Sponsorships Available!

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago’s 150th Anniversary Luncheon will take place at the Hyatt Regency, 151 E. Wacker Drive, on Friday, November 6, 2026!

  • Registration- 10:30 am

  • YShop/Networking-10:30 am-12:00 PM

  • Doors Open: 11:30 AM

  • Leader Luncheon Program: 12:00 – 1:30 PM

This year’s Leader Luncheon, Unapologetic. Unwavering. Unfinished. Since 1876., celebrates 150 years of leadership, advocacy, and action. We honor the changemakers advancing equity today while recognizing that the work continues and the future is still being written.

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Leader Luncheon 2026 Honorees

  • Ai-jen Poo is a nationally recognized organizer, advocate, and movement leader dedicated to transforming how the United States values caregiving and care work. She serves as President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and Executive Director of Caring Across Generations, where she has spent more than 25 years advancing policies, systems, and cultural change that support caregivers, care workers, and families.

    Poo began her organizing career alongside domestic workers in New York City and helped found Domestic Workers United, a multiracial coalition of nannies, house cleaners, and home care workers. The organization played a pivotal role in securing the New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (2010), the first law in the nation to guarantee basic labor protections and rights for domestic workers.

    In 2007, she co-founded the National Domestic Workers Alliance, bringing together domestic worker leaders from across the country to build a unified movement. Under her leadership, NDWA has grown into an alliance of more than 70 affiliate organizations and a community of over 400,000 workers, helping advance domestic worker bills of rights in 13 states, two cities, and the District of Columbia.

    Poo also founded Caring Across Generations in 2011, a national organization working to reimagine care in America and strengthen support for caregiving at every stage of life. The organization has advanced cultural representation efforts, driven policy investments nationwide, and helped secure historic federal action to expand care infrastructure.

    A leading voice on the care economy, Poo is a MacArthur Fellow, has been named one of Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders and one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, and is the author of The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Ford Foundation and a Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute of Global Politics.

  • Toi L. Salter is a respected leader in financial and business management and the CEO and Founder of Salter Financial Management LLC, where she oversees the financial and business affairs of professional athletes and media talent. With nearly three decades of experience in finance, she has built a career defined by strategic leadership, trusted counsel, and a steadfast commitment to protecting and growing her clients’ wealth.

    Driven by a passion for serving professional athletes and addressing the long-term impact of poor financial guidance, Salter founded her firm to provide a higher standard of support and stewardship. Her client-centered approach, combined with partnerships across some of the industry’s most respected financial institutions, has contributed to lasting success for those she serves.

    Raised in a family of entrepreneurs, Salter’s path to success was shaped by ambition, instinct, and a deep sense of purpose. That vision has fueled a distinguished career spanning entrepreneurship, leadership, and philanthropy.

    A dedicated community advocate, Salter has devoted significant time and leadership to initiatives supporting youth, education, and the advancement of the African American community. She has helped raise more than $3 million for UNCF Chicago, earning recognition in UNCF’s annual report under the heading “The Power of One.” She also chaired the Chicago Urban League’s Golden Fellowship Dinner in 2024 and 2025, helping raise more than $7 million and break fundraising records. In total, she has helped generate more than $12.5 million for organizations across the Chicagoland community.

    Salter’s many honors include recognition as a Chicago Defender 2026 Woman of the Year, UNCF’s Trailblazer Award, and the Chicago Urban League Lester H. McKeever Jr. Individual Service Award. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and resides in Chicago, Illinois.

  • Jessica Sarowitz is an impact investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist whose work centers equity, community investment, and amplifying stories that have historically gone unheard. She is the founder of Miraflores Films, a documentary company dedicated to elevating historically silenced voices and communities pushed to the margins.

    Through Miraflores Films, Sarowitz has served as Executive Producer on acclaimed projects including With This Light (2023), which chronicles the life and humanitarian work of Sister Maria Rosa in Honduras, and Freedom on Fire (2022), the Emmy-nominated documentary exploring the war in Ukraine.

    As Managing Partner of 4S Bay Partners, Sarowitz leads investments focused on equity, inclusion, and long-term community impact. She is also the founder and leader of the development team behind Stocker Street Creative, a $400 million social-impact development project in South Los Angeles designed to bring world-class production facilities, workforce development programs, and economic opportunity directly to Black and Brown communities.

