Some of her key projects include supporting the Corporate Coalition of Chicago in increasing employment on Chicago’s south and west sides by 20,000 jobs over five years. She focuses on driving strategic partnerships, cross-learning, and improving employer practices. Additionally, she works with the Pritzker Traubert Foundation to guide the due diligence and selection process for a $1 million prize aimed at increasing employment opportunities in the climate economy. Sara is part of the local selection advisory council for GreenLight Fund, a venture philanthropy organization. In this role, she helps identify and scale proven programs that address community-defined needs and remove barriers to inclusive prosperity. As a Signature Fellow, Sara participates in Chicago’s premier civic leadership program, which brings together leaders from diverse sectors to tackle the city’s most pressing socio-economic challenges.

The mission of the Corporate Coalition of Chicago is to build a corporate culture in Chicago where companies understand that reducing racial and economic inequities is essential to their business success and a thriving regional economy. The Corporate Coalition was convened in 2019 by business leaders who came together to find ways for the business sector to use its assets, capabilities, and employee enthusiasm in new ways to address economic and racial inequities across all neighborhoods in the Chicago region. Members believe that to reduce long-standing and continuing inequities and create a thriving economy, companies must stretch beyond their important philanthropic contributions and beyond the responsibility all have to help the non-profit and public sectors be successful. Firms must challenge business as usual to create opportunities through their core business functions, including talent acquisition, employee support and advancement, site location, procurement, capital investments, and more. Today the Coalition includes more than 40 corporate members and 23 anchor partners— non-profits who help center the Coalition’s work on community-defined issues and needs.