The Taproot Foundation Appoints Jaime Guzman as Executive Director of Chicago

CHICAGO, Ill., September 29, 2014 /3BL Media/ - The Taproot Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Jaime Guzman as the Chicago Executive Director, responsible for the Midwest, effective October 1, 2014. 

Jaime Guzman is a seasoned leader and a native Chicagoan, who has worked for over 15 years at the intersection of the private, public and nonprofit sectors.

Most recently, Jaime served as the Senior Director for Outreach at the Big Shoulders Fund, managing next generation board leadership and targeted programs and fundraising. Jaime also held senior leadership positions in the public sector, as Chief Advisor to the Board of Trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago, where he advised the Board on policy and systemic reforms designed to align community college programs to the needs of business, and at the Chicago Public Schools, where he led the Office of New Schools, managing the authorization of new public schools as part of the district’s key reform initiatives.

Jaime has served as the Midwest Regional Director for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, and as the Chicago Program Director of Teach For America, a teacher corps whose members commit to raise achievement levels for students in public schools. 

“Jaime is the perfect person to lead Taproot in Chicago and help us make high quality pro bono resources available across the Midwest. He has demonstrated his passion for making a difference in his communities, leveraging volunteers to impact the work that he has done to help thousands of students across Chicago and we are thrilled that he is bringing his energy and expertise to Taproot,” Liz Hamburg, President & CEO of Taproot Foundation, said.

“Chicago has a vibrant nonprofit community and I am excited to support it by leveraging the capacity of our local partners -- foundations, corporate partners and the growing number of individuals who have committed to strengthen the nonprofit sector through pro bono service,” Jaime Guzman, Executive Director of Taproot Chicago, said.

Jaime has been an active member of the Chicago community. He was is a 2012 Leadership Greater Chicago fellow and serves on the Illinois State Charter School Commission. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and received a master’s degree in Policy and Management from Harvard University.

About Taproot Foundation
Since 2001, Taproot Foundation has proven that pro bono service is a viable and reliable tool for strengthening nonprofit organizations. Today, Taproot continues to lead nationally, and seeks to build a pro bono marketplace that, like philanthropy, is large, accessible, professional and transparent. By taking lessons learned from our award-winning Service Grant Program and applying them to our innovative new program areas, we work to stimulate the supply of pro bono resources through our corporate Advisory Services practice, as well as demand for these services by giving nonprofits the tools and training that sets them up for successful pro bono engagements. Our work has evolved to include thought leadership and international field-building, convening global leaders in the social sector to guide the design and direction of the pro bono movement while focusing on infusing a pro bono ethic into business professions, professional schools, companies and nonprofits in communities across the country and around the world.