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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Christa A. Hamilton on | ||||||
| 4 | her election as president and CEO of UCAN; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, UCAN was founded as a Civil War orphanage 152 | ||||||
| 6 | years ago and now serves more than 21,000 children, youths, | ||||||
| 7 | and families around Chicago; during the COVID-19 pandemic, the | ||||||
| 8 | organization has been a critical provider of essential | ||||||
| 9 | services since March 2020; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Christa Hamilton is a native Chicagoan and was | ||||||
| 11 | born in the Englewood community; she is a first-generation | ||||||
| 12 | college graduate, earning her Bachelor of Science in Business | ||||||
| 13 | Administration from Florida A&M University and her MBA from | ||||||
| 14 | National Louis University; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Christa Hamilton has devoted her career to | ||||||
| 16 | improving the lives of others in resilient communities and | ||||||
| 17 | centering equity in all aspects; prior to her appointment, she | ||||||
| 18 | worked in both corporate and store operations at Walgreens for | ||||||
| 19 | six years, as a consultant for the Department of Labor for two | ||||||
| 20 | years, and as the director of Workforce Development at the | ||||||
| 21 | Centers for New Horizons for three years before succeeding the | ||||||
| 22 | founder as executive director and CEO in 2014; while there, | ||||||
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| 1 | she distinguished herself as a turnaround leader who nearly | ||||||
| 2 | doubled the organization's budget to $17 million while | ||||||
| 3 | overseeing more than 300 full-time and part-time staff in | ||||||
| 4 | programs across 15 locations throughout Chicago; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Christa Hamilton is a community and civic leader; | ||||||
| 6 | she serves on the boards for Instituto del Progreso Latino and | ||||||
| 7 | the Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition; she is a fellow of | ||||||
| 8 | Leadership Greater Chicago, a member of the Social Services | ||||||
| 9 | Advisory Council with the Illinois Department of Human | ||||||
| 10 | Services, and a member of the University of Chicago Advisory | ||||||
| 11 | Council; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Christa Hamilton will be both the first African | ||||||
| 13 | American and the first woman to lead UCAN; she will succeed | ||||||
| 14 | Interim President and CEO Thomas Vanden Berk on September 13, | ||||||
| 15 | 2021; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 17 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 18 | we congratulate Christa A. Hamilton on her election as | ||||||
| 19 | president and CEO of UCAN, and we wish her the best in her new | ||||||
| 20 | role; and be it further
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| 21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 22 | presented to Christa Hamilton as an expression of our esteem | ||||||
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| 1 | and respect.
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