Shari Runner

CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR

Shari Runner is a native Chicagoan whose national reputation has been cemented due to her outspoken voice on inclusion, race, and equity. With more than 40 years of experience in public and private operations and financial management and after a career as an international banker in foreign exchange, Runner used her knowledge of finance and business operations as an entrepreneur.

Her professional trajectory includes development of the operations management of the University of Chicago and ACT charter schools.  She led the strategic planning, development, programming, and community outreach for the Chicago Urban League, one of the largest of the National Urban League affiliates. As President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, Runner relaunched the Research and Policy Center and was heavily involved in statewide efforts to reform the statewide school funding formula, was a leader in calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate policing practice in Chicago and joining a ground-breaking lawsuit with other community organization plaintiffs resulting in a Department of Justice consent decree on the Chicago Police Department. She is also the founder of The Humanity Institute that works towards and equitable world in which policies and politics recognize our shared humanity.

Her civic involvement includes leadership on several important non-profit boards including Urban Gateways, Bright Promises, and Equal Hope. Runner earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.