The Greater Peoria Economic Development Council is pleased to announce Kari Rauh as the new Director of Workforce Solutions. Rauh is a central IL native (raised in Metamora) as the granddaughter of a farmer-salesman and a telecommunications entrepreneur, both of whom instilled in her the value of hard work and giving back to her community through service.
She is a graduate of Metamora Township High School (2007) and Wheaton College (2011), where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s in Cultural Anthropology and Gender Studies. During her undergraduate years, she worked at her alma mater in curriculum design and recruitment prior to her holistic community development internships in Indonesia and Tanzania. After earning her Bachelor’s, she worked in Seattle for the University of Washington developing health education curriculum while offering Board Leadership for nonprofits serving people experiencing homelessness and community supported agriculture.
Since returning to central IL, she has been active in Human Resources and Training and Development in a variety of nonprofit, higher education, startup and corporate contexts as a leadership consultant. Her work at Illinois Central College in the Workforce Development Division under the leadership of Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey and Dr. Andrew Kerr fanned the flame on her passion for providing and promoting equal access to economic and educational opportunities for all.
Having participated at CareerSpark, a table facilitator at The Big Table, and as a supporter of the Partnership for a Healthy Community, she is very active in her community as a proponent for helping people realize a high quality of life for themselves and their families through sustainable work in a sustainable and healthy environment.
Kari is looking forward to using her previous advocacy experiences and work in learning and development, recruitment, and community engagement to support and advance educational initiatives and training opportunities for people living in the five counties supported by the GPEDC.