Genesys Works Chicago Welcomes New Board Members Tom Knight, Kelly Geary, and Paul Corning
CHICAGO – May 16, 2018, Genesys Works Chicago is excited to add three strong leaders to its Board of Directors, each bringing their unique experience and passion to the nonprofit.
Thomas G. Knight – an accomplished senior executive – brings with him over 25 years of corporate and nonprofit experience.
Knight has worked closely with opportunity youth and young adults to enable them to connect to education programs and earn a “family wage.” He was the founding Board Chair of Year Up Chicago, a national nonprofit that provides young adults, ages 18-24, with skills training and internship experience.
“I am excited to continue working for Chicago’s opportunity youth! There has never been a better time to change how corporations engage and employ opportunity youth and there’s no better place than Chicago to do this important work,” says Knight.
Knight has worked in both large and small companies in healthcare, insurance, telecommunications and professional services. Most recently, he served as the COO of Explorer Surgical, a SaaS-based playbook for surgical procedures that was commercialized at the University of Chicago. Knight currently serves as Executive Advisor for ConSol USA, a BPO business that focuses on acquiring, developing, and employing opportunity youth. He holds an MBA from Loyola’s Graduate School of Business and a BS in Commerce from Washington & Lee University.
“Knight has a deep understanding of the students we serve,” says Tom Nolan, Chair of Genesys Works Chicago Board of Directors. “His expertise will enhance and expand the Genesys Works program, providing more opportunities for Chicago youth.”
Kelly Geary is a global senior executive with over thirty years of success transforming and operating Technology and Business organizations in highly complex and competitive environments. A highly involved and solutions-oriented leader, she is excited about helping take Genesys Works to the next level.
After a successful 31-year career, Geary recently retired from Accenture, a global managing consulting and professional services company. In her role as Managing Director, she was responsible for Accenture’s technology services at many large Insurance clients. She was also responsible for the quality of Accenture’s North America Technology services across all industry groups.
During her time at Accenture, Geary saw firsthand the impact Genesys Works has on the lives of students within Chicago Public Schools. As a parent of children attending Chicago Public Schools, she understands the challenges that many of the students face and the difference an experience such as Genesys Works has not only on their life, but on the lives of their family and friends.
Geary’s passion for impacting change is matched only by her passion for building and growing high-performing teams. She is looking forward to working with the talented teams at Genesys Works in serving the Chicago community. Personally, Geary earned a BS from the University of Iowa. She lives in Chicago with her husband and seventeen-year-old twins.
Paul Corning has spent over 30 years helping companies build and adopt technology solutions for their business problems. He worked at nine different consulting companies before co-founding Aptitive in 2013, currently serving as their CEO. Corning enjoys working with functional executives on their most complex business challenges, acting as a strategic advisor on the use and application of leading-edge technology.
At Aptitive, they are creating Chicago’s next technology success story, carefully growing a team of top-talent and nurturing a culture of high-performance that manages to have fun and enjoy working together. Their depth and breadth of talent in analytics and custom developed applications is unparalleled and affords our clients exceptional value for their consulting dollars.
In addition to joining the Genesys Works Chicago Board of Directors, Corning also serves on the Board of the Chicago Chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM), the premier network for IT leaders. Corning is proud to maintain a rich professional network of industry peers, coworkers, and most importantly, past clients, and is looking forward to bringing his experience, knowledge and passion to Genesys Works.
Corning holds an MBA from the University of Chicago in Finance and Operations Research, and a BA from Augustana College in Math and Business Administration. Outside of work, he loves to golf, travel and spend time with family and friends.
About Genesys Works
Genesys Works is a nonprofit social enterprise providing pathways to career success for high school students in underserved communities through skills training, meaningful work experiences, and impactful relationships. Its program consists of eight weeks of technical and professional skills training, a paid year-long corporate internship, college and career coaching, and alumni support to and through college. Its goal is to move more students out of poverty and into professional careers, creating a more productive and diverse workforce in the process. Since its founding in 2002, Genesys Works has grown to serve over 3,000 students annually in Houston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington’s National Capital Region. To learn more, visit genesysworks.org.
