Skender Foundation, the charitable arm of Chicago-based Skender, has appointed Monica Bomani and Kathleen St. Louis Caliento to its board of directors. As board members, they will help oversee the nonprofit business activities and build new partnerships.
“Monica and Kathleen embody the spirit of philanthropy and bring talent, enthusiasm and expertise to the table,” said Skender Foundation chair and president, Cheryl Skender. “We are looking forward to leveraging their nonprofit experience and networks that will further guide us in our strategic growth and outreach.”
Bomani serves as director of community giving and engagement at Assurant, where she manages social responsibility programs including global volunteer and community engagement initiatives, as well as manages charitable partnerships and oversees Assurant Foundation global grants. Bomani has more than 18 years of experience in various nonprofit, philanthropic and corporate citizenship roles, including global community investment manager for McDonald’s Corporation and most recently global social responsibility manager at Abbott.
Prior to her transition to the corporate sector, Bomani held fundraising and grants management roles with the Oprah Winfrey Philanthropies, the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the American Heart Association (Greater Midwest Affiliate). She holds a master’s degree in international public service management from DePaul University.
St. Louis Caliento is the chief learning and design officer of the Academy Group. Previously, she held several leadership positions at Spark, including executive director in Chicago. Prior to Spark, St. Louis Caliento was chief program officer for Project Exploration, director of program investments for The Chicago Public Education Fund and taught in New York City.
She has spent two decades committed to urban education and student success. St. Louis Caliento is a graduate of the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy (2017), and a current Leadership Greater Chicago fellow (2020). A published author, she earned her doctorate and master’s degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University and graduated with a bachelor’s from SUNY Stony Brook.
