ELEVATE:
Bright Promises 2022
Awards
In-Person and Livestream Event
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
National Museum of Mexican Art
Bright Promises 2022 Awards
In-Person and Livestream Event
About the Event:
Bright Promises 2022 Awards
Tuesday, October 25, 6:00p-9:00p
National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W 19th St, Chicago, IL 60608
Join us for an evening at the National Museum of Mexican Art celebrating the work of Bright Promises Foundation and our partners. The Bright Promises 2022 Awards feature a cocktail reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres, private gallery tours including the hugely popular Día de Muertos exhibition, opportunities to interact with local Chicago youth leaders, and an inspiring speaking program where this year’s awardees will be honored. The 2022 Awards speaking program will also be livestreamed for a virtual audience.
The event attire is business casual.
About the Venue:
The National Museum of Mexican Art is located in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood just south and west of Chicago’s downtown. The venue is easily accessible by car and public transportation.
Free parking is available in the Ray Castro Parking Lot and Plaza, located on the east side of the Museum. The lot is open daily from 8:00 am – 11:00 pm. Free street parking is also available.
Go green with the CTA, and reach the National Museum of Mexican Art by one of these routes:
Pink Line train to the Damen stop or 18th Street stop
Number 50 Damen bus to 19th Street
Number 9 Ashland bus to 18th Street
Can't attend? Support at-risk Chicago children and youth with a gift.
Imagine a future where youth voices are elevated and the often invisible struggles that youth face every day are proactively addressed. With your support, Bright Promises is bringing greater awareness, understanding, and a deeper investment to address the core issues that keep children and youth from reaching their full promise and potential.
100% of your donation will go to programs that support the social, emotional, and mental health of low-income and BIPOC children and youth.
About the Honorees
Andrea Palmer
2022 Champion for Children Award
The Champion for Children Award recognizes a civic or community leader who has shown exceptional dedication to helping at-risk children and youth in Metropolitan Chicago.
Andrea Palmer has dedicated her professional career in service of children. Through leadership at the JB and MK Pritzker Family Foundation’s Children’s Initiative, Andrea supports work across the country to expand services to at least one million infants and toddlers and their families by 2023. With a public health lens, and over thirty years of experience in Illinois State government, Andrea Palmer has a wealth of expertise in the development, implementation and administration of systems, services and supports for children and families. Andrea is steadfast in her commitment to removing structural barriers and creating opportunities for children in Chicago and Illinois to thrive and have positive life outcomes.
Cathy Krieger
2022 Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes 15+ years of outstanding contributions in a child-welfare profession.
With nearly four decades of nonprofit experience, Cathy Krieger has dedicated her career to improving the lives of vulnerable children. She is the founding CEO of Children's Place Association, which pioneered comprehensive services for children with AIDS and then expanded its reach to help those struggling with other issues. Since opening 30 years ago it has provided life-changing services for thousands of Chicago area children. Prior to joining Children’s Place, Krieger served as Director of Social Services for the Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic in Chicago and served as a social worker and counselor at numerous Chicago agencies. Cathy Krieger is a visionary leader who combines intelligence, creativity and compassion to serve the most vulnerable – and achieves results.
Berto Aguayo
2021 Elevating Youth Voices Award
A lifelong Back of the Yards resident and a product of an immigrant family, Berto is a fierce voice against gun violence and a champion for immigrant rights. He’d always heard that to “make it” meant to “make it out of the hood.” To Berto, that didn’t sit right. He wanted to help bring his neighborhood the peace and resources its residents deserved.
A former gang member, Berto Aguayo is now the co-founder and Executive Director of #IncreaseThePeace (#ITP), an organization that develops young leaders and promotes peace through community organizing and policy advocacy. Since its founding in 2016, #ITP reopened a community center, trained over 300 youth leaders in community organizing, organized dozens of actions to increase the peace, and has expanded its work to include violence prevention, youth development, food access, mutual aid, and multicultural unity.
The Elevating Youth Voices Awards is accompanied by a $5,000 honorarium to support Berto’s professional development.
