| Biography |
Steven Solomon earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he majored in Zoology and Biological Aspects of Conservation with a concentration in African Studies. While serving as a Rotary Scholar, he became involved with Dr. Jane Goodall’s global youth organization Roots & Shoots in South Africa. Later Dr. Goodall arranged for him to volunteer with her community development project in Tanzania and selected him to join her delegation to a United Nations World Summit in Johannesburg. Steven worked as an Education Program Manager at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago where he supervised the intern program, traveling zoo, and literacy program along with arranging the lecture series, leading the education inclusion initiative and conducting educator workshops. While at the zoo, he was the recipient of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Diversity Advancement Award from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. While earning his Master of Science in Nonprofit Management with a concentration in fundraising management from Spertus College, Steven was recruited to The Rotary Foundation with the Annual Giving Team. As the Senior Annual Giving Officer, he was privileged to be an advocate for donors and empower Rotarians in 30 Rotary districts in the western region of North America to raise money for The Rotary Foundation. He traveled to the region more than 76 times, including 32 sponsored trips during his 11-year tenure. He educated and inspired donors by sharing resources, giving presentations and conducting trainings. He was responsible for orchestrating Dr. Jane Goodall’s participation at Rotary’s 100th International Convention and serving as the primary contact for Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Rotary World Peace Symposium in England. While at Rotary, Steven was awarded the Association of Fundraising Professionals Chamberlain Scholarship, earned a Certificate in Fund Raising Management through the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and became an honorary member of the Rotary Club of San Francisco-Castro which is Rotary’s first LGBTQ+ Rotary club. Since 2007, Steven has been volunteering at the Center on Halsted which is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community center in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest LGBTQ community center in the Midwest with more than 1,400 people walking through its doors every day. In August 2019, Steven became the Manager of Individual Giving and is responsible for the planning, managing and securing individual funds for the Center on Halsted. He is honored to be able to help educate and inspire donors to support Center on Halsted’s life changing work.
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