About
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If there's one name that's synonymous with 'giving back' in Chicago, it's Liz Thompson. As President of the Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education (The CAFE), Liz is deeply engaged in the non-profit community and passionate about youth development and education. She began working with non-profits in 1993 as founding Executive Director of City Year Chicago, a national service organization that was the template for the AmeriCorps Program. Then in 1995, Liz served as Executive Director of a Montessori school in Denver, where she led a $5 million expansion. In 1998, she became active with boards in the San Diego area, which further fueled her interest in philanthropy and education. Prior to her work with non-profits, Liz had a ten-year career with Ameritech Corporation, culminating in her role as special assistant to the CEO of Ameritech Illinois and director of a three-state region for Network Field Operations. Liz is a director for Chicago Beyond and serves as Vice Chair of the Partnership for College Completion. She serves on the Steering Committee of the University of Chicago Women's Board and is a Special Advisor to OneGoal. She is also co- chair of Purdue University Minority Engineering Program Advisory panel. She is an alumnus of the Non-Profit Leadership Program of Denver and of the Leadership Greater Chicago Program where she currently also serves as a Director. Liz loves spending time with her family and friends, and cherishes her title of 'Queen of Useless Facts'. She is a Fellow of the 22nd class of the Pahara - Aspen Education Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
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