Rachel Rosen was born and raised in New York but chose Chicagoland to raise her two sons with her husband Dan. A lifelong lover of music, in 2014 Rachel finally traded sides from the audience to the stage, joining up with friends to form a cover band. Rachel sang and played guitar, and brought a fierce passion and amazing energy to every show, every rehearsal, every backyard informal jam. It was a fitting coda to a remarkably inspiring life, filled with adventure, art, music, devoted friendships, and intense love for her family.
In January 2020, Rachel passed away after more than a decade fight against breast cancer. One year later, her family and friends established the Memorial Fund in her honor to help Girls Rock! Chicago continue to empower young musicians from all over the Chicago area, regardless of ability to pay. This fund will cover a variety of needs – from helping support a diverse and talented volunteer pool to purchasing gear and equipment. Please honor Rachel’s legacy and help support Girls Rock! Chicago.
We hope everyone is taking good care of themselves and their loved ones during this time.
We wanted to take a moment to address the COVID-19 outbreak and our plans for this upcoming summer camp season.
We are closely monitoring this rapidly-evolving situation and adhering to recommendations from the CDC, federal, state, and local governments as we prepare for our camp season. We are continuously assessing the impact that this virus will have on our organization and our community.
At this moment, we are carrying on with our plans to hold two sessions of rock camp this summer as regularly scheduled. We will be in close contact with applicants, volunteers, partners, and our community with updates or changes as this situation evolves.
You can learn more about CDC recommendations for protecting yourself and your neighbors here. We care deeply for our rock camp family and our neighbors and will do everything in our power to keep you safe and continue delivering quality programming.
Stay safe and healthy,
Girls Rock! Chicago Staff & Board
Welcome our new Operations Manager, Madeline Leahy!
We are thrilled to announce that Madeline, an extraordinary gear coordinator and camp organizer, is ascending into a new role as our Operations Manager! Welcome, Madeline!
Madeline grew up in a small suburb southwest of Chicago. Her deep love of music was clear by age 5 when she would sing the National Anthem and “The 12 Days of Christmas,” and insisted on starting from the beginning when her older sister interrupted her, pleading with her to stop.
She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in the Contemporary, Urban, and Popular Music program at Columbia College Chicago where she honed her songwriting and vocal performance skills.
Madeline first came to GR!C as a guitar and keyboard instructor and as a band coach. She soon found herself wanting to help at camp by looking after GR!C’s gear as a Roadie and then later as a Gear Coordinator.
Madeline is excited to serve Girls Rock! Chicago in a new capacity as Operations Manager and is dedicated to GR!C’s mission of fostering and developing the creativity and self esteem of girls, trans, and gender expansive youth through music. You can email her at madeline@girlsrockchicago.org
We also wish to extend a fond farewell and thank you to our out-going Operations Manager, Ryan Cameron. We are so happy to have had you as part of our team and we wish you the best of luck on the East Coast!
Lets Rock! Returns This Fall - Registration Now Open!
Do you wish you had Girls Rock! Camp when you were younger? Do you want to learn the basics of a rock instrument and play in a band? Let’s Rock! Camp is for you! This is your chance to collaborate with other folks to form your own band and write an original song in a safe and judgement-free space. By the end of the long weekend, you’ll feel ready to perform your song at one of the best music venues in the city, The Promontory! Empower yourself and all of your bandmates, just like Girls Rock! Chicago campers do!
NO MUSICAL EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY!
Dates Friday, October 11th – Monday, October 14th, 2019 Where Camp: Jose De Diego Community Academy (1313 N Claremont Ave, Chicago IL) End-of-Camp Extravaganza: The Promontory (5311 S. Lake Park Ave W, Chicago, IL)
Our Operations Manager, Ryan Cameron, has bittersweet news to share: they will be moving to New York this summer following the end of Session 2 in August. They feel deeply fortunate to have been a part GR!C during their time in Chicago, and are grateful to have been shaped by the incredible folks in this community.
We wish them luck on the east coast, and are now accepting applications for their position.
Job description is as follows:
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Girls Rock! Chicago is hiring a part-time Operations Manager to facilitate and supervise the year-round activities of the organization, including program logistics, financial planning, outreach, administrative duties, and fund development. This position reports directly to the Girls Rock! Chicago Board.
RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES
– Coordinates with Board of Directors to maintain excellent status of the nonprofit’s designation and supporting documents
– Responsible for monitoring and maintaining finances for the organization, including all record keeping, monthly financial reports to the Board, budgeting, and adhering to 501c3 regulations in coordination with the Board Treasurer.
– Handles day-to-day tasks for the organization, including emails and general inquiries, and interacting with GR!C stakeholders, delegating to staff when necessary.
– Leads marketing strategy, including planning content for social and other digital media.
– Maintains donor database, trains and supports staff on database use, and ensures excellent database maintenance.
– Works with the Board and camp organizers to plan and execute major GR!C initiatives, including programs, fundraisers, outreach, and strategic planning.
– Provides supervision and project coordination for all staff, including the Events Coordinator, Gear Coordinator, Program Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, and Outreach Coordinator.
– Works with the Finance Committee on fund development planning and participates in fundraising committee activities, including prospect research, grant writing, campaign planning and solicitation.
– Serves as liaison between staff and board, attending monthly board meetings and other committee meetings as necessary (part of 25 hour work week).
– Flexible evenings and weekend for tabling, special events, preparation, and staffing
QUALIFICATIONS
– Passionate about Girls Rock! Chicago’s mission and impact
– 2-4 years experience in a non profit organization, foundation, or government agencies
– Highly intelligent, creative, and excellent communicator
– Empathetic and respectful
– Extremely well-organized
– A solutions-oriented problem solver demonstrating wise judgement
– Capable of leading both paid and volunteer staff in a supportive and compassionate way
– Success in roles requiring execution of multiple tasks while responding to multiple priorities
– Proven ability to work with efficiency and flexibility
– Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide array of people
– Operates with excellence in mind in all matters, with the confidence to defend/debate ideas without ego interfering
– Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills are essential
– Ability to exercise tact and diplomacy in organizational settings
– Self-starter, self-disciplined, able to work independently and prioritize
– Spark, imagination, creativity
– Remain focused in the face of pressure, delivers against timelines, not intimidated by tasks/time limitations
– Financially literate; able to interpret documents such as organizational budgets
– Experience with Salesforce preferred but not required
– Fund development and/or grant writing experience a plus
MINIMUM EDUCATION REQUIRED 4-year degree PROFESSIONAL LEVEL: Managerial
HOURLY POSITION: $14.00 – $18.00 per hour with a maximum of 25 hours a week.
BENEFITS:
50 hours of Paid Time Off
20 hours of Paid Sick Leave
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 7/10/2019 START DATE: August 2019
People of color, women, transgender people (regardless of identity), and gender non-conforming people are strongly encouraged to apply. Girls Rock! Chicago is an EOE.
No phone calls, please.
Girls Rock! Chicago (GR!C) is an equal opportunity employer. GR!C does not discriminate on the bases of race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, or other non-merit based factors. Girls Rock! Chicago complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
Girls Rock! Chicago expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Girls Rock! Chicago’s employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.
