OUR LEADERSHIP

Leading us toward a brighter future

EXECUTIVE TEAM
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
ASSOCIATE BOARD
ALUMNI BOARD

Executive Team

Made up of entrepreneurs, educators, fundraisers, and career flippers, Cara Collective’s Executive Team drives strategy for the organization in service to three key pillars: how Cara Collective can grow as a solution, investment, and employer of choice.

Executive Team Members

Kathleen St. Louis Caliento, PhD

Dr. Kathleen St. Louis Caliento has spent nearly three decades focused on issues of social justice, including educational equity, workforce development, and economic empowerment.

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Board of Directors

Our board’s tireless commitment and passion for our mission keeps Cara fiscally healthy and thriving. With their stewardship, we are equipped to create and evolve meaningful, impactful, and sustainable programs that advance us towards our vision.

Billie ‘Akau’ola
Managing Director
KPMG
Brenda Battle
(Treasurer)
Executive Consultant
UChicago Medicine
Willette Benford 
Senior Advisor
Office of MK Pritzker
DeRondal Bevly
(Secretary)
Founder & Managing Director
RubyRose Strategies
Kelvin Buncum
Buncum Consulting Group
Regina Cross
Vice President
Goldman Sachs
Andrew Davis
Partner
McKinsey & Company
Marta Delgado
(Vice Chair)
Co-Founder, Attorney
Delgado Rompf Bruen LLC
William Eveland
Chicago Managing Partner
Saul Ewing LLP
Scott Gidwitz
President, Real Estate & Board Director
Riverbend Industries
Kapil Khanna
CEO
Lamar Johnson Collaborative
Terrill North
Partner
New Profit
Andrea O’Leary
Vice President, Talent, Learning and Development and DEI  
ESPN
Julie Owens Burns
Board Member
The Owens Foundation
Tom Owens, Jr.
Board Member
The Owens Foundation
J. Todd Phillips
(Chair)
CEO
Parson Partners
Steve Quirk
Chief Brokerage Officer
Robinhood Markets
Wendy Raymer
Director, Community Giving
BMO Harris
Rudy Smith
Executive Director
J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Jaclyn Trovato
Vice President, Human Resources
ComEd
Doyoung Yong
Partner
Deloitte
Thomas M. Owens †
Founder
Cara

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Executive Council

Our Executive Council is a team of established executives across industry who engage in strategy, marketing, alumni engagement, and signature fund- and friend-raising events for Cara. They provide leadership and leverage each other’s social and professional networks to support Cara’s operational strategies and increase investment.

Kelechi Adibe
Sidley Austin
Bethany Beaver
Saul Ewing
Cordelia Calderon
Tracker
Emily Cooper
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Jeff Dorner
Baker Tilly US, LLP
Cat Duncan
Sankota Capital
David Kaiman
US Bank
Shruti Kumar
Habitat
Tequilla Lopez
Advocate Aurora Health
Mara Magdich
Berkley Select
Faeron Meldum-Taylor
ZS
Rebecca Michel
DePaul University
Michael Nordman
(Co-Chair)
Molson Coors
Matt Owens
JLL
Jake Panter
Kimley-Horn
Mandee Polonsky
Northwestern Medicine
Jason Rahoy
U.S. Department of Justice
Sam Rice
KPMG US
Koreen Ryan
Jackson PPM
Danny Scott
Caliber Solutions
Jeff Skender
Cushman & Wakefield
Joel Staffilino
Bridge33 Capital
Andi Summers
Equator Design
Caroline Thrun
Jobs for the Future
Melody Todd
(Co-Chair)
Campbell & Company
Mary Waller
McDermott Will & Emery
Brandon Wright
Harbor

ASSOCIATE BOARD

Associate Board

Our Associate Board consists of 25 emerging leaders across industry who are dedicated to assisting Cara grow and scale our mission. This group raises critical support by planning and hosting their signature Summer Social event and collaborating on virtual engagement opportunities.

Kaitlyn Baerenstecher
(President)
Clarity Partners
Drake Blessum
Chamberlain Group
Shay Bratt
EX3 Labs
Kris Butler
Northwestern Medicine
Ananya Chandhok
Mary Clancy-Shute
Campbell & Co.
Angelyn Irvin
MacArthur Foundation
Abby Klearman
Google
Emily Lapham
NORC at The University of Chicago
Matthew Martin
(Vice President)
American Realty Advisors
Sarah Matthew
Ares Management
Zena McCarthy
Draper and Kramer
Sydney Meyer
Fitness Formula Clubs
James Novack
KPMG US
Jared Pavelske
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Natalie Peric
Truity Partners
Calin Petro
Harbor
Radhika Raman
Culture Amp
Perry Ramsey
ZS
Josh Ransone
Bank of America
J. Tanner Rice
SSA & Company
Victoria “Tori” Rudd
(Secretary)
Microsoft
Rachel Ryan
Stream Realty
Sari Schwartz
Trajektory
Monique Shelton
NAMI Metro Suburban
Sarah Stabile
Molson Coors
Michael Venegas
MacArthur Foundation
Bailey Winston
ZS
Shaina Yatt
West Monroe
Max Yu
BMO

ALUMNI BOARD

Alumni Board

Our former members of Cara’s Board of Directors remain an active part of our community. Their continued commitment to our mission and willingness to steward and support this organization at any opportunity helps us to grow.

Laura Beebe
Managing Director
JLL
John Bennecke
Managing Director
True Partners Consulting LLC
Daniel Brennan
DWME LLC
Kristin Carlson Vogen
The Chicago Community Trust
Mark Carroll
Cognitive Capital, LLC
Bill Conroy
Conroy Advisors
Terry Diamond
Method Capital
Jeff Galowich
BlueHorizon Software
Andy Gloor
Managing Principal
Sterling Bay
Na’Ree Hankins
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Anny Huang
Partner
Sidley Austin LLP
Tim Hunter
Hunter Capital, LP
Pete Kadens
The Kadens Family Foundation
Maria Lin
James W. Mabie †
Chicago Capital
Katie Owens Mulcahy
The Owens Foundation
Sharon Owens
The Owens Foundation
Patricia Provenzano
Bank of America Private Bank
Brent Rasmussen
CEO
Visibly
Robert Roche
Acorn International, Inc. – Shanghai
Oak Lawn Marketing, Inc. – Tokyo
Theresa M. Roche
OAR Management, Inc.
Heather Ronnow
Central Coast Agriculture
Lance Russell
Class V Solutions
Daniel Ryan
JLL
David J. Ryan
Gray Matters Group
Bill Steinmetz
BlueStar Ventures
Amanda Wilson
Principal Global Investors, LLC
Ana Zanic
Director, Talent Acquisition
Northwestern Medicine
Ron Zinnerman
Aon Corporation

Meet Our Team

At Cara, we believe in the idea of “one band, one sound,” meaning we are at our best and our strongest when we work together as one community. We know we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. And our job—or more like our opportunity—is to pave the way for others to stand on ours.

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Get Involved

Donate

Please consider a gift to this mission, and help bring people back to hope, jobs, and opportunity.

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More Ways to Give

Discover more ways to support our mission and help set our Cara participants up for success.

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Contact Us

Have a question or want to learn more about Cara Collective? We’ll help point you in the right direction.

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