OUR LEADERSHIP

Leading us toward a brighter future

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

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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Lauren Feldman

Lauren Feldman joined Cara Collective in 2023. Previously, her work focused primarily in the education sector. Most recently, she served as Director of Strategy for Chicago Public Schools, leading critical cross-functional strategic projects for the district before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Brady Gott

Since 2007, Brady has led our social enterprise Cleanslate, overseeing the financial health of the business and its growth, while ensuring the ongoing provision of meaningful employment for its workers. 

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Tara Harper

Tara Harper is a passionate and strategic non-profit leader, with nearly 20 years of experience working to advance racial equity and social justice for communities that have been systemically disinvested in and under resourced.

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Kim Massenburg

Dr. Kim Massenburg holds a doctorate in counselor education and supervision from Argosy University. She has over 15 years of servicing individuals impacted by homelessness, domestic violence, mental health and substance abuse, and trauma.

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Joe Mutuc

After six years of for-profit experience in supplemental education and sales, Joe began his nonprofit career in 2006 as a Corporate Account Manager at Cara, responsible for securing and building relationships with major employment partners.

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Joel Pomerenk

Joel leads our Finance, Accounting, HR, Technology, Public Grants, and Operations teams. He joined Cara in 2019, bringing more than two decades of experience in senior finance leadership posts across Fortune 100, nonprofit, and education sectors. 

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Sara Wasserteil

Sara joined Cara in 2019 to lead our national expansion efforts. In this role, she brings Cara’s methodology to new markets, by working with nonprofits and employers to strengthen inclusive employment pathways around the country.

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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
Sr. Vice President, Community Health Transformation
UChicago Medicine
DeRondal Bevly
(Secretary)
Founder & Managing Director
RubyRose Strategies
Regina Cross
Vice President
Goldman Sachs
Andrew Davis
Partner
McKinsey & Company
Marta Delgado
Co-Founder, Attorney
Delgado Rompf Bruen LLC
Kapil Khanna
CEO
Lamar Johnson Collaborative
Kate Kutay
Chief Resiliency Strategy Officer
Northern Trust
Terrill North
Partner
New Profit
Andrea O’Leary
(Vice Chair)
VP of Talent, Development and Inclusion  
ModMed
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
Brent Rasmussen
CEO
Visibly
Wendy Raymer
Director, Community Giving
BMO Harris
Rudy Smith
(Treasurer)
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

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.

Rohith Banerjee
Oliver Wyman
Shyrlden Carmichael
Habitat
Prab Chawla
Linden Capital Partners
Jeff Dorner
Baker Tilly US, LLP
Jeremy Dulle
Strategy and Management Consultant
Jennifer Dunmore
(Co-Chair)
Aon
Mike Grill
Holland & Knight LLP
Elena Grotto
(Co-Chair)
Edelman
David Kaiman
US Bank
Michael Nordman
Molson Coors
Jake Panter
Kimley-Horn
Jason Rahoy
U.S. Department of Justice
Danny Scott
Slalom
Joel Staffilino
JRW Realty
Paul Strike
Twin Lake Total Return
Caroline Thrun
Jobs for the Future
Melody Todd
Clarity Partners
Brett Williams
RSM US LLP
Brandon Wright
HBR Consulting

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.

Ashli Adibe
UChicago Medicine
Kaitlyn Baerenstecher
Clarity Partners
Drake Blessum
Latch
Brianna Brooks
UChicago Medicine
Patrick Delaney
SullivanCotter, Inc.
Angie DeWitt
Habitat
Mia Diaz
UNICEF
Cat Duncan
William Blair
Bridget Flaherty
Ernst & Young
Jennifer Harper
(Vice President)
Ethos Veterinary Health
Angelyn Irvin
The Bean Path
Sean Knoerzer
BDF Private Wealth LLC
Lolami Lola-Charles
PURE Insurance Companies
Matthew Martin
American Realty Advisors
Ryan McCauley
Aon
Rebecca Michel
(Secretary)
DePaul University
Luke Minton
Citadel
J. Tanner Rice
SSA & Company
Russell Richey
Goldman Sachs
Megan Roddy
Kirkland & Ellis
Victoria “Tori” Rudd
Discover Financial
Sari Schwartz
Trajektory
Kelsey Sicard
ZS
Andi Summers
Equator Design
Emma Waterman
(President)
Crafty
Tony Wu
KPMG US

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
Ana Zanic
Director, Talent Acquisition
Northwestern Medicine
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
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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More Ways to Give

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Contact Us

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