RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF MAY 15, 2025
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners honoring Emilia DiMenco
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WHEREAS, the child of working class Italian immigrants, Emilia DiMenco has blazed a trail for women in business. She earned a BS and an MBA in finance from DePaul University, then became the first woman senior vice president and later the first woman executive vice president during her thirty years with BMO Harris bank, eventually leading the bank’s Women in Business initiative, making BMO Harris the bank of choice for many women business owners; and
WHEREAS, along the way, Emilia has lent her strong leadership skills to many different facets of the business community, having been a member of the Economic Club, the Executive Club, The Chicago Network, the International Women’s Forum, the Chicago Finance Exchange, the Federation of Women Contractors, NAWBO Chicago, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce; and
WHEREAS, Emilia has also been appointed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners to sit on the Economic Development Advisory Council and by Governor JB Pritzker to sit on the Business Enterprise Program Council, and has served on the City of Chicago’s Small Business Advisory Council, the State of Illinois Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund Board, and the advisory board for Enterprising Women Magazine, as well as serving as an advisor to participants in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Emilia’s biggest impact, though, may be from her work as President and CEO of the Women’s Business Development Center (“WBDC”), a nonprofit dedicated to fostering women’s business development and growth. After joining the organization in 2010 as a board member, she became CEO in 2013, providing big picture direction to the organization as well as acting as a one-on-one adviser in workshops, WBE certification, government and corporate contracts, and access to capital for small businesses via grants and direct loans. Under her leadership, the WBDC has truly thrived: the organization has expanded from two to eight offices across the Midwest, serves up to 8,000 clients per year, and has doubled the number of businesses certified as WBEs; and
WHEREAS, Emilia has been recognized many times for her invaluable contributions to the business community, recently receiving the 2024 Visionary Leader of the Year award from the Federation of Women Contractors and 2024 Woman of the Year from the Rotary Club of Chicago, and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and our staff, do hereby honor Emilia DiMenco upon her retirement from the Women’s Business Development Center; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dated: May 15, 2025