In honor of the work he did to develop and champion the Chicago Urban League’s IMPACT Leadership Development Program, Booth professor George Wu has been named the League’s 2020 Humanitarian of the Year.
The IMPACT Leadership Development program, developed by the Chicago Urban League in partnership with Chicago Booth, connects up-and-coming professionals with senior African American leaders throughout Chicago—creating a pipeline of talented individuals who are reaching new heights in their careers, and making positive change throughout the city.
“It is humbling to be referred to as a humanitarian,” Wu said. “Of course, I am deeply honored to be recognized. At the same time, I view my involvement with the program as a great privilege.”
Wu was an early champion of the IMPACT program, which was launched in 2014. At the time, Andrea Zopp was CEO of the Urban League, and she wanted to develop a leadership program to build a strong pipeline of young African American talent in Chicago. “One unique aspect about the program is that, even though fellows were about 50-50 between the private sector and the government/non-profit sector, all the fellows had a commitment to making their communities better,” Wu said. “I saw immediately that this was a program that could transform Chicago, and it has.”