was a 2019 participant in OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive. Dan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance from the Indiana University and his Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from DePaul University. He lives in Chicago and is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

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Kate Nardin – Vice President of Programs

Vice President of Programs
Kate Nardin – Chief Development Officer, Chicago Public Library Foundation

 

Kate Nardin joined the Chicago Public Library Foundation in 2015. With more than 15 years of development and nonprofit experience, she leads the organization’s strategy processes, is a primary liaison to Library leadership, and supervises the Development Team in advancing all activities related to Library Foundation donors. Prior to joining the Chicago Public Library Foundation, she built relationships with local and national funders to advance the mission of the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, the Chicago History Museum, and the Museum of Science, Boston. She currently serves on the boards of the Smith Alumnae Club of Chicago (President, 2019-present) and the Steppenwolf Associates (President, 2016-2018). She earned her B.A. from Smith College and Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.