Ripples of Hope: Philanthropy and the Next Generation

Joshua Hale

Joshua D. Hale is the President and CEO of Big Shoulders Fund which invests approximately $20-22 million annually to support 75 inner-city, Catholic schools serving nearly 20,000 students – 80 percent minority and 66 percent living in poverty. Annual investments are for scholarships and student enrichment, operational management, academic and professional development programs, leadership development, and an
adopt-a-school program.

Hale was a fellow in the Leadership Greater Chicago and an inaugural member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Emerging Leaders Program. Hale serves on the Board of Directors of The Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago and the Next Generation Committee of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Hale is a Director on the Board of Amerigo Education, Inc. He is a member of The Commercial Club, The Economic Club, The Chicago Club, Chicago Commonwealth Club, and Vistage International. In 2010, Hale was a “40 Under 40” in Crain’s Chicago Business Journal.

Previously, Hale was on the management team at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and a consultant with The Hale Group, Ltd. After graduating from Marquette University, Hale spent two years as a volunteer in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. He resides in
Chicago with his wife and their two sons.

Carol Lavin Bernick

Carol Bernick serves as CEO of Polished Nickel Capital Management, a privately held company that manages diversified investments and owns all or substantial stakes in diverse companies ranging from retail sales to thoroughbred racing.

Among various community commitments Mrs. Bernick is a board member, and past board chair, of Northwestern Memorial Healthcare. She is a member of the Northwestern University Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee for the Global Advisory Board of The Kellogg School and served as vice chair of the Board of Tulane University.  Sheis on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Community Trust and serves on numerous other boards as well.

Carol’s strong belief in sharing one’s knowledge led her to author a book, Gather As You Go, a collection of over 300 stories reflecting her life experiences as a corporate and civic trailblazer, marketing pioneer, working mother, caregiver, and nonprofit founder. 

Alicia Gonzalez

Alicia Gonzalez is from Chicago and is the Executive Director of Cubs Charities and the Director of Community Affairs for the Chicago Cubs.

In her current role, Gonzalez oversees Cubs Charities philanthropic and programmatic investments in Chicago communities and provides strategic direction for elevating the power of sport as a vehicle for improved health, academic success, and civic engagement. 

Gonzalez transitioned to the Cubs in May 2018, after serving for ten years as the Founding Executive Director of Chicago Run, a local non-profit that provides free sport-based youth development programs to over 18,000 Chicago Public School students.  Prior to Chicago Run, Gonzalez served as the head of Hispanic Business Development for First American Bank, where she oversaw the expansion of private-public partnerships in the Latino community.   

In addition to Chicago Run, she serves on the Board of Directors for Heartland Alliance Human Care Services, Instituto del Progreso Latino, and the Enlace Legacy Board. Gonzalez graduated with honors in Latin American History from Brown University. 

Angelique Power

As President of the Field Foundation, Angelique Power catalyzed changes within the Field Foundation grant structure. Nonprofit feedback, foundation peer input, racial justice training, heat maps of Chicago; all of these pieces helped reveal a path forward to a new grant model centered around Community Empowerment through Justice, Art, and Leadership Investment.  This new model opens the door to funding for neighborhoods that are too commonly divested in and aims at addressing root causes of the issues allowing every Chicagoan to thrive in this city we love. 

Power  chairs the Boards of the Grantmakers in the Arts, 6018North and co-chairs the board of Enrich Chicago, an organization she co-founded, dedicated to racial equity in the arts. She also serves on the Board of Forefront Illinois.