Blog

by Emily Clott, Class of 2012

Eleanor Gorski, CAC’s new President and CEO, has made change the order of the day. She has been deliberate and thoughtful in re-structuring the organization. In her recent letter to docents and volunteers, Eleanor identified four core teams charged with leading the organization: Finance, Creative Strategy, Administration, and Advancement.

While all these teams are important to the future of CAC, docents and volunteers are most affected by, and thus most curious about the Chief Advancement Officer who will, per Eleanor, “be a key relationship builder and voice for the volunteer and docent communities.”

Monica Wilczak has been settling into this newly created position, charged with supervising development efforts, shepherding the Board of Directors, and being point person for docents and volunteers. Monica comes to us with deep experience in the non-profit arts world. She worked in development roles at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Gene Siskel Film Center, the University of Chicago, and Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE). At DCASE, she led fundraising efforts for the $15 million historic restoration of the GAR Rotunda at the Chicago Cultural Center. Her portfolio of arts-related volunteer work is equally impressive.

How will these experiences inform Monica’s work at CAC? Recently, I met with Monica to discuss her vision for fulfilling her mandate. She sees herself as a unifier and communicator. Among her most important goals as Chief Advancement Officer are to meet as many people as she can, to know the organization as well as she can, and to support Eleanor’s vision for the future of CAC. She will work toward breaking down silos between staff, docents, and volunteers, to help docents and volunteers see that CAC is theirs, that the 13th floor is accessible to them, and that they are an essential part of the team.

Monica will join docent training next winter and encourages other staff to do the same. This common practice has fallen by the wayside of late, and should contribute powerfully to mutual respect and understanding. She supports offering dedicated tours for staff, enabling them to better describe and recommend tours suitable to the interests of inquiring customers.

While acknowledging that fundraising and developing the Board of Directors will be her major focuses, Monica sees all of her responsibilities as interwoven and mutually supportive. A major goal is to inspire the entire community to embrace the donor spirit and she sees transparency as the key to achieving this goal. She wants to demystify the need for corporate support, bequests, and donations.

In fundraising, says Monica, passion motivates. Her passion for the arts, architecture, and the city of Chicago motivates Monica. She hopes that her passion will re-ignite our passion to work together as one team, inspiring people to love their city, its design and built environment. Welcome, Monica! May it be so.

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