Our wonderful Executive Director Heidi Thompson Saunders was featured in today’s Chicago Sun-Times as one of “50 People Who Make Chicago a Better Place.”
Heidi Thompson Saunders first heard the call of the jungle in 2005.
Barrel of Monkeys, the not-for-profit education and theater company, was looking for an executive director.
Thompson Saunders was familiar with the troupe’s popular Monday night show, “That’s Weird, Grandma,” composed of skits performed by grown-up Chicago actors and culled from material created during six-week writing sessions with at-risk children in Chicago public schools.
While Thompson Saunders knew she could get a job paying four or five times more than the Monkeys were, the call was too hard to resist.
“I went to business school to be an asset to my community,” the 29-year-old says.
She applied, and got her dream job as chief Monkey wrangler, overseeing all operations of the 45-member ensemble.
“I still can’t believe that I get to be a part of this.”
Misha Davenport
Congratulations, Heidi!
| Link to this entry