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Council of Community Leaders

The Council of Community Leaders identifies issues that impact the life outcomes of at-risk persons in the community, including children and families, that are beyond the ability of any one organization or sector to address. The Council then assesses the issue(s), and develops and implements strategies for addressing the issues.  

Suzanne Akhras

Founder & Executive Director 
Syrian Community Network (SCN)

suzanne@syriancommunitynetwork.org

syriancommunitynetwork.org 

Molly Beck Dean

Director

WeGo Together for Kids

beckdeanm@metrofamily.org
wegotogetherforkids.com

Krishna Bhagat

Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, College of Science and Health

Benedictine University

Shelley Bromberek-Lambert

Chief Resilience Officer

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago

Jenifer Fabian

CEO

Peoples Resource Center

jfabian@peoplesrc.org
peoplesrc.org

Adam Forker

Executive Director

DuPage County Health Department

Mary M. Furbush, Ed.D.

Executive Director

Cooperative Association for Special Education

José Luis (Pepe) Gutierrez

Director
Casa Michoacan

Lisa Horne

Executive Director
Metropolitan Family Services DuPage

hornel@metrofamily.org

metrofamily.org

Thea Kachoris-Flores

VP, Strategic Planning, Development and Integration
Access Community Health Network

Jan Kay

Social Policies Specialist
League of Women Voters

Geri Kerger

Executive Director
NAMI DuPage

Fatema Mirza

Executive Director

Worry Free Community

fatema@worryfreecommunity.org
worryfreecommunity.org

Sarah O'Donnell

Executive Director

Tri-Town YMCA

Amber Quirk

Regional Superintendent
DuPage Regional Office of Education

aquirk@dupageroe.org
dupageroe.org

Vanessa Roth

Chief Operating Officer
Outreach

vroth@outreachcommin.org
weareoutreach.org

Susan Sperry

Executive Director
World Relief Chicagoland

ssperry@wr.org
worldrelief.org/chicagoland

José Eduardo Vera

Executive Director
Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project

jvera@ssipchicago.org
ssipchicago.org

Carolyn Wahlskog

Director of Operations & Programming

Youth Outlook

Sarah White

Executive Director

Senior Home Sharing

swhite@seniorhomesharing.org
seniorhomesharing.org

Dr. Saima Azfar

Chief Strategy Officer
ICