The Children First Fund (CFF) is excited to welcome Rebecca Clarkin as our new Executive Director. She joined our team this week, bringing a wealth of experience in nonprofit leadership and a deep commitment to supporting children and families.
For over two decades, Rebecca has worked in prominent Chicago social service organizations that support children and young people. Rebecca spent the last decade at Youth Guidance, most recently as their Chief Operating Officer. She spearheaded the public-private partnerships that helped transform Youth Guidance from a small Chicago organization to a significant partner to Chicago Public Schools and an increasingly national organization operating in eight cities.
Youth Guidance focuses on supporting schools and students that need the most support, an approach that is shared with CFF. Her career-long commitment to young people and unwavering focus on unleashing their potential and strengths is inspiring.
Prior to her time at Youth Guidance, Rebecca served in leadership roles at Brightpoint (then Children’s Home & Aid) and Little City Foundation, two of Illinois’ most prominent social service agencies. Ms. Clarkin began her career connecting young families in Head Start programming in Chicago’s Englewood community to nonprofit partners for additional services, a role which had a profound impact on her commitment to serving children and families in underserved communities in Chicago.
At Children First Fund, we are grateful for the partnerships that made recent accomplishments possible within the CPS academic core, educator development, college access, career connected learning, physical and behavioral wellness targeted students supports, and school partnership and family crisis response, and we are excited about this next chapter for CFF. Our students and school communities are the beneficiaries of the most dedicated, thoughtful, and engaged community of partners.
We hope you will join the CFF Board, CFF Managing Directors Yemisi Odedina and Mica Matsoff, and the rest of the CFF team in welcoming Rebecca to the Children First Fund.
Alan King
Chair, Children First Fund Board
