Description

Our monthly speaker series is dedicated to showcasing successful and inspiring female
influencers, leaders, artist, and activists.

This month at The Mid-America Club, we are pleased to present Cassandra Gaddo,
managing director of Step Up, Chicago Chapter, as our featured guest speaker. She
oversees the organization’s regional strategy, including programs, fundraising,
operations, talent management and human resources, and expansion. Through her work,
she helps realize the organization’s mission of propelling girls from under-resourced
communities to fulfill their potential, becoming confident, college-bound, career-focused
individuals ready to join the next generation of professional women.

Cassandra is known as a fierce advocate for the advancement and empowerment of
women and girls. As a first-generation college student from the rural Midwest, she is
passionate about creating equal access to college and leveraging social capital to open
doors in the workforce. Previously, she served as vice president of the board of directors
of Rape Victim Advocates, Chicago’s first and oldest first response direct-service
provider for survivors of sexual assault, as well as on CARE Chicago’s Media Initiative,
the Chicago Foundation for Women’s Young Women’s Leadership Council and The
Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Young Professionals, which she represented in the
Young Atlanticist Summit in Chicago. She frequently writes and speaks on issues
pertaining to women and girls.

From 2007-2012, Cassandra was managing editor and electronic media editor of Today’s
Chicago Woman magazine, where she oversaw content serving and celebrating
professional women in Chicago, as well as topics such as domestic human trafficking
and Illinois’ rape kit testing backlog. During that time, she was also active with the
Today’s Chicago Woman Foundation, which is dedicated to raising grants for under-
funded Chicago charities serving at-risk women and girls. She can trace her passion for
social justice to Loyola University Chicago, where she graduated summa cum laude with
a Bachelor’s in journalism, and minors in English, political science and women’s studies.
Cassandra is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration at
Northwestern University. She began volunteering with Step Up in 2008.