Coordinated Workforce Development across Chicago

Bio: Rebecca S. Lake, Ed.D. is director the $12.9 million DOL Illinois Network for Advanced Manufacturing (INAM) grant. She is assistant professor and program director for the Community College Leadership (CCL) doctoral program at National Louis University in Chicago, Illinois. She has spent her professional life involved in college administration, academia, health planning, hospital and health care administration, and nursing. Dr. Lake has held community college positions of assistant dean, career and technology dean, and academic vice-president.

Education: She holds degrees from Slippery Rock University, University of Wisconsin – Madison, and National Louis University.

Key Publications: Her doctorate is in education where she pursued a research interest in globalization, leadership, and higher education administration. She traveled around the world interviewing presidents of colleges and universities regarding the factors they employ when making decisions. Dr. Lake has written and presented nationally on various leadership topics, strategic planning and assessment, globalization in higher education, and curriculum and instruction design.

Bio: Karin Norington-Reaves is the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, a non-profit agency formed at the request of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in July 2012 to reform and revitalize the public workforce system in the greater Chicagoland area. The Partnership serves as the administrative agency of more than $50 million in Workforce Investment Act funds for both the City of Chicago and Cook County. Prior to launching The Partnership, Ms. Norington-Reaves served as the Director of Cook County Works, the federally-funded workforce development agency for south and west suburban Cook County from November 2010 until her current appointment. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Director of the Office of Urban Assistance for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), where she created and oversaw programs and implemented policies to address economic issues facing urban populations statewide. Prior to joining DCEO, Ms. Norington-Reaves served as Chief of Staff for the City of Chicago’s 20th Ward, where she assisted in developing policy, creating and implementing innovative programs and facilitating the quality-of-life planning process for the Washington Park community as part of the New Communities Program of the Local Initiative Support Corporation. Ms. Norington-Reaves has significant advocacy experience in the fields of public utility consumer protection, health law and education. She began her career as a corps member of the national non-profit education reform organization, Teach for America in Compton, California. She served as an elementary school teacher and in addition to traditional subjects, Norington-Reaves taught Spanish speaking students to read and write in their native language. She later returned to TFA as Executive Director of the Chicago region. She has also served as the Director of School and Corporate Relations for Innovations for Learning, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving early elementary literacy through technology. After graduating from law school, Norington-Reaves became a practicing attorney. She served as a staff attorney in the Maryland attorney general’s office, as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, as legal counsel and lobbyist for Illinois' Citizens Utility Board and as an adjunct faculty at Loyola University's Beazley Institute for Health Law in Chicago.

Education: Ms. Norington-Reaves received her law degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas, Texas, and her undergraduate degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She currently resides in Chicago and is an active member of her community.

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Bio: Carrie Thomas joined the Chicago Jobs Council as Associate Director in 2008. She provides oversight and leadership for CJC’s program and policy work and represents CJC in various workforce development initiatives at the city, state and national levels, including the Economic Development Committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Leadership Council of the National Skills Coalition. Prior to joining CJC Carrie spent ten years advocating on behalf of low-wage, un- and underemployed, and dislocated workers in Minnesota, most recently as Policy Director for the St. Paul-based JOBS NOW Coalition. While in Minnesota she served as vice-chair of the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Board, co-chair of the Board of Directors of Child Care WORKS, and as a member of the state’s Unemployment Insurance Advisory Committee. After several years working in programs for children and families in Chicago, Carrie attended and graduated in 1997 from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

Education: B.A., Linguistics, University of Chicago; M.A., Social Sciences, University of Chicago; J.D., Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, MA