A network of resources to support economic self-sufficiency

Board of Directors


Nicholas J. Brunick, Chair
Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen PC

Debra S. Warner, First Vice-Chair
Deloitte LLP

Norma B. Weir, Secretary
Walgreen Co.

Scott E. Pickens, Treasurer
Schiff Hardin LLP

Consuella L. Brown
Woods Fund of Chicago

Jay Fahn
First Eagle Bank

Margaret J. Paddock
U.S. Bank

Nancy E. Paridy
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

Jennifer W. Steans
Financial Investments Corporation

David M. Sweig
Harmony Holding Partners Ltd

Courtney E. VanLonkhuyzen
Motorola Mobility, Inc.

Michael G. Welbel
M.G. Welbel & Associates, Inc.

Robin L. Wolkoff
Fox, Hefter, Swibel,
  Levin & Carroll, LLC

Rosanna A. Márquez, President
Eleanor Foundation

A Century of Helping Working Women.

A Focus on Their Needs Today.


For more than a century, the Eleanor Foundation has helped independent working women in Chicago to survive and thrive. Established in 1898, the Eleanor Foundation provided safe affordable housing to working women, at one point owning and operating as many as six common living facilities in the City of Chicago. We also provided educational programs as well as cultural programs.

But as times have changed, we have changed with them. In 1898—and for much of the 20th century—offering dormitory style living worked well for working women who had little means to establishing economic independence. By 2002, the board of directors realized that changing demographics and the evolving needs of working women moved us to take a new approach to fulfill our mission.

That prompted a reconsideration of our strategy. Instead of operating buildings to house working women, we wanted to learn where they lived, what their needs were, and what type of support they wanted. We wanted to help them to succeed at work—to improve the economic self-sufficiency of themselves and their children. So we reconceived the Eleanor Foundation, to serve as a dynamic research-oriented and engaged grantmaker that would not only provide financial support to programs that helped our target population, but also would collaborate with those programs to ensure their success.

Today, the Eleanor Network comprises hub partners—direct-service organizations where working female heads-of-households can receive career education, and have access to affordable housing, dependable childcare, and financial coaching at a single point-of-access. In addition to these hubs, we also support resource partners that focus exclusively on employer-driven skills training opportunities.

More than 330,000 households in the Chicago region are led by working women who earn less than $50,000. The average income of these households is $19,000—barely enough to cover the essentials of housing, food, and childcare. Over a third of these women pay more than 50 cents of every dollar on rent alone.

More than ever, working female heads-of-households need our help. That's why many of our Network programs have waiting lists. And that's why we need your support.

Senior Staff


Interim President & CEO, Management Consultant

Deborah Harrington was hired in January of 2012 as a management consultant to serve as the Interim President & CEO while Rosanna Márquez is on leave from the Foundation. In this capacity, Deborah helps the Eleanor Foundation continue its vital work.

Deborah brings deep experience in philanthropy as former President of the Woods Fund of Chicago, where she was responsible for directing the foundation's social justice grant-making, leading its public policy development and community organizing programs, and overseeing $62 million in foundation assets.

Throughout her career, Deborah has been engaged in policy development and advocacy at local, state and federal levels. As an appointee to the Council on Foundations' Public Policy Advisory Board, she facilitated development of the Council's national public policy award. More recently, Deborah co-founded the political reform coalition CHANGE Illinois! (Coalition for Honest and New Government Ethics). In 2010, she was confirmed by the Illinois State Senate to serve as a Board member of the state's Urban Weatherization Initiative to oversee $425 million in grants over five years to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs in less advantaged communities, and create green jobs—work that directly aligns with the Eleanor Foundation's mission to help struggling women-led households move toward self-sufficiency by learning new job skills and earning higher wages.

Deborah also contributes valuable experience and perspective to the Eleanor Foundation, having worked for more than 20 years in public sector with the State of Illinois, including the Departments of Employment Security, Public Aid, and Human Services. In addition, as a member of the Governor's Taskforce for Human Services Reform, she helped facilitate the design and implementation of the state's human services delivery system, and implementation of Illinois' 1996 welfare law.

Deborah serves as trustee to several community-based civic and non-profit organizations. She is Vice President of the Board of Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, and also serves on the Boards of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and St. Leonard's Ministries. Deborah received her B.A. in anthropology from the University of Illinois and undertook postgraduate studies at the University of Ghana in West Africa.

Maricar L. Ramos
Program Officer

A longtime financial development and grant-making professional, Maricar Ramos was appointed in 2011 to manage the expansion of the Eleanor Network, our ongoing collaboration with direct service organizations and other partners throughout Chicago that are committed to helping working female heads-of-households to achieve sustained economic self-sufficiency.

Prior to joining the Eleanor Foundation, Maricar was the Financial Development Grant Manager for YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), the national resource office for the 2,600 YMCAs across the country. In this position from 2003 to 2011, she administered $8 million in corporate and foundation grants annually, and developed strong relationships with corporate and foundation partners.

Before that, Maricar was the Grants Manager at ChildServ, where she raised corporate and foundation funds. Previously, she was a researcher for the University of Notre Dame Institute for Latino Studies and a grants manager at the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority in Chicago, where she administered $13 million in state grant funds for programs designed to prevent violence in schools across Illinois. Maricar has also worked for Chicago Communities in Schools and for Family Focus. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Chicago.

Vicky L. Nurre
Director of Development & Communications

Vicky Nurre joined the Eleanor Foundation in 2008, with 20 years of marketing and development experience in the nonprofit and corporate sectors. Before joining the Foundation, Vicky launched the Midwest office of the national Taproot Foundation, and as founding Chicago Managing Director, she doubled local practice revenue in two years to deliver an estimated $3.4 million in pro bono services to area nonprofits. Prior to joining Taproot, Vicky was Director of Marketing and Membership at the Chicago Jobs Council, where she helped advance public policy change on workforce issues through communications and membership growth. There, she also established Chicago's first professional development program for frontline staff.

Before entering the philanthropic world, Vicky worked in business-to-business public relations, serving clients of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, GolinHarris, and LC Williams & Associates. She managed public relations programs at US Robotics and helped introduce the world's first 56K modem. Vicky began her career in marketing in Arthur Andersen's Chicago office and later served as outside public relations counsel on national media relations programs. She serves as Co-Chair of the Donors Forum's Public Foundation Fundraisers Network and is marketing committee Vice-Chair at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Chicago Chapter. Vicky holds a B.A. in journalism and mass communications from the University of Iowa and studied at City University of London.

Lora A. York
Office Administrator

Lora joined the Eleanor Foundation more than 10 years ago, assisting the organization through its strategic transition from direct service provider to public foundation as well as the creation of its grants program. At the Foundation, she is responsible for grants administration and financial matters, and staffs the Board of Directors. Lora has a B.A. in history from the University of Pittsburgh.