Julia Stasch to Lead the Program on Human and Community Development Of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

    CHICAGO, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Julia Stasch of Chicago has been named
 Vice President of the Program on Human and Community Development of the
 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
     In her new position, Stasch will be responsible for all aspects of the
 Foundation's grantmaking related to neighborhood improvement; workforce
 development; education; regional issues, primarily in Chicago and Southeast
 Florida; juvenile justice; arts and culture; and mental health.  Each year the
 Foundation awards more than $60 million in grants through the Program on Human
 and Community Development, including more than $20 million to organizations in
 Chicago and its surrounding region.  Stasch will join the Foundation on
 February 12.
     "I am delighted that Julia Stasch will be joining the MacArthur Foundation
 and that she will be a member of our senior management team," said
 Jonathan F. Fanton, President.  "Her intimate knowledge of our work in
 Chicago, interest in domestic policy, appreciation of the importance of
 research, and experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors make
 her an ideal choice to lead our Program in Human and Community Development."
     "While much of the work of the MacArthur Foundation takes place in Chicago
 and its region, it is done with an eye toward the national implications of
 those efforts," said Stasch.  "I believe that it is important for the public,
 private, and non-profit sectors to work together to improve our cities, and
 that what we learn through the research, policy analysis, and demonstration
 projects we support be shared with practitioners and policymakers throughout
 the nation."
     For the past three years, Julia Stasch has worked for the City of Chicago,
 first as Commissioner of the city's Department of Housing and most recently as
 Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley.  As Commissioner she led an
 inclusive process resulting in the city's commitment to a $1.3 billion five-
 year plan for affordable housing.  As Chief of Staff one of her significant
 accomplishments was moving forward the Mayor's agenda for the $1.5 billion
 transformation of public housing in Chicago.   From 1996 to 1997 she was
 President and Chief Executive Officer of Shorebank Chicago Companies where she
 was responsible for Chicago operations of the Shorebank Corporation, including
 South Shore Bank, the nation's first community development bank which has
 invested more than $600 million in Chicago's inner-city neighborhoods.
     In 1977 Stasch was one of the first four employees of the Chicago-based
 real estate development and construction firm Stein and Company.  When she
 left in 1996 as President and Chief Operating Officer, the staff numbered 220
 and projects included the Metcalfe Federal Building, Chicago's United Center,
 and expansion of McCormick Place.  While at Stein and Company she became
 nationally-known for her work to include women and minorities in the
 construction industry.  A profile in Nation's Business magazine began with the
 observation:  "We didn't know whether to call this story 'Breaking the Glass
 Ceiling' or 'Being a Change Agent,' because Julia M. Stasch has done both."
 
     During the first Clinton Administration she served as Deputy Administrator
 of the General Services Administration in Washington, a 20,000-person agency
 responsible for management of government-wide building construction, leasing,
 and management.  Earlier in her career she was a Vista volunteer and a teacher
 in the Chicago public school system.  A summa cum laude graduate of Loyola
 University, she has a Master's degree from the University of Illinois,
 Chicago.  She is co-chair of the Chicago Workforce Investment Board and a
 member of the Advisory Board of Local Initiatives Support Corporation
 (Chicago).
     The appointment of Stasch marks the second senior management appointment
 announced by the MacArthur Foundation in recent weeks.  Early in January
 Arthur M. Sussman, General Counsel and Vice President for Administration of
 the University of Chicago, was named Vice President and Secretary of the
 Foundation, beginning in May.
     The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private,
 independent grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and
 individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. The Foundation
 makes grants through two major integrated programs -- Human and Community
 Development and Global Security and Sustainability.  In addition there are two
 special programs, the General Program, which undertakes special initiatives
 and supports projects that promote excellence and diversity in the media, and
 the MacArthur Fellows Program, which awards fellowships to exceptionally
 creative individuals, regardless of field of endeavor.  The Foundation's
 grantmaking each year totals more than $170 million.
 
 

SOURCE  MacArthur Foundation