Flores Sol

Sol Flores

CEO, Knight Impact Partners

Sol Flores was born and raised in Chicago, to a family who arrived from Puerto Rico in the 1950’s.  Sol’s extended family all dedicated their lives to public service and mission based work –instilling in her, the values of service, family, love and justice.  Sol was raised by a single mother, her father suffered from substance use and was absent from her life.  She identifies as an Afro Latina cis gender woman and learned from a very early age the pain of racism and discrimination and also the power of activism and community. 

Through her work, Sol has formed deep and authentic relationships with many individuals leading and working in the diverse BIPOC communities across the Chicagoland region. She has built relationships with and has engaged in all levels of government, philanthropy, institutional and corporate entities in the region.

For five years, Sol served as Deputy Governor in the Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Administration overseeing the Health and Human Services portfolio – which comprises 10 major state agencies and commissions, representing $22B in budget spending and 16K employees. Sol directly managed and supported the executive leadership of these agencies while advising the Governor to ensure the administration’s vision and priorities were implemented.

Throughout the last five years, Flores championed the expansion of equitable healthcare access and the restoration of the human services safety network, bringing an equity lens and focus on Illinois' most vulnerable individuals. Sol led COVID-19 response efforts from testing and vaccines to one of the most successful rental assistance programs nationally to keep people housed. From the Governor's Office she spearheaded a strategic plan with the HHS state agencies to break down silos and develop comprehensive interagency strategies and collaboration including Census 2020, the Home Illinois Plan, early childhood education expansion, healthcare expansion and managed the state's response to the influx of migrants from the Southern border.

Sol founded and led La Casa Norte for 18 years, a community based organization focusing on ending homelessness for youth and families.  In that role, she built an organization from the ground up and managed all aspects of fundraising, stakeholder engagement, building teams, operations, strategic planning, board management and mission impact.  Sol was effective in that role because she was able to convene individuals and groups and align values and goals to build power for real change in communities and in the lives of vulnerable Chicagoans. 

Sol has been recognized as a national Champion of Change for her work by the Obama White House along with numerous other awards and recognitions throughout her career.  Sol has served on various nonprofit boards and public commissions providing strategic advising and public policy recommendations.

In December 2023, Sol became the CEO of Knight Impact Partners, a philanthropic foundation committed to bold, creative, and collaborative work that positively impacts people and communities in Chicago.