Polk Bros. Foundation Program Director for Education Suzanne Doornbos Kerbow will retire in November
After dedicating 35 years to advancing education in Chicago as Polk Bros. Foundation’s program director for education, Suzanne Doornbos Kerbow will retire in late November 2024.
Since joining the Foundation as its second employee in 1989, Suzanne has designed and led grantmaking that has helped increase the number of Chicago public schools that have strategic and collaborative principals, effective and engaging teachers, high-quality instructional guidance and materials, positive relationships with parents and community members, and safe, supportive environments that foster students’ learning and motivation. She has also consistently advocated to make it easier for nonprofits to partner with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district and individual CPS schools.
Suzanne led one of the Foundation’s first major initiatives, which piloted a community schools model in three Chicago public schools in the 1990s. These schools stay open late and partner with a variety of nonprofits to offer programs, services, and opportunities for students, their families, and community members designed to help children and youth reach their full potential and engage parents and community members in the life of the school.
“Suzanne has done so much for Chicago public school students and their families, while also ensuring more Chicago educators and principals have the professional learning and support needed to meet students’ needs,” said Polk Bros. Foundation CEO Gillian Darlow. “We will miss her, as a colleague and a friend. Suzanne’s legacy of leadership, especially in spearheading the Foundation’s Full-Service Community Schools Initiative, will continue to shape our city’s educational future long after her retirement. Her empathy, passion and integrity have been a gift to all of us.”
Throughout her career, Suzanne has been dedicated to helping level the playing field for Black and Latine public school students in Chicago’s disinvested communities, ensuring they have all the opportunities they need to excel. She has been an important and long-standing champion for full-service community schools in Chicago and at the state and national levels. After leading the Foundation’s Full-Service Community Schools Initiative, she was instrumental in organizing and co-chairing the Campaign to Expand Community Schools in Chicago from 2002 to 2007. This public-private partnership provided funding that enabled the district to start more than 100 full-service community schools in fewer than five years.
To ensure support for community schools continued when the Campaign ended, she helped establish and lead the Federation for Community Schools from 2006-2018 to provide training, technical assistance and advocacy to grow the community schools movement statewide. At the national level, Suzanne was an inaugural and longtime member of the Coalition for Community Schools, which awarded Chicago one of the first National Awards for Excellence. There, she served on the board and led work to encourage corporate and foundation funders across the country to support community schools work in their regions. She is an active member of ACT Now’s Policy and Advocacy Committee, serves on Illinois’ Statewide Community Schools Steering Committee, and has been a member of the CPS/CTU Sustainable Community Schools Task Force since its inception as its only representative from Chicago’s philanthropic community.
“Working with Suzanne has been a privilege. For over three decades, she has been a real advocate for Chicago students, families, and educators — always finding ways to ensure every child has access to a quality public education, that their parents’ voices help shape the future of their schools, and that teachers and principals build a supportive and positive school climate,” said Polk Bros. Foundation Vice President of Programs Evette Cardona. “I wish her so much joy as she steps into a new chapter.
Suzanne’s roles in Chicago’s philanthropic community have included:
- Co-chairing Forefront’s Poverty Task Force
- Co-chairing Chicago Women in Philanthropy
- Co-chairing Forefront’s Education Member Issue Group
- Member of Thrive Chicago’s High School Transition working group
- Member of Forefront’s College and Career Access, Persistence and Success (CCAPS), Leadership and Human Capital, and Education and Equity subgroups
- Member of the Grantmaking Committee for the Chicago Education Equity COVID-19 Response Fund
- Member of the Chicago Public Education Fund’s Leadership Council
- Member of the Partnership for College Completion’s Investor Committee
- Member of the University of Chicago Consortium for School Research’s Investor Committee
“As I step into retirement, I do so with immense gratitude for the relationships I’ve built with funding colleagues and grantee partners over the years, the challenges we’ve faced together, and the victories we’ve celebrated,” said Suzanne. “I’m excited for what the future holds, and yet I will deeply miss the daily collaboration with my colleagues and partners who share the same passion for education and community that has driven me all these years.”
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