The Chicago Public Education Fund Welcomes Karen J. May to Its Board of Directors

May 8, 2019 – Today, The Chicago Public Education Fund announced the election of Karen J. May to its Board of Directors. May is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Mondelēz International. May joins a Board composed of corporate, civic and education leaders working to ensure that every child in Chicago has access to a world-class public education. Directors pool their dollars, ideas and time with the belief that strategic investments can have a positive impact on the performance of Chicago’s district and charter public schools. “I am invested in the work of The Fund and its mission to build and sustain a culture of strong leadership in Chicago's public schools,” May said. “I’ve spent my career in human resources and finance looking at how to best build systems that allow businesses and leaders to grow and thrive. I look forward to working with The Fund to increase the number of strong principals in our schools and ensure more students are in schools with strong leadership.” May has over 35 years of experience in the consumer products and health care industries. During her tenure at Mondelēz International, May was responsible for the full employee lifecycle, including resource planning, recruitment, training and leadership development, staffing, performance management, engagement and retention, succession planning, compensation, and rewards. She held the same role at Kraft Foods Inc., the $50 billion predecessor to Mondelēz International, prior to the spin-off of the company’s North America grocery operations in 2012.  Prior to Kraft, May held roles in human resources and finance Baxter International and Price Waterhouse. “We are honored to welcome Karen to The Fund’s Board of Directors,” said Heather Y. Anichini, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Fund. “Karen is a proven business leader whose expertise will be invaluable to our work. She is an innovative thinker who will help us critically examine what it means to invest in and support Chicago’s talented school leaders.” May earned a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois. About The Chicago Public Education Fund The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) is a nonprofit organization working to improve public schools in Chicago by investing in the talented educators who lead them. Since its founding in 2000, The Fund has invested in leadership development opportunities for educators in more than 70 percent of Chicago’s public schools and has served as a catalyst for accelerative positive student learning and life outcomes citywide. Visit www.thefundchicago.org or www.facebook.com/TheFundChicago for more information.