Update: Connie Falcone is now the Director of Community Affairs for the Chicago Cubs. Learn more here.
Connie Falcone of Wilmette is far from your average soccer mom.
As director of development and finance for Urban Initiatives, a nonprofit that provides after-school soccer and nutrition education to children in numerous underserved Chicago public schools, Falcone organized one of the most talked-about benefits in Chicagoland—”The Soccer Ball,” an annual event that first took place in January of 2007
The goal was to raise $25,000 to $30,000, but thanks to Falcone’s leadership, the total amount of money raised was more than double the expectation. And this year’s Soccer Ball netted more than $100,000.
“It takes a good deal of support to be amazing,” Falcone says humbly.
Falcone met Urban Initiatives founders Jim Dower and Daniel Isherwood on the soccer field in Wilmette, where the mother of three is volunteer treasurer for the Wilmette Wings Soccer Club. They were thrilled to hear she wanted to help their organization—and who wouldn’t be thrilled by a resume like this:
- VP of Devers Group Private Equity Firm
- Former lawyer with a Denver law firm specializing in civil litigation
- M.B.A. from University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- J.D. from Notre Dame Law School
- Member of the Board of Trustees of LaLumiere School in LaPorte, Ind.
- Member of the Peacebuilders Advisory Board at the Catholic Theological Union
- Member of the Service Board of the Midwest Palliative Care Center & Hospice of the North Shore
Working full-time as a volunteer, Falcone has helped Urban Initiatives double the number of schools it serves and open an office in the West Loop.
“Connie has a heart of gold, an unbound spirit and wears many hats with grace in her every day life,” Dower and Isherwood say. “She leads her life with her heart and holds a very special place in ours.”
