Monica Yoo

Workforce Partnership Lead

Monica Yoo is the Workforce Partnership Lead at the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, where she works alongside the Chief Strategy Officer to help develop and implement workforce development partnerships to empower untapped talent to jobs that will provide economic mobility and sufficiency. Before joining the Foundation, Monica was Director of National Workforce Solutions at Cara Plus, Cara Collective's expansion arm. In her role, she oversaw the strategy and implementation of their national workforce development portfolio, working with workforce development practitioners nationwide based on Cara's success.

Before moving to Chicago, Monica spent a decade working in the New Orleans education sector. Her journey began as a 2012 Teach for America Corps Member, teaching high school English. Her dedication to empowering youth led her to serve as the Director of Alumni Advising at Collegiate Academies, a Louisiana-based charter network. There, she focused on guiding opportunity youth toward alternative post-secondary options and managing external partnerships with local universities and workforce development organizations.

Monica's roots lie in Nebraska, where she was born and raised. She is a proud daughter of Korean immigrants and a first-generation college graduate. She holds a BFA in Sculpture with a Minor in Art History from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. When she's not at work or spending time with her husband, son, three dogs, and cat, Monica enjoys baking, sampling new Chicago restaurants, visiting museums, and advocating for and celebrating her autistic son.