Introduction to Special Children's Charities
Special Children's Charities was founded in 1969 to fund special recreation programs administered by the Chicago Park District, which later expanded to Chicago Public Schools and other agencies throughout the city.
Special Children's Charities currently develops and funds a wide range of recreational, educational and social activities that encourage physical and mental health for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, ensuring that all individuals have access to high-quality programming.
Kelly Powers will discuss the mission, history and work of the Charity and will explain the impact of their work and how others can be involved.
A passionate social justice advocate, Kelly has dedicated her career to leading innovative work to positively impact people. An accomplished social entrepreneur and executive leader, Kelly has spent her career building and leading organizations in the social sector. She founded her consulting practice in 2022 and merged with Hatch Gemini in 2024. Kelly supports mission-driven organizations to advance their work through strategic operations consulting with a focus on people operations and stakeholder engagement. Currently Kelly serves as the Interim Executive Director of Special Children’s Charities, which, since 1968, has been the driving force behind inclusion and empowerment for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Chicago.
Throughout her career, Kelly has co-founded and led a start-up, non-profit education organization, building it from the ground up. She has worked in the classroom with young children and in systems change teaching other teachers. Kelly has led operations, finance, and human resources as the chief operating officer at an established non-profit agency. During her tenure as COO, Kelly led and re-built the people & culture department, supported the reorganization of the finance function, spearheaded the implementation of a new HRIS system and successfully operationalized an acquisition with a local community organization.
Prior to her COO role, Kelly was founding Executive Director of VOCEL, an early childhood education non-profit she co-founded in 2013. Under Kelly’s leadership, she grew the organization from an early-stage start-up to a well-established, change-maker in Chicago. Before founding VOCEL, Kelly’s career included teaching 1st & 2nd grade in St. Louis, Missouri as a Teach For America corps member; coaching teachers in community-based organizations and elementary schools across Chicago; and managing a team of educational coaches at Teach For America.
Kelly holds an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business with concentrations in Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship, Managerial & Organizational Behavior and Operations Management. She was a member of the inaugural cohort of Neubauer Civic Scholars at Booth. In undergrad, Kelly was a Hunt Leadership Scholar at SMU where she earned her BA in Communications & English. Kelly’s professional background in education, operations and entrepreneurship allow her to deliver value to clients as they grow their impact.
Host: Kevin Magnuson (and member of Special Children's Charities Board of Directors)