Wheaton resident Kathleen Henson honored as Entrepreneur of the Year by Fifth Third Bank

Wheaton resident Kathleen Henson, founder of Henson Consulting, was honored as Entrepreneur of the Year by Fifth Third Bank at a breakfast program held at the Chicago Cultural Center. This is the sixth year Fifth Third Bank, the first financial institution in the U.S. to start its own charitable foundation, has honored community leaders for making a meaningful difference by helping give a voice to the voiceless, supporting those who feel forgotten, and working to solve problems that need addressing.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Purdue University and former senior leader at Edelman, the nation's leading independent PR firm, Kathleen has worked in public relations and marketing with some of the country's most recognizable companies and brands. She started her own PR firm, Henson Consulting (HC), in 2001 to reinvent the modern agency and to provide clients with strategic counsel, unparalleled creativity and tangible results. She has been featured on ABC's Windy City Live and WGN-AM, and July 2015, Kathleen was featured on NBC's Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda as part of its "Happiness" series to discuss her positive outlook on work and life and personal decision to leave the big agency world to found her own agency. Giving back is a personal passion of hers and Kathleen volunteers her time to a number of important causes in Chicago, including the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago's Women's Leadership Council, Breakthrough Urban Ministries, and the Joffrey Ballet. In 2015, Kathleen and her team launched a philanthropic initiative on Instagram called "Random Acts of HC" that empowers each employee to do random acts of kindness throughout the year.

"The impetus for our Community Leaders program was to move away from singular monthly declarations, as we celebrate diversity and inclusion throughout the year and in everything we do," says Andrew Hayes, Regional Marketing Director for Fifth Third Bank, who began the annual Community Leaders Awards event. "We pause only now - during a time when the nation is celebrating Diversity & Inclusion - to host this annual breakfast as a way of publicly acknowledging the incredible contribution of our honorees, and announce that a $5,300 donation will be extended to each as a way for them to pay it forward, however they wish. It's a powerful way of both expressing our commitment to all the communities we serve, as well as inspiring others to get involved, make a difference, and celebrate both our differences and our commonalities."

Henson is donating her $5,300 contribution from Fifth Third to Breakthrough Urban Ministries, where she proudly sits on the board. Breakthrough partners with those affected by poverty to build connections, develop skills and open doors of opportunity. In Chicago's East Garfield Park, where disinvestment has left the neighborhood devoid of opportunity and full of broken dreams, Breakthrough is restoring the broken networks of youth and families and empowering adults in the community to achieve self-sufficiency and break the cycle of poverty.