Our Vision

A peaceful and unified Chicago.

Our Mission

Invest in programs that build relationships, foster connections and empower Chicago’s under-resourced populations.

MARC MALNATI / CO-FOUNDER

Marc Malnati, chairman of Lou Malnati’s Pizzerias, graduated from Indiana University in 1977, eight months before his father and founder, Lou, died of cancer. Under Marc’s leadership, Malnati’s experienced tremendous growth, going from two pizzerias to 52 throughout the Chicagoland area, along with two outposts in Arizona.

Marc believes strongly that culture is the most critical part of a business and has built a relational business model which calls for investing time in the pursuit of personal and professional growth. As a result, management turnover at Malnati’s is only 7 percent in an industry where the norm is 30 percent. In addition, 2018 was the 9th year in a row that Lou Malnati’s was named one of the top ten workplaces by The Chicago Tribune.

Marc received Chicagoan of the Year award from Chicago Magazine in 1996 for his involvement in the opening of a Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria in Chicago’s under-resourced Lawndale neighborhood. He serves on the boards of the Lou Malnati Cancer Research Foundation and the Northwestern Medicine Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute. He has appeared on many television programs, including defeating Bobby Flay in 2009 on his hit TV show “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” and the “Daily Show with Jon Stewart” for his attention grabbing challenge to Stewart, who criticized Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

JEANNE MALNATI / CO-FOUNDER

Jeanne’s greatest passion is inspiring, challenging, and empowering individuals. A licensed psychotherapist with a master’s degree in social work from Loyola University in Chicago, she has a rich expertise in facilitating group dynamics, working with corporate teams, non-profits, and families, assisting them to focus on the health of their relationships by having honest conversations with one another.

At Lou Malnati’s Pizzerias, she created the groundbreaking Clean and Clear Communication program, which has been credited as a key component of the company’s nationally recognized workplace culture.

Jeanne speaks frequently with diverse audiences about the importance of compassion and conscious leadership in the workplace and beyond. Together with her two adult daughters, she founded Spreading Hearts, an international movement where over 35 thousand small pewter hearts have been spread to individuals around the world letting them know they are valued, seen, and loved.

She serves on Metropolitan Capital’s Strategic Initiatives Advisory Board on Women in Business, as well as The Salvation Army’s Chicago Advisory Board and the board of the Lou Malnati Cancer Research Foundation.

KELSEY MALNATI HOWELL / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

One of Kelsey Howell’s favorite words is “relentless,” which she uses to describe the approach of organizations and people she admires. As Executive Director, Kelsey oversees the foundation’s strategic direction and partnerships. She is a passionate advocate of trauma-informed approaches to public health, creating opportunities for economic advancement, and the imperative for a peaceful and unified city.

Kelsey’s commitment to Chicago has been shaped in part by her career in the Chicago Public Schools, serving first as a special education teacher at Roberto Clemente High School in Humboldt Park, and then as a special education middle school teacher in the East Garfield Park and Englewood neighborhoods. In her classroom, Kelsey saw first-hand the systemic obstacles young people and their families face when pursuing their goals, as well as the positive impact of wraparound support and genuine connection. This was further reinforced when she traveled to schools across the city coaching Teach for America corps members with Dominican University. While the neighborhoods may have been different, the challenges were the same.

Kelsey also designed and launched the employee ESL program for Lou Malnati’s Pizza, as well as spent a year as a teacher and volunteer in the Casa Hogar Torre Fuerte orphanage in Arequipa, Peru. She holds a B.A. in special education from Indiana University Bloomington, and an M.A. in curriculum and instruction from Concordia University Chicago.