A Wild Ride as Board Chairman

After almost four years of dedicated leadership, Ron Redd, Director at BMO Capital Markets and long time Chairman of Urban Initiatives’ Board of Directors, is passing the Chairman’s torch.

During Ron’s time as the Board’s leader, Urban Initiatives has grown dramatically. When he took over the position in 2009, Urban Initiatives served 360 children in twelve Chicago schools. Today, our three programs impact more than 11,500 students at 29 Chicago Public Schools.

“Ron has been with us for every step of our growth over the past few years,” Urban Initiatives’ Executive Director Jim Dower says. “We can’t thank him enough for the time and energy he has committed to helping our cause. He is a tremendous asset to our organization, and we have truly benefited from his guidance.”
Fortunately for us, Ron’s still going to be an active Board member. “Urban Initiatives is an outstanding organization and it was an absolute pleasure to serve as Board Chair for nearly four years,” he says. “Over the last several years Urban Initiatives has grown tremendously. So much effort has been put into developing a first class operation and I am glad to be integrally involved. There is much more to do and I look forward to participating in the next phase of growth at Urban Initiatives.”

Taking over at the helm is another of our amazing Board members, Ralf Hilpüsch, the President and CEO of Storck North America. Since joining the Board in 2009, Ralf has seen Ron do “an extraordinary job in leading the Board and Urban Initiatives through a very successful growth period.”

Ralf is excited to continue propelling Urban Initiatives forward. “I personally feel very privileged to not only support the cause of Urban Initiatives but to now also serve as Chairman of the Board,” he says. “Every day we are engaging and empowering more and more youths to reach their full potential. I am honored to have Urban Initiatives’ trust to lead the organization forward towards its goal to change the face of the city of Chicago – one child, one school, one community at a time!”

We couldn’t have said it better! Finally, Urban Initiatives would like to give a huge thank you to all of our fantastic board members – this is going to be an awesome year!

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