One Page Bio | Video Bio
Who is Mary Cacioppi?
Mary was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. She has 22 years of dedicated experience in community development, economic development, and poverty reduction. Through these experiences, she has had the opportunity to work with community leaders in areas such as community transformation, education, and workforce development programs. She also coordinated, produced, and managed the inaugural TEDxRockford event.
She currently serves as executive director of One Body Collaboratives, a faith-based organization working to engage the faith community in the City of Rockford. She also founded Bridges to Prosperity Rockford Region, which works to reduce poverty and implement a poverty-reduction strategy in her local community of Rockford, Illinois. She brings her community together using a collective-impact approach to reduce poverty by convening a poverty-reduction community of practice, providing Bridges workshops, and partnering with agencies and nonprofits to implement the Getting Ahead curriculum.
Additionally, she is a national consultant with aha! Process; in this capacity, she works with communities across the United States to assist them in their poverty-reduction goals. She is creating a workshop, Poverty Reduction as an Economic Development Strategy, that aha! Process will offer nationally. Mary also serves on the board of Emerge Solutions, which promotes lasting strategies to close the economic gap and build community sustainability at the local, regional, and national level. She is a member of the National League of Cities Economic Mobility Peer Network.
Mary is an experienced leader with the ability to create community partnerships across multiple sectors to achieve impactful results. She also has an extensive background in strategic planning, project management, and executing plans of work.
Mary Cacioppi’s credentials, degrees, and certifications
- B.A., business administration, Madison University (graduated with honors [cum laude])
Bridges Out of Poverty certification
- Bridges certified trainer
- Getting Ahead in the Workplace facilitator
- Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By-World facilitator
International Economic Development Council (IEDC) certifications
- Business Retention & Expansion
- Business Marketing & Attraction
- Economic Development Marketing
Other Certifications
- Community & Economic Development Professional Core Curriculum Years 1–3
- Community Development Institute
Mary Cacioppi’s work history
- Executive director, One Body Collaboratives
- Director of investor relations, Rockford Area Economic Development Council
- Director of economic development, Village of Roscoe
- Executive director, Roscoe Chamber of Commerce
- Director of annual events, Rockford Chamber of Commerce
Mary Cacioppi’s aha! Moment
After spending 16 years in community and economic development and being solely focused on how to attract and retain highly paid, highly skilled talent in our community, and then going on to run a faith-based nonprofit organization focused on helping under-resourced residents and low-wage earners, my aha! moment is that, earlier in my career, my focus was on just one side. There are both sides of this in every community, and we need to be aware of how to develop all areas of our community, as they are so dependent upon one another.
Mary Cacioppi’s passion
My passion is in helping communities flourish. Community flourishing is a primary focus of my organization, and I enjoy working with the faith community and partner organizations to identify community resources, as well as gaps in community care. The gaps are where people fall through the cracks that can many times cause situational poverty. Identifying the gaps is just as important as identifying the resources.
Mary Cacioppi’s best training
Based on my experience in community and economic development, as well as my current work in coordinating churches and community collaboration using a collective-impact model, my expertise is in helping organizations and communities launch and grow a poverty-reduction strategy using a comprehensive communitywide approach.
This includes identifying key community partners and stakeholders, as well as the overall implementation of a Bridges initiative. My experience will also aid in identifying potential funders, measuring project results, and creating a poverty-reduction community of practice.
What does Mary Cacioppi do for fun?
I love exploring new places, enjoying heart-stopping adventures, and simply appreciating the life I have been blessed with! Whether it’s through traveling, climbing mountains, jumping out of airplanes, or spending time with friends and family, I enjoy the moments equally.