Karin Norington-Reaves

Organization - Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership

County - Cook

Karin M. Norington-Reaves is a lifelong public servant with more than 25 years of experience in education, law, advocacy, community, and workforce development. In 2012, Karin became the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (The Partnership) upon her appointment by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Karin’s leadership of The Partnership exemplifies the belief that workforce development is the cornerstone of economic development. The organization’s credo, “economic empowerment through employment,” is brought to life every day through the work of The Partnership’s staff and its workforce development network. Karin oversees the administration of federal, state, and philanthropic funds and the creation of effective programs that ensure alignment between the skills demanded by a changing economy and those offered by the region’s labor force. She also works to generate both private and public funding to expand the services available throughout Chicagoland. Under her leadership, The Partnership’s network successfully pivoted to providing virtual services during the COVID-19 pandemic and The Partnership was awarded a $56 million grant by The City of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health to lead the creation of the City’s community-based COVID19 Contact Tracing Corps.