02/26/2026
Last night, we had the joy and honor of celebrating Nan Silva and her extraordinary 26 years of leadership at Community Memorial Foundation.
For many in our Chicago philanthropic community, Nan is more than a respected colleague, she is a builder, a convener, and a fierce champion for equity. Her retirement from CMF marks the close of a remarkable chapter, but her influence across our region and within CLIP continues to shape us in lasting ways.
Nan has long been a steady and visionary presence in Chicago’s philanthropic landscape. As a Steering Committee of Chicago Latines in Philanthropy, she has helped nurture CLIP from an idea into a thriving community rooted in connection, leadership, and collective power. She believed deeply in the need for spaces where Latine professionals in philanthropy could gather authentically, build solidarity, and lead boldly, and she helped make that vision real.
Her leadership was also instrumental in launching the CLIP Colibrí Fellowship, where her commitment to cultivating emerging Latine leaders is evident. Nan understood that representation alone is not enough; we must invest in leadership pathways, mentorship, and meaningful opportunities to shape philanthropy from within. The Colibrí Fellowship reflects that belief, and her fingerprints are all over its spirit and intention.
At CMF, Nan led with humility, clarity, and compassion, always centering community voice and advancing health and racial equity. Within CLIP, she has brought that same grounding presence: thoughtful, strategic, generous with her wisdom, and unwavering in her commitment to justice. She models what it means to lead with both corazón and conviction.
As we celebrated her last night, we were reminded that Nan’s greatest legacy is not only in the initiatives she helped launch or the institutions she strengthened but in the leaders she has mentored, the spaces she has shaped, and the community she has helped build.
Nan, thank you for your vision, your mentorship, and your enduring belief in the power of Latine leadership in philanthropy. Your impact will continue to ripple through CLIP and across our region for years to come.
CLIP also looks forward to celebrating you soon!
