The Community Foundation of East Central Illinois (CFECI) is pleased to announce that Caitlyn Kurtz has been hired as its new Center for Nonprofit Excellence Director. Caitlyn begins her position on December 11, 2024.
Caitlyn Kurtz (she/her) grew up in Illinois and has a background in community organizing and advocacy, collective impact modeling, strategic planning, and data collection and analysis. She has worked most recently as the Region 9 Council Manager for Birth to Five Illinois covering Champaign and Ford Counties. Caitlyn has a deep understanding and passion for building equitable options with community members to better meet their unique needs. Caitlyn has written and published several regional needs assessments during her tenure at Birth to Five Illinois. The most recent was an Action Plan co-created with two advisory boards and community partners to address the current and most pressing barriers communities and families face. Caitlyn has also been an Operations Supervisor of a clinic that provides ABA therapy to children ages two to six diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Throughout her professional career, Caitlyn has worked on special projects including an apprentice program to increase inclusivity and advancement opportunities, and a focus group initiative to create a 360-feedback model to better support employees and improve workplace culture. Caitlyn earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Northern Illinois University and her Master of Arts in Industrial Organizational Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Caitlyn is eager to serve the nonprofit sector on a larger scale as the Director of the Center of Nonprofit Excellence and contribute her knowledge, skills, and empathy to enhance the quality of life for everyone in East Central Illinois. In her free time, she enjoys reading, painting, watching Bravo, and spending quality time with her husband and two cats.