Through the Eyes of a Fellow:
Civic Consulting's 25th Anniversary Board Meeting
By Claire Tramm, McKinsey Civic Fellow
Editor's Note: In an effort to bring a fresh perspective to Civic Consulting's celebration of our 25th Anniversary Year, we asked a Civic Fellow to share her impressions of the recent meeting.
Civic Consulting Alliance Board members recently convened at Chicago's historic Federal Reserve Bank and greeted one another in a celebratory mood. Board Chair Pam Strobel welcomed these leaders whose pro bono services have been a cornerstone of the private sector's contribution to the City for the past 25 years. Board member Lyn Corbett Fitzgerald unveiled Civic Consulting's new logo, website design, and a new tagline - Smart Work. Great City.
CEO Brian Fabes listed recent accomplishments and then summed up what Civic Consulting has been doing for the past quarter century: "We work, as partners, on those things that matter most to Chicago. Other cities have public-private collaborations, but none has partnerships with the breadth and depth and scale of impact anything close to what we've created here, together, in Chicago."
Attendees gave a hearty welcome to Civic Consulting's "number one partner," Mayor Richard M. Daley. Mayor Daley thanked those assembled for their dedication to deconstructing the City's bureaucracy and "helping us look at things differently." "The State and Federal Governments need a Civic Consulting Alliance," Mayor Daley told the Board.
After sharing his views on the challenges and opportunities facing Chicago in the coming decade, Mayor Daley thanked our contributing partners:
Ms. Strobel thanked the Mayor for his partnership and offered an unusual gift - a cowbell - to be rung "whenever you find in government a sacred cow and need your partners at Civic Consulting to help get rid of it." Mayor Daley promised to use it often, and again thanked everyone for working together to make Chicago an ever-better place to live and work.
Claire Tramm is a fellow on-loan from McKinsey.
New Partners Council Launches
A group of private-sector leaders convened on March 8 to kick off the new Partners Council of Civic Consulting Alliance. Conceived by Principals Gillian Darlow and Alexander Sherman and led by Board members Frank Battle and Hank Mendoza, the Partners Council is designed to solicit strategic input into the work of Civic Consulting, sharpen our focus, and increase significantly the impact of Civic Consulting Alliance partnerships.
Members of the Partners Council were selected based on their demonstrated leadership and interest in deepening their connection to Chicago and to Civic Consulting.
At the inaugural meeting of the Partners Council, the group challenged Civic Consulting to address our goals, target audiences, the role of Chicago's civic community, and the opportunity to magnify results.
Members of the Council include:
We would like to thank those individuals and organizations who are part of this important addition to Chicago's civic community.
