Lynn Margherio | Founder/CEO

A leader in the fields of social justice and children’s issues, Lynn Margherio is the Founder and CEO of Cradles to Crayons® (C2C®)—the largest national nonprofit with Clothing Insecurity at the core of its mission. C2C provides children living in crisis, homeless, or low-income situations with the outfits and essentials they need—distributing more than one million packages each year of clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge.

Recognizing that children in communities across the U.S. were going without the clothing and essentials they require for healthy development, Lynn launched C2C in 2002 and sought to build a model where new and gently used resources could easily and reliably be redistributed to meet ongoing resource gaps. 87% of Cradles to Crayons’ community service partners would not have access to the free clothing and essentials they need without C2C’s support. Since its founding, and with “Quality = Dignity” as a cornerstone value, C2C has distributed nearly six million packages of clothing and essentials to children in Chicagoland, Greater Philadelphia, Massachusetts, NYC, and San Francisco. The C2C model runs on meaningful volunteer experiences and has engaged more than one million adult and youth volunteers to date through its best-in-class corporate, family, and community volunteer programs.

Expanding engagement and service beyond C2C’s three physical Giving Factory® distribution warehouses, in 2019, Lynn led an innovative effort to develop an online clothing donation platform, Giving Factory Direct®, connecting donors across the country directly with children in need of clothing resources. 87% of Cradles to Crayons’ community service partners would not have access to the free clothing and essentials they need without C2C’s support. Additionally, C2C is actively driving education and awareness efforts that elevate the crisis of Clothing Insecurity nationally and mobilize stakeholders around this critical basic needs gap.

In her role as CEO, Lynn directs all aspects of the organization, including strategic planning, operations, fundraising, brand/marketing, product acquisition, external relations, and ongoing collaboration with both National and local Boards of Directors. She has led multiple successful capital campaigns raising millions of dollars to fund expansion and has steered the organization through major relocations and organizational restructurings. She is currently spearheading a national expansion effort to develop effective and sustainable solutions to serve the more than 20 million children across the U.S. who experience Clothing Insecurity every day.

As an industry thought leader and advocate, Lynn’s work has been recognized with numerous awards. With a commitment to community, she has served on several Boards and Advisory roles. A frequent speaker, Lynn has presented to dozens of organizations in a variety of settings. She has made many media appearances including television, radio, print, and podcasts. She currently serves on the Massachusetts Commission on Poverty—a legislative-backed effort for poverty reduction in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Prior to launching Cradles to Crayons, Lynn served as an Executive Vice President of the Clinton Foundation, in public sector roles for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the White House Domestic Policy Council as well as corporate roles for SJS, IKEA, Telesis and Towers Perrin. A graduate of Georgetown University, Lynn completed the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program at Harvard Business School.

Executive Director, Boston

The Executive Director position of Cradles to Crayons—Boston is currently open. To learn more about the position and apply, click here.

Dawn Melchiorre | Executive Director, Chicago

Dawn Melchiorre is a seasoned entrepreneur and nonprofit executive passionate about driving social change in her local community. Her nonprofit career began at Voices for Illinois Children where she organized advocacy campaigns raising awareness for issues related to early childhood education, mental health, and nutrition. Her success led her to the Greater Chicago Food Depository as Senior Director of Programs where she helped build the Illinois No Kid Hungry Campaign and the Illinois Commission to End Hunger.

Dawn served as Chief Operating Officer of Forefront (Illinois), the regional membership association serving grantmakers, nonprofits, advisors, and public agencies. She directed operations, including member engagement, public policy, education, library services, and research. Most recently, Dawn served as Interim CEO at 360 Youth Services, leading the organization from a governance and asset transfer agency to a larger social service organization that provides stability for staff and the community it serves.

Before her career in the nonprofit sector, Dawn spent ten years in the hospitality field as a small business owner. Dawn holds a Bachelor of Arts, Political Science from Loyola University Chicago, a Master of Arts, Public Service & Public Policy from DePaul University, and a Master of Business Administration, Nonprofit Management from Concordia Unversity Chicago.

Michal Smith | Executive Director, Philadelphia

Michal is a graduate of London University and North London University, and holds a certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from Bryn Mawr College. Michal is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of the Arts, a member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Main Line Chamber of Commerce. She is on the boards of Child’s Work USA, Philadelphia and The Teacher’s Place. In 2013, SmartCEO Magazine recognized her with its Brava Award for top female CEOs. Since joining Cradles to Crayons, Michal has doubled its operating revenue, the number of children served, and has grown the service delivery area to include a second state, New Jersey.