Michael Capone, a native Chicagoan and finance professional, became the new Board Chair of JCFS Chicago at our annual meeting in September. Drawing inspiration from his Jewish roots and values, he is passionate about giving back to the community as a volunteer and donor.

Michael views his work at JCFS as an intersection of his faith and his personal devotion to social issues. As a father of two daughters, Michael is especially passionate about teen mental health, as well as providing support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Actively involved with a variety of organizations throughout his career, Michael gained valuable experience in governance and board service along the way. After spending over a decade living in Mexico and Cincinnati, Ohio, he returned to Chicago and felt compelled to give back to his hometown’s Jewish community.

In the position of treasurer, Michael used his financial expertise to help the Jewish Council for Youth Services (JCYS) provide dedicated early-childhood services and mentoring for the next generation of Jewish leaders. After his time at JCYS ended, Michael found JCFS to be the perfect opportunity to continue supporting social issues through a Jewish lens.

As a finance professional, Michael sees issues like inflation and uncertainty in the labor market impacting the Agency’s sustainability, so one of his priorities is to ensure that JCFS employees are taken care of during these challenging economic times. While much attention over the past two years has been rightfully focused on pandemic response, Michael now sees an opportunity for JCFS to grow, including bringing the Board together in person to reengage. He believes the best solutions come out of personal connections between JCFS leaders and the Board and hopes to take full advantage of that cooperation during his tenure.

As a leader in the community, Michael believes donating both time and resources are equally important. He is a firm believer in applying his professional skills to charitable passions and hopes others can offer the same. He gains tremendous satisfaction from using his financial expertise to advance the mission of JCFS.

“I’m proud and honored to be part of JCFS. I am amazed at the passion and dedication that our people have towards serving our mission and providing critical services to those in our community who are most in need.” – Michael Capone