Project Description
Trustee
Karin M. Norington-Reaves is a lifelong public servant with more than 30 years of experience in education, law, advocacy, community and workforce development. She is the founding CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, the nation’s largest federally funded workforce development system with more than 90 delegate agencies under its umbrella. Under Karin’s leadership, The Partnership has grown to serve 140,000 people and 1,000 businesses annually. Karin leads a diverse portfolio of 26 initiatives providing job training and placement, and has managed approximately $500 million in corporate, federal and philanthropic funds to date.
A Chicago native, Karin holds a J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas, Texas, and a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She began her career as a bilingual Spanish educator teaching Spanish-speaking children to read and write in their native language and English as a Second Language to adults. Karin is the proud mother of a blended family of four children, including a former MPA student through eighth grade.