Chinyere “Chi Chi” Okwu joined EverThrive Illinois as Executive Director in September 2019 with over ten years of vision casting, partnership building, and fundraising experience. As a nonprofit leader, Chi Chi has developed diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies for various nonprofit organizations and facilitated workshops focusing on race conversations, social justice, and community mobilization. Before joining EverThrive, IL, Okwu served as Senior Advisor at World Vision USA, a global humanitarian organization helping children, families, and communities overcome poverty and injustice. In this role, Okwu led strategies to identify and engage new donors to fund initiatives such as maternal and child health, child protection, and clean water in developing countries. She joined World Vision USA after serving as Senior Director at Willow Creek Community Church’s Chicago campus, where she launched campaigns and programs that addressed education reform, human trafficking awareness, and immigration reform. Chi Chi began her career as a healthcare consultant for Huron Consulting Group. Chi Chi received both her Master’s in Public Health and her Bachelor’s in Social Psychology from the University of Alabama Birmingham. She was a member of the second Willie’s Warriors cohort, a leadership initiative of the Chicago Foundation for Women dedicated to creating a pipeline and network of Black women leaders committed to equity and justice in Chicago. She is co-host of The Next Question, a web-based talk show dedicated to moving the race conversation forward.