YMCA Expands Economic Equity Portfolio to Meet
Needs of Communities Across the Region
CHICAGO, May 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago is pleased to
announce the promotion and role expansion for Martina "Tina" Hone
as Chief Economic Inclusion & Equity Officer. Under the
establishment of the Economic Equity Institute, the YMCA's economic
equity portfolio focuses on workforce development, financial
education, entrepreneurship, and homeownership. Now the Y's
economic inclusion efforts will expand the focus on equity to also
include health equity, digital equity, and food security.
"Tina has been a social-justice champion over her entire
career," said Dorri McWhorter,
President & Chief Executive Officer, YMCA of Metropolitan
Chicago. "Individuals cannot reach their highest potential and
build safe, thriving, healthy communities without economic
security. Tina's passion and demonstrated ability to make change
and positively impact lives of people and empower our neighbors
through the YMCA platform is an inspiration to us all."
As the daughter of an African American mother and Yugoslavian
political refugee father, Hone has seen the challenges facing
marginalized communities firsthand.
"I am deeply committed to justice and am proud of my career as
an advocate for equity across the education, health, digital, and
economic spaces, as well as criminal justice and immigration
reform," Hone said. "Through interconnected programs centered on
financial empowerment and wealth building, the Y is creating
significant impact for the communities we serve and working to
build a truly equitable and inclusive economy for everyone."
Hone joined the YMCA of Metro Chicago in 2023 as Executive
Director, Economic Equity. She and her team have delivered and
expanded programming, including introducing the Illinois Works
Pre-Apprenticeship program that brought $1.1
million in funding to the Y to increase the number of
qualified construction workers and improve racial, ethnic, and
gender diversity in the trades; growing the ComEd CONSTRUCT
Infrastructure Youth Academy, which began as one cohort in 2023 and
will reach four cohorts in 2024; and expanding Swim for Success,
which will receive $675,000 in
funding from the State of Illinois
to teach individuals to swim, train them as lifeguards, connect
them with career opportunities, and, ultimately, hire them at the
YMCA and connect them with other employers.
Prior to joining the YMCA, Hone served as Chief Engagement
Officer for Mayor Lori Lightfoot,
Chief Equity Officer at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, and in various
senior roles in Washington, DC,
where she spent the bulk of her career — from roles as Associate
Under Secretary for Economic Affairs at the US Department of
Commerce to Policy Director for the Education & Workforce
Committee in the US House of Representatives. In 2023, she ran for
Chicago City Council in the 5th Ward, losing by fewer than 500
votes and deepening her commitment to community engagement.
Hone received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her BA in
Political Science from the University of
Chicago. After practicing law for several years, Hone joined
one of the first Teach for America cohorts, informing her
perspective and policy work on the education-to-career
continuum.
About the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
The YMCA of
Metropolitan Chicago is the leader in accessible, inclusive
programming for more than 300,000 individuals each year,
strengthening community by connecting all people to their purpose,
potential, and each other. The YMCA of Metro Chicago is evolving to
become a 21st-century social enterprise for the region, through an
association of 14 community hubs, 5 overnight camps, and 100
extension sites throughout Chicagoland and the Midwest. Learn more
about the Y's locations and programming at ymcachicago.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
Katy Broom
Director,
Marketing & Communications
YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
312-932-1171
kbroom@ymcachicago.org
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SOURCE YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago