Hinton Selected as BUFI’s Chairman of the Board of Directors

Greg Hinton
Greg Hinton

Hinton Selected as BUFI’s Chairman of the Board of Directors

As the city of Chicago has welcomed its new mayor, the Black United Fund of Illinois welcomes its new chairman of the Board of Directors, Gregory Hinton.

Considered one of the foremost leading authorities on diversity/inclusion practices, Hinton made history when he was appointed as the first chief diversity officer for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2011. Prior to joining the DNC, Hinton was the senior director/chief diversity strategist at U.S. Cellular Corporation.

With 35 years of global experience working in corporate environments, such as Abbott, Pepsi, Amtrak, Advocate Health Systems, and R.R. Donnelley, Hinton is currently the CEO of the GREGORY GROUP consulting firm. In this capacity, he is called upon to validate, reinforce and highlight major related practices of organizations looking for external voices to echo the need for personal responsibility.

As BUFI’s board chairman, Hinton is replacing an icon: Professor Robert Starks. “Bob has been the Board Chair since BUFI’s inception. It’s hard to fill the shoes of such a community giant,” stated Hinton.

In filling those shoes, Hinton is tasked with providing leadership in the area of fundraising and increasing BUFI’s number of program offerings, along with identifying additional Board members to help serve the organization.

“I’m glad to work with our newly-appointed Executive Director Carolyn Day in ensuring that BUFI runs effectively and efficiently. Together, we have plenty of ideas and plans to keep BUFI moving in the direction that our late, esteemed founder and leader, Henry English, would expect of us,” shared Hinton.

In 1986, English—with a diverse group of businessmen, educators and community leaders— organized BUFI making it the 16th independent affiliate of the National Black United Fund. The National Black United Fund was founded on the principles of self-help, mutual aid and volunteerism in order to create systematic mechanisms to rally resources for African-American communities.

By creating the necessary systematic mechanisms, Hinton believes that BUFI must meet the increasing needs of the community through programming and advocacy, and one of his responsibilities as board chair is to “serve as the face of BUFI, while expanding BUFI’s mission and vision to the broader community.”

For more information on the Black United Fund of Illinois (BUFI) or to contribute, contact Carolyn Day, 773.324.0494; www.bufi.org; or email: info@bufi.org.

About Gregory Hinton

Gregory Hinton is a PhD candidate in Values Driven Leadership at Benedictine University; a graduate of Loyola University-Chicago MSIR program and he received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois-Urbana.

Additionally, Hinton has received scores of awards and citations for his contribution in the fields of diversity, leadership, community service, corporate social responsibility, as well as change management.

Hinton has served on many boards, including: League of Black Women, Chicago State University Foundation, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, SHRMs Panel of Experts in Diversity, Staffing.org, Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC), Athletes Against Drugs, Ability Links, Chicago Urban League Board of Advisors, Habilitative Systems, Inc., Employment Management Association, as well as the Chicago Association of Minority Recruiters.

A recipient of numerous awards and acknowledgements, Hinton recently received the SBCs Grassroots Excellence Award – 2018; Crain’s Chicago Journal, “AARP 50 over 50 Excellence in Business Award;” Medellin & Associates Partnership Award; Rolling Out Magazine’s Top Ten Movers & Shakers; DANDI Diversity Impact Award; Uptown Professional Top 100 Executives for Change; National Black Public Relations Society MVP Award; the AKA Monarch Award for Special Achievement; Wendell Phillips Hall of Fame Induction 2012; and the 2011 Community Mental Health Community Service Award.

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