Trump taps Chicago exec Barbara Stewart for national service CEO spot

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Barbara Stewart, an Adler Planetarium trustee who once worked for former Illinois GOP Lt Gov. Bob Kustra, to be the Chief Executive Officer for the Corporation of National Community Service.

The national service group is best known for its management of AmeriCorps.

Stewart, a former executive at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Chicago is, according to her Linkedin profile, currently a strategic philanthropy and government relations advisor.

She is a co-founder, with husband Peter Bowe, of the Bowe-Stewart Foundation based in Baltimore.

According to her Linked-in profile, “the foundation is focused on helping people in underserved, urban communities improve their lives through educational and employment empowerment. Their funding initiatives have supported and enhanced early childhood education, job training and skills development programs in Chicago and Baltimore..”

Between 1996 and 1998 Steward was a deputy chief of staff for Kustra, who serve under former Gov. Jim Edgar.

When she worked for Kustra, Stewart was, according to her Linked profile, “responsible for managing the Lt. Governor’s Chicago office. Her work focused on managing and implementing statewide collaboration across cabinet and executive branch departments, agencies, outside business partners and the higher education community.”

She is also a board member of the Civic Federation of Chicago.

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