Our History

The Black Diamond Foundation was founded by Bernie and Cyndi Tacito, the daughter of a Navy veteran. The two launched the now defunct BacPac for Kids Program to provide school supplies to area children. When a friend’s son was injured in Iraq, they started the Veterans Program to train returning soldiers in project management. The program helps soldiers set goals and make the transition to civilian life.

Our current veterans program trains veterans in project management. This course teaches the students the tools and techniques that team members need to be successful. It is great therapy for recovering soldiers, helping them set goals for their transition to civilian life. Spring 2022 was our 16th Session.

Our program has been focused in Chicago, IL. with the partnership and volunteers of the Chicagoland Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and IIT Stuart School of Business. With Covid we had to get good at conducting class over Zoom, developing capability to scale geographically. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. All our board members, instructors and executive sponsors are volunteers and not compensated.