Devon VanHouten-Maldonado
2022 Elevating Youth Voices Award
The Elevating Youth Voices Award recognizes an early to mid-career professional who is dedicated to empowering and amplifying the voices of Chicago youth leaders. The Elevating Youth Voices Award is accompanied by an honorarium of $5,000.
Devon has dedicated his life to empowering young people to use their voice through art. He is passionate about his work and leads with his heart. His dedication to his practice is infectious with all those he works with. Devon serves as the Director of Programs at SkyART and teaches in the programs he directs. This experience allows him to guide the organization in being as responsive as they can to the needs of the communities they serve. Devon has worked in incarcerated spaces for over 10 years and is currently provides weekly art therapy to youth in the Illinois Corrections Center. Devon’s goal is to humanize youth involved in the juvenile justice system — creating a fuller portrait of youth instead of criminals.
Meade Palidofsky
2021 Bright Promises Foundation Visionary Award
Meade Palidofsky is an award-winning director, playwright, and lyricist who founded Storycatchers Theatre in 1984 and developed its trauma-informed creative youth development methodology. She created Storycatchers' signature program model for youth in the juvenile justice system, developing and implementing year-round residential and post-release programs that engage these marginalized young people through a trauma lens. Under her leadership, these programs empower justice-involved youth and prepare them to navigate court involvement and reentry successfully.
For over 37 years, she has worked tirelessly to guide some of the most vulnerable young people in Illinois to realize their potential, and to envision and pursue productive futures. She has changed institutional cultures in secure facilities by engaging staff as stakeholders in the success of incarcerated teens. She has collaborated with aftercare to create a post-release employment model to help youth develop capacity for successful lives after prison. She has created critical partnerships within the justice system and throughout the community to establish a network of support. In May 2021, Palidofsky announced her plan to retire from Storycatchers.
Sponsors
In Formation
Sponsorship opportunities available. Learn more about 2022 Sponsorship Opportunities
PRESENTING
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ADVOCATE
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Aaron Paris and Helene Paris
ALLY
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BELIEVER
Marilyn Eisenberg
Gaylord and William Gieseke
Linda Gilkerson and Don Lamb
Bari and Jay Rosenbloom
Shari Runner
SUPPORTER
Scott and Emily Bishop
Andreason L. Brown and Robert J. Browne III
Neelamjit Dhaliwhal
Maricela Garcia
The Gaur Family
Roberta Kramer - Heritage Auctions
Baronica Roberson
Nancy Nolden Snyder
MEDIA SPONSOR
Host Committee
Co-Chairs
Donna LaPietra, Executive Vice President at Kurtis Productions
Daniel Ash, President, Field Foundation of Illinois
Host Committee
Nancy Aardema, Former Executive Director, Palenque - Logan Square Neighborhood Association
Paul and Peggy Bodine
Dr. Barbara Bowman, Co-Founder, Erikson Institute
Vern Broders and Francia Harrington
Jahmal Cole, Founder and Executive Director, My Block, My Hood, My City
Loretta Davenport, Attorney
Ric Estrada, CEO, Metropolitan Family Services
Sunny Fisher, Consultant to Foundations and Nonprofits
Debbie Frisch, Founder & CEO, Hello Baby
Dr. Linda Gilkerson, Professor, Erikson Institute
Phyllis Glink, Executive Director, Irving Harris Foundation
Thom Hale, President, Hale Technologies
Norman Livingston Kerr, CEO, Trajectory Changing Solutions
Ron Manderschied, Former Executive Director, Northwestern University Settlement House
Dr. Dominica McBride, CEO, Become: Center for Community Engagement and Social Change
Mark McKinley, Partner, Wealth Management, William Blair
Aaron and Helene Paris
Leslie Ramyk, Executive Director, Conant Family Foundation
Nancy Ronquillo, Former Executive Director, Children’s Home + Aid
Jerome Stermer, Former Illinois Comptroller
Schehrezade Tillet, Executive Director, A Long Walk Home
Kim Van Horn, Executive Director, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
Jon N. Will, Jon N. Will Associates
Carole Wood, President, Northwestern Settlement
Allison Youngblood, Director, ASY Enterprises
Contact us
For more information, please contact Katherine Dreher Korey at katherine.dreher@brightpromises.org or 312-550-2775.