Clare Muñana is President of Ancora Associates, Inc., her own management consulting firm, and the Blue Foundation, a family foundation. She has performed numerous domestic and international engagements for not-for-profit, and public and private sector clients in the U.S., Europe, Africa and Latin America. She has a strong interest and commitment to the intersection of education, technology and youth. She is currently consulting in the criminal justice field with projects focused on reducing recidivism at the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons and with the Justice System Restart Initiative, under the auspices of the Blue Foundation. Other projects over the years have included: a comprehensive civic plan to address the challenges faced by women and girls in Chicago; a STEM/international education plan for a start-up high school in the Midwest, US; strategic guidance for the launch of a major community-focused initiative for a national community development organization; a governance plan for an association of Chicago-based cultural institutions; an international strategy for a US/European foundation and museum; an economic development project for an underserved region in the State of Illinois; a strategic plan for a major natural history museum; a technology plan for a large US school district; and the establishment of an economic development agency for a large U.S. city. She holds a B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from Boston College, a MA in International Economics and Politics, with honors, from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) – Johns Hopkins University, and a Masters in Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. She also earned a Certificate in French Civilization and Language from the Sorbonne in Paris.
Ms. Muñana served as Vice President of the Chicago Board of Education for over ten years. She is a Trustee and serves as the Chair of the International Committee of the Aspen Institute. She is a Board member of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Middle East Investment Initiative, and After School Matters (which serves 20,000 public high school students) and has served on numerous other civic boards and commissions. Ms. Muñana is a recipient of the New Leaders for New Schools Leadership Award, the Schaffner Award for Excellence from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Chicago United Business Leaders of Color Award, the ChiME School Ovation Award, the Connecting Cultures Award from Changing Worlds, the Sor Juana Woman of Achievement Award from the National Museum of Mexican Art, as well as the Corporate Leadership Award from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights . She has also been named a Chevalier de lOrdre National du Mérite by the French government.