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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANJALI PINTO A s the president of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Corporation North America, Kenneth "Casey" Keller is one of the most inf luential and well-con- nected members of Chicago's business community. When it comes to City Year Chicago, his connections go even deeper. Keller's sister-in-law, Jennifer Eplett Reilly, was one of 50 corps volunteers at City Year when it launched in Boston 25 years ago and remains on the national board today. Keller's early kinship with the organization led him to join the board of City Year Chicago in 2009, and in 2011 he assumed the board chair position, partnering with Executive Director Lisa Morrison Butler. Together they con- nect the local organization's team of 206 corps members with 2,150 off-track students across 20 of Chicago's most challenged public schools. An estimated 1 million high school students drop out every year in the US. In the Chicago schools City Year serves, the dropout rate is 35 percent, but jumps to a whopping 50 percent among African-American males. With nearly one in four Chicago children reportedly living below the poverty line, many are in danger of graduating behind their peers or not at all. With these grim statistics in mind, Keller and Morrison Butler are working to create good news with City Year Chicago. Their dynamic corps of 17- to 24-year-old volunteers spend a year tutoring and mentoring at-risk students between third and ninth grades. City Year's "near peer" philosophy makes these corps members, who are highly visible in their red jackets, accessible anchors within their schools and communities, keeping their students on track for academic success. Casey Keller: I've always been involved in education philanthropy. When I moved to Chicago, I'd already decided to get more involved with City Year. I got to see City Year from the beginning, and I firmly believe in what we are doing now and the impact we are trying to make in Chicago. City of Big Scholars AS CITY YEAR CHICAGO CELEBRATES ITS ANNUAL DINNER ON APRIL 9, BOARD CHAIR CASEY KELLER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LISA MORRISON BUTLER DISCUSS THE ORGANIZATION'S COMMITMENT TO TURNING ATRISK CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS INTO ACADEMIC ACHIEVERS. BY MATT STEWART LEFT: City Year works with students at the Lewis School of Excellence in Chicago. BELOW: City Year Board Chair Casey Keller and Executive Director Lisa Morrison Butler. continued on page 68 66 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY 66-69_MA_SP_SOG_Spring_14.indd 66 2/12/14 9:17 AM