Press Release – JUNE 27, 2016 – CHICAGO – The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Chairman of the Board, Willard Bunn III, Managing Director, Colonnade Advisors, and two new board members – Caren Croland Yanis, President, Crown Family Philanthropies, and Kary McIlwain, Marketing Vice President, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago – to the Poetry Foundation Board of Trustees.
“All of our newest board members care deeply about poetry and its place in society,” said Henry Bienen, President of the Poetry Foundation. “We are very fortunate to have their leadership as we continue to work to raise poetry to an ever more influential place in American culture.”
Willard Bunn III joined Colonnade Advisors as a Managing Director in 2012. Willard has served as chairman, chief executive and/or director of several commercial banks during his 40-year career. His tenure in the banking industry began at Chemical Bank in New York before he returned to Springfield in 1978 to serve as Executive Vice President and eventually Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marine Corporation, a multibank holding company with $1.2 billion of assets. Following Marine’s merger with Banc One, Willard was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Banc One Illinois Corporation, a position he held until 1994. Willard went on to serve in various management positions with two investment banking firms. Willard served as a Director of Baytree Bank of Lake Forest, Illinois, from its founding in 2000 and as Chairman of the bank from April 2010 to August 2012.
Willard holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia. In addition, he holds the Series 79 securities license.
“I have been a Poetry Foundation trustee since 2011 and am honored to now serve as its Chair succeeding the distinguished chairmanships of John J. Kenney and Richard Kiphart,” said Willard Bunn. “It is a pleasure to be a part of an organization whose mission is to bring poetry to the largest audiences.”
As a capstone to a successful 25+ year career in advertising, including President and Cheif Executive Officer of Young & Rubicam (Y&R) Chicago, Kary McIlwain is starting her next chapter in non-profit marketing. As president and cheif executive officer of Y&R Chicago, Kary was responsible for the P&L, strategy, and operations of a full-service digital and traditional agency. Under Kary’s leadership, Y&R reinvented its digital offering, created a digital content studio, revamped its creative product and was named to the top 10 “Creative Heavyweights” by Creativity magazine. The agency grew year-on-year to become a major player not just in the Chicago market but in North America.
As head of marketing for Lurie Children’s, Kary is responsible for the marketing P&L, which includes digital, event and traditional marketing, and a team of marketing professionals responsible for raising the awareness, reputation and reach of this world-class institution.
Kary graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, followed by a Master of Science from Northwestern University in Advertising and Integrated Marketing.
Caren Croland Yanis joined Crown Family Philanthropies (CFP) in 2009 as its first professional, non-family leader. Her role managing organizational growth, engaging multiple generations of family members in philanthropic activities, and guiding strategic initiatives over almost eight years moved CFP into a leadership position in the philanthropic community in Chicago and beyond. In the fall of 2016 Caren will step down as president and continue working as a consultant with the Crown Family.
Prior to joining CFP, Caren spent close to nine years building and running Oprah Winfrey’s philanthropies, including Oprah’s Angel Network, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation, and the Oprah Winfrey Foundation. She oversaw more than twenty education related projects in South Africa as well as disaster recovery and rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Caren has a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College and studied nonprofit leadership at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
