October 29, 2024

Collaborating for Economic Opportunity: Chicago Prize, Community, and Civic Leaders – Moderated by Kareeshma Ali (Pritzker Traubert Foundation) – Panelists: Deputy Mayor Kenya Merritt (City of Chicago), Cindy Moelis (Pritzker Traubert Foundation), Carlos Nelson (Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation), Marshall Hatch Jr (MAAFA Redemption Project)

City Club event description:

Building new assets in neighborhoods on the South and West sides requires these three things, among others: the support of City government, private funding and bold ideas.

And those ideas should come from the people who know their communities best. 

That’s why the Pritzker Traubert Foundation (PTF) launched the Chicago Prize in 2020 and has committed $40 million to support bold plans. Cindy Moelis and Kareeshma Ali from PTF will offer insights from the Chicago Prize and announce a new opportunity to apply for the next Prize.  

At the luncheon, we will hear from Chicago Deputy Mayor Kenya Merritt, as well as two community leaders who have received the Chicago Prize — Carlos Nelson in Auburn Gresham and Marshall Hatch, Jr. In West Garfield Park.

Their stories are inspiring and show the tangible impact of public-private partnerships driven by a community’s vision. Join us.

Speakers

Kenya Merritt
Kenya Merritt is the Deputy Mayor of Business and Neighborhood Development. Deputy Mayor Merritt brings over 20 years of experience to the role as a public service executive and expertise with developing and leading large-scale neighborhood and economic development initiatives. Merritt comes to the role after serving as Program Officer for the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Previously she has served as the Chief Small Business Officer and First Deputy Commissioner for the City of Chicago’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief Operating Officer for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Service Management from DePaul University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Cindy Moelis
Cindy S. Moelis is President of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Pritzker Traubert Foundation is primarily focused on making investments that increase economic mobility and opportunity in Chicago. The Foundation’s two main strategic areas focus on increasing equitable investment in Chicago’s west and south sides and investing in scalable workforce solutions throughout the city.

Throughout Cindy’s career in government and philanthropy, she has worked to promote social justice, youth development, and economic mobility. Prior to leading the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Cindy served in D.C. for five years as the Director of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, appointed by President Obama. Prior to her time in DC, she worked as an Assistant to Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley for social policy, at the MacArthur Foundation for President Adele Simmons, and as a Program Officer at the Steans Family Foundation.

Cindy currently serves on the Boards of the Crown Family Philanthropies, the Civic Consulting Alliance, Leadership Greater Chicago, and Tenement Museum. She is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network, and an LGC Burnham Fellow (Class of 2019).

Cindy earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Robert Rivkin. She is extremely proud of her three adult children, two of which live and work in Chicago

City Club video

Carlos Nelson
Carlos Nelson is the CEO of the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation a position he has held since 2003. Since then, Carlos has grown the organization from a one-person operation to a staff of forty full-time and part-time associates; with over 100 volunteers helping the organization carry out its mission of using comprehensive community development strategies to improve the quality of life of the residents and revitalize the underserved southside communities that make up greater Auburn Gresham.

Prior to his work on the south side of Chicago, Carlos used his technical talents as a mechanical engineer with Whirlpool Corporation in Tennessee. He then returned home to Chicago’s Auburn Gresham community where his grandparents settled in the 1960s and lead telecommunications design and development work for Andrew Corporation throughout North and South America.

As an engineer, to satisfy his urge to help communities and families in need, Carlos tutored for several years with the Cabrini Green Tutoring Program. In April 2002 he started volunteering for a small, upstart not-for-profit organization around the corner from his house. When the founding executive director left the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation in December 2002, Carlos was offered and accepted the position of Executive Director in January 2003, leaving corporate America behind. Under Carlos’ leadership, his organization designed innovative development strategies and won the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s $10MM Chicago Prize competition in 2020.

Carlos holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

Carlos serves on several boards, committees, and advisory councils including the board of directors of Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity, MAPSCorps, Inc.,; Greater Chatham Initiative and New Pisgah Community Service Organization; Local School Council for Richard J. Oglesby Elementary School, and Advisory Board of the Chicago Development Fund. Carlos also co-chairs the 006th Police District’s Business Subcommittee and is a former recipient of the Norm Bobbins Emerging Leaders Award. Carlos was the recipient of the first Chicago Prize award from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation.

Marshall Hatch Jr.
Marshall Hatch Jr. is the cofounder and executive director of the ​MAAFA Redemption Project​, a faith-based residential institute for Black and Brown young men who are furthest from opportunity. The project provides them with housing, job skills development, educational opportunities, and wrap-around social services. These supports are supplemented with programming that focuses on the arts, cultural identity development, spiritual enrichment, transformative travel, civic empowerment, and insistent life coaching and mentoring.

Kareeshma Ali
Kareeshma Ali is the Director of Community Investments at the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. She is committed to equitable community development and the design of human-centered tools, programs, services, and experiences through active listening and engagement, empathy and intersectionality. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kareeshma was the Director of Design Strategy at Greater Good Studio, and worked exclusively with non-profits, foundations, and public agencies on projects such as improving street design to reduce traffic fatalities, building child-centered communities, increasing access to sustainable open spaces, increasing homeownership for Black and Latinx households, and improving quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities.

Kareeshma holds a Masters in Architecture and Urban & Regional Planning, and a Post-Professional Certificate in Social and Environmental Design from Archeworks.

When she is not working or spending time with her husband and two young girls, she is an avid student of eastern healing philosophies, and you can often find her eagerly learning about sustainability, health and wellness, and in movement through dance and yoga.