Goodbye, But Not Farewell
On July 10th, the Woods Fund team says goodbye to our friend and team member, Caronina Grimble. Caronina has been a part of our team for the past seven years. Having transitioned from the Illinois Department of Human Services to philanthropy, Caronina brought a knowledge and analysis of policy, of state government, and a passion and fight for racial equity; she also brought a community lens to her work. In her time with us, Caronina consistently put the needs and perspectives of our grantee partners first. Her relationship with grantee partners, and her knowledge of their work and campaigns, helped us to refine our grantmaking, leverage more support for community issues and organizing campaigns, and champion innovative work occurring across the city of Chicago.
Many can attest that Caronina has been a helpful thought partner, and a mentor to many in the city and has been sought after for her adherence to the principles of racial equity and her commitment to community and to the city of Chicago. I will miss Caronina tremendously. In the eight months that I have known her, she has become my sounding board, someone who I could turn to when I needed advice or when I simply needed perspective. I am proud of the work she has accomplished during her time here and of having our brand associated with her.
Caronina will be returning to state government to work in the Office of Strategy, Equity and Transformation (how fitting, right?), within the Illinois Department of Human Services. She joins former Woods Fund President Grace Hou (now Secretary of IDHS) and former Woods Fund Lead Program Officer Hina Mahmood (now IDHS Deputy Chief of Staff). We are excited to have yet another racial equity warrior embedded within state government - another ally and advocate for the amazing organizations that we are proud to support. And so, while this is goodbye, it’s not farewell. I am counting on our paths crossing again, and I know that Caronina will continue to be a point of contact not only for Woods Fund, but also for the 70 organizations we partner with. Thank you, Caronina, for all that you have done for the Woods Fund, for our grantee partners, for philanthropy, and for the city of Chicago.