Jonathan Chaparro
Executive Director, Innovation & Head of Chicago Region
Jonathan Chaparro is a skilled and visionary leader, committed to expanding opportunities for those historically disenfranchised. Jonathan's drive toward increasing access has compelled him to work at the intersection of education and economic mobility. He is the Founding Site Director for Braven in Chicago. There, he leads a program that empowers promising young people on their path to college graduation and strong first jobs by developing the leadership and career readiness skills of first-generation and low-income college students in order to more robustly create a pathway to the middle class. Prior to this, Jonathan has held a variety of roles in talent acquisition, talent development and outreach for a variety of nonprofit and corporate organizations including Teach For America, Noble Network of Charter Schools, ArcelorMittal and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. As a native of Chicago, Jonathan has quickly become a civic and philanthropic leader in his city, having held leadership roles in the associate boards of various nonprofits including KIPP Chicago, Friends of the Parks and One Million Degrees. He also partnered with the Chicago office of McKinsey & Co to support their GetSet mentoring program. He is a 2017 Surge Institute Fellowship Alum, a 2020 Chicago Council on Global Affairs Emerging Leader, and a 2023 Northwestern-Kellogg Youn Impact Leader. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa, a master’s in teaching from Dominican University, and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He currently serves on the national board of directors for BES (previously Building Excellent Schools) and for the Chicago Artists Coalition and sits on the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Advisory Council on Small Business, Community and Economic Development, Agriculture, and Labor.
Executive Director, Innovation & Head of Chicago Region
Jonathan Chaparro is a skilled and visionary leader, committed to expanding opportunities for those historically disenfranchised. Jonathan's drive toward increasing access has compelled him to work at the intersection of education and economic mobility. He is the Founding Site Director for Braven in Chicago. There, he leads a program that empowers promising young people on their path to college graduation and strong first jobs by developing the leadership and career readiness skills of first-generation and low-income college students in order to more robustly create a pathway to the middle class. Prior to this, Jonathan has held a variety of roles in talent acquisition, talent development and outreach for a variety of nonprofit and corporate organizations including Teach For America, Noble Network of Charter Schools, ArcelorMittal and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. As a native of Chicago, Jonathan has quickly become a civic and philanthropic leader in his city, having held leadership roles in the associate boards of various nonprofits including KIPP Chicago, Friends of the Parks and One Million Degrees. He also partnered with the Chicago office of McKinsey & Co to support their GetSet mentoring program. He is a 2017 Surge Institute Fellowship Alum, a 2020 Chicago Council on Global Affairs Emerging Leader, and a 2023 Northwestern-Kellogg Youn Impact Leader. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa, a master’s in teaching from Dominican University, and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He currently serves on the national board of directors for BES (previously Building Excellent Schools) and for the Chicago Artists Coalition and sits on the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Advisory Council on Small Business, Community and Economic Development, Agriculture, and Labor.