Q&A: Ric Estrada, CEO of Metropolitan Family Services, on the Importance of Deep Understanding in a People-First Profession

Effectively operating in the nonprofit sector — specifically, working hand-in-hand with some of our most vulnerable community members — requires the ability to meet people where they are at, and an eagerness to offer assistance as opposed to passing judgment. This mentality has guided Ric Estrada, CEO of Metropolitan Family Services (MFS), who has served […]

13 Most Powerful Philanthropists and Nonprofit Leaders Driving Change in Chicago and Beyond in 2022

According to the Giving US annual report on philanthropy, published by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, charitable giving in the United States increased by 4 percent last year. An Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy study commissioned by the Chicago Community Trust demonstrated that Chicago is an astonishing 50 percent more philanthropic than any […]

Pickles Group, Founded by Wilmette Families, Helps Children Whose Parents are Living with Cancer

Three local couples bonded over a common enemy: cancer.  As they endured and supported each other as peers, they realized that their children, who endured a similar but more unique challenge, needed peers too. They founded Pickles Group.  “They all were navigating a similar situation. They all had a parent with a cancer diagnosis. In […]

San Anselmo Nonprofit Side by Side Names Dr. Christine Isana Garcia CEO

Side by Side, the San Anselmo-based nonprofit that serves vulnerable youth in four Bay Area counties, has announced the appointment of Dr. Christine Isana Garcia as CEO. She succeeds Mary Denton, who recently retired after over 20 years of service. Her appointment is the result of a six-month national search led by a board-appointed search […]