CAPE Updates: Welcome our three newest board members!

We at CAPE are pleased to welcome Melonie Boone, Tom Silva, and Igor Vasquez to our Board of Directors! These three newcomers bring an array of talents and expertise to the CAPE Board, and we look forward to having them at the table as we continue expanding our work with students, teachers, and communities across Chicago.

Melonie Boone has spent 20 years focusing on human resources strategy, business optimization and organization growth, and currently serves as Global Director of Human Resources for Ventiv Technology. In this role Melonie is responsible for managing global people initiatives and oversees day to day HR operations supporting team members in 7 countries. Melonie strives to cultivate a transformative culture promoting a collaborative tech environment while incorporating strategic vision to meet organizational goals.

“I think that CAPE is an organization that makes a direct impact on the success of the children and school communities they serve. I have seen firsthand how the arts have advanced my own children both with Asperger’s Disorder. My daughter gets so much joy from dance and movement. We also used music as a form a therapy for both of our kids when they had really rough days. I think every child should have access to the arts and CAPE is making it happen one school at a time.” – Melonie Boone

Tom Silva is founder of Silva Brand, a brand consultancy and marketing agency in downtown Chicago. A business strategist and creative director to small-to-medium-sized businesses for two decades, his work has been recognized by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, the International Academy of the Visual Arts and the Web Marketing Association. Tom’s writing about business and branding has been featured in numerous publications, including in Thomson Reuters’ Inside the Minds series of books. He was previously Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for The Alter Group, one of the nation’s leading commercial real estate development firms, and Communications Director for PM Realty Group, an international property manager. He is also a filmmaker and musician whose work has been reviewed by Rolling Stone, the Chicago Sun-Times, Public Television, iTunes, and in arts publications in Europe.

“As a business owner and a graduate of an MFA program, I have always had a deep commitment to advancing the role of art in our society. My own experiences both within the professional and artistic worlds were fostered early by teachers who encouraged my interests in creative writing and storytelling. This early inspiration gave me the will to pursue two degrees in the arts – one in Film and one in Creative Writing as well as to devote my professional life to branding, a discipline that uses storytelling to help businesses reach new audiences.” – Tom Silva

Igor Vasquez is a leader and collaborator who is passionate about Business Process Excellence and globally impactful solutions, and focused on international cross-functional programs with the proven ability to meet challenging objectives at leading Fortune 500 companies such as Accenture Consulting, PepsiCo, Mondelez International (Kraft Foods), Wal-Mart, Target, Cargill, Motorola and FedEx. He is currently a Senior Manager of Procurement, Global Strategy and Capability at Mondelēz International.

“I am interested in CAPE’s mission, and serving on the Board gives me the chance to make a significant impact towards this mission. I grew up in Peru and had the privilege to have access to good education and the opportunity to see children with great potential that did not have that fortune. I want education
not to be a privilege, but something that our children should deserve and have the best of.” – Igor Vasquez

If you are interested in learning more about serving CAPE as a volunteer or board member, please join us for a Field Trip!