A NEW LEADER TAKES THE HELM AT COPA
|
|
A committee of diverse stakeholders
completed a national search for the Chief Administrator of COPA, Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability. After four months of vetting candidates and deliberating, the committee submitted Sydney Roberts, the director of the Illinois Secretary of State Police, to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and the full City Council confirmed the appointment on April 18th.
|
|
CCA, in collaboration with pro bono partner Lantern Partners, helped to develop the interview process that gave the committee an objective path to a necessarily subjective decision. Candidates for this crucial government oversight role were asked to answer two critical questions: “What are the largest challenges currently facing police oversight in Chicago, and what is your vision to address them?”
According to Committee Co-Chair Paula Wolff of the Illinois Justice Project, Roberts emerged from the final, small group of candidates as the clear favorite when she described her vision of public integrity for COPA.
|
|
Roberts elaborated on her goal to lead COPA “lawfully and with integrity,” and maintain a “robust, efficient,and independent” system of police oversight.
|
|
On the occasion of her confirmation by the Public Safety Committee of the City Council,
Roberts elaborated
on her goal to lead COPA “lawfully and with integrity,” and maintain a “robust, efficient, and independent” system of police oversight.
As director of the police force of the Illinois Secretary of State, Roberts presided over 100 officers who enforced motor vehicle laws, regulated the auto sales industry, and provided security in the Capitol complex in Springfield. Before leading the Secretary of State Police, Roberts served five years as the chief operating officer of the Illinois Executive Inspector General and led investigations into fraud, waste, and misconduct in state government.
|
|
BUILDING DEVELOPMENT EXPERTISE FOR MISSION-DRIVEN WORK
|
|
When Carolyn Nopar began to search for Civic Consulting Alliance’s Principal of Development and Communications, she knew she faced a situation that would be both challenging and rewarding. But the outcomes of her pro bono effort went well beyond anything she imagined.
“I knew the team at CCA was impressive and that its work was far-reaching,” Carolyn said after the successful conclusion of the search. In the course of vetting and interviewing candidates, she made three discoveries:
|
|
Carolyn Nopar
Principal
,
|
|
- After years of work in sales and marketing, Carolyn was able to explore a newfound passion for work with small to medium-sized nonprofit organizations improving their communities.
- To an even greater extent than she anticipated, Carolyn met “fascinating new people in the top-notch team at CCA and with its high-profile board.”
- Using the knowledge she gained in the search, Carolyn developed an idea for a new business that had the potential to embed a culture of philanthropy and financial stability into smaller nonprofits.
During the search, Carolyn noticed that many nonprofits cannot afford designated development staff and that those who could afford staff had trouble keeping them. There was, she found, a “lack of fundraising talent in the Chicago market, and it’s a huge issue.”
To help other nonprofits combat that problem, Carolyn envisions a “fundraising accelerator.” She will offer a year-long training program for small cohorts that “will provide affordable capacity building, install development practices, assist with succession planning, and reduce turnover.”
Thanks to Carolyn’s support, CCA is now positioned to be a leader among nonprofits hoping to build in-house development expertise. In April 2018, Eleanor Perrone Toriski began her work as CCA’s new Principal for Development and Communications. Eleanor joins CCA from Embarc, a Chicago non-profit that helps low-income high school students pursue their dreams.
|
|
IN OTHER NEWS...
- West Side United continues to receive positive coverage in Chicago and beyond. The American Heart Association recently featured the work of WSU in their new video on social determinants of health. Chicago Tonight interviewed Darlene Hightower, Rush University Medical Center's AVP for Community Engagement, about the hospital's role in starting WSU. Civic Consulting is supporting WSU's work.
- Watch CCA Principal Rasmus Lynnerup and Analyst Kevin Nigarura discuss our Civic Leadership platform in our new video.
- Earlier this month, the newly redesigned Cook County Central Bond Court reopened. Civic Consulting and pro bono partners from CannonDesign and the Kellogg School of Management supported stakeholders in identifying challenges created by the former physical design of the courtroom. See an image of Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle speaking in the renovated building here.
|
|
American Heart Association video
|
|
|
Civic Consulting Alliance is an affiliate of the Civic Committee of
the
Commercial Club of Chicago
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