    Sarowitz is the Co-Founder and Board President of the Julian Grace Foundation, supporting initiatives in education, health, the arts, and Indigenous rights across Central America and communities throughout the United States. An Afro-Latina and daughter of immigrants, she brings an equity-centered perspective to every aspect of her philanthropic and investment work.

    Her leadership extends across the nonprofit and cultural sectors through service on the boards of The Field Museum, the Campanile Foundation at San Diego State University, and the Akko Center for Arts and Technology. She previously served on the boards of the Sierra Club Foundation and Interfaith America.

    Sarowitz holds a B.A. in Economics from DePaul University and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by DePaul University in 2022.

  • Yolanda Ambriz, Group Director, Human Resource Construction Products Segment, ITW

  • Julie Scott*, President, CEO & Founder,  CTS Impact

  • Anna May Trala, Senior Advisor, GTCR

150th Anniversary Leader Luncheon Co-Chairs:

150th Anniversary Leader Luncheon Host Committee:

  • Carol Lavin Bernick*

  • Kathy Bolhous*

  • Cindy Burrell

  • Denise DeMaio

  • Ryndy Ditmars

  • Kimberly Evans

  • Fellicia Foster

  • Glenda Henderson

  • Laticia Holbert

  • Lori Lightfoot*

  • JoAnn Lilek

  • Manoj Mahenthiran

  • Cynthia McCafferty

  • Dorri McWhorter

  • Tracey Mendrek

  • Audrey Rone Peeples*

  • Julia Stasch*

  • Edward Taylor

  • Evette Williams

  • Joyce Winnecke

(Committee in Formation)

* Denotes past YWCA Leader Luncheon Honoree

Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsor
Sponsorship Packet

    • Two premier tables of 10

    • On-stage speaking opportunity for a company representative OR 60-second video feature

    • Up to 10 guests invited to the private pre-Luncheon VIP Reception with Honorees, YWCA Board, CEO, and major donors

    • Host a private YWCA briefing with your executive team OR Host an on-site employee engagement volunteer day with YWCA staff support

    • Concierge guest experience (personalized seating assistance + expedited check-in)

    • Commemorative 150th Anniversary Gift for all table guests

    • Category-exclusive brand positioning

    • Highest logo placement on all digital event promotions

    • Dedicated social media campaign (multiple posts in the tagged recap)

    • Presenting Sponsor recognition on event landing page

    • Large-format logo on rotating digital signage during luncheon

    • Logo featured in all promotional and reminder emails (audience 17,000+)

    • Two priority tables of 10

    • Verbal recognition from the podium

    • Invitation for 4 guests to the private pre-Luncheon VIP Reception

    • Option to host a private YWCA briefing with your executives & YWCA CEO

    • Concierge guest experience (personalized seating assistance + expedited check-in)

    • Commemorative 150th Anniversary Gift for all table guests

    • Priority logo placement on digital event promotions

    • One dedicated social media post

    • Logo included in promotional and reminder emails to 17,000+ subscribers

    • Logo included on rotating digital signage at the event

    • One preferred table of 10

    • Invitation for 2 guests to the private VIP Reception

    • Preferred seating location

    • Commemorative 150th Anniversary Gift for all table guests

    • Logo on event screens and event webpage

    • One dedicated social media post

    • Logo included in group sponsor recognition emails

    • Logo included on rotating digital signage

    • One priority table of 10

    • Logo on event screen (group tier)

    • Name/logo on event webpage (group tier)

    • Group social media recognition

    • Logo included in one pre-event sponsor email

    • Included on rotating digital signage

    • Commemorative 150th Anniversary Gift for all table guests

    • One table of 10

    • Standard seating

    • Name recognition on event screen

    • Name recognition on event webpage

    • Name included in a grouped pre-event email

    • For companies with fewer than 10 employees.
      One table of 10

    • Name recognition on event screen

    • Name recognition on event webpage

    • Name included in a grouped pre-event email

Presenting Sponsors

Visionary Sponsors

Anna May Trala

Carol Lavin Bernick Family Foundation

Empowerment Sponsors

JoAnn S. Lilek

Julia Stasch

Supporting Sponsors

Cindy C. Burrell

Legal & General

Moslon Coors Beverage Co.

S-NET Communications

Small Business Sponsor

Allison Pink

NV Consulting Services

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