Marie Trzupek Lynch
President
As the founding President of Chicago Career Tech, Marie is responsible for overseeing the first-of-its-kind retraining initiative. She played an integral role in this effort serving as the Acting Executive Director of Chicago Career Tech while a Principal at Civic Consulting Alliance. In her previous roles, Marie held executive positions with both YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago and the national YMCA of the USA. She was also a senior manager at Deloitte and Assistant to the Mayor for the City of Chicago.
Curt Baney, SPHR
Director of Participant Relations
Curt oversees all human resources and recruiting initiatives for Chicago Career Tech. Previously, he served as Senior Director of Employee Relations and Training for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Curt has also held human resources leadership positions at the Home Depot and Value City Department Stores. He holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certificate from the Society of Human Resources Professionals.
Beth Stone Bentley
Manager of Business Partnerships
Beth plays an integral role in the Business Partnerships team by working closely with businesses to provide access to a variety of recruiting and retraining resources and a pool of talented, retrained Chicagoans offered through Chicago Career Tech. Beth brings over 10 years of experience from both the corporate and nonprofit sectors building relationships among clients, volunteers, donors and the community in sales roles with companies such as Xerox Corporation and Verizon Business to leading fundraising initiatives with organizations like the Junior League of Chicago.
Brandon Brooks
Manager of Human Resources
Brandon assists in the coordination of Chicago Career Tech’s internal and external human resource functions, including hiring, recruiting and placement. Prior to joining the Chicago Career Tech, Brandon worked in various human resources capacities at DLA Piper LLP, Hewitt Associates (Aon), Mercer Human Resource Consulting and Cricket Communications.
Daniel Cervantes
Director of Finance and Administration
Daniel is responsible for the compilation, oversight and financial reporting of Chicago Career Tech’s financial transactions and strategy and the participant stipend process. Prior to joining Chicago Career Tech, he was the Finance and Operations Manager at the Chicago Public Education Fund. In addition, Daniel has worked at KPMG LLP, CSMG Sports, Quaker Oats and Arthur Andersen LLP. Daniel is also a member of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALFPA).
Kari Costello
Director of Business Development
Kari leads the business development team in maintaining and expanding existing relationships with Chicago Career Tech business partners and is also responsible for building relationships with new business partners. Kari most recently led the career services and employer development functions for Kaplan Higher Education’s 70+ career colleges nationwide and has held senior management roles University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin and Nortel Networks.
Kathleen Jensen
Interim Director of Business Partnerships
As Director of Business Partnerships, Kathleen serves as the liaison for existing Chicago Career Tech business partners while they provide hands-on learning experiences for participants. She is also responsible for expanding and maintaining the quality of these key relationships. In her previous roles, Kathleen was an executive sales professional for Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals and also worked for Deloitte
Amanda Luther
Director of Marketing
Amanda develops and executes strategic communication and public relations plans to market and support Chicago Career Tech’s mission and encourage participation in the program. She also plays a key role in fundraising efforts for the program. Prior to joining Chicago Career Tech, Amanda most recently led the marketing and public relations teams at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and The Joffrey Ballet.
Allison Ryan
Senior Manager of Training & Evaluation
Allison is responsible for the development and oversight of classroom training, as well as the overall evaluation of the Chicago Career Tech program. Additionally, she is responsible for conducting job market research on expanding industries and growing employment opportunities in Chicago. Prior to joining Chicago Career Tech, Allison served as a business analyst with Public Consulting Group, providing financial and strategic solutions for state and local government and nonprofit agencies.
Additional members of our team include:
Lorrie Johnson, Coordinator of Business Operations/Recruiting Associate, supports the business partnerships team and the director of human resources in day-to-day operations.
Monica Mayur, Senior Finance Associate, reports to the Director of Finance & Administration and is responsible for the administration and management of the distribution of stipends to program Participants.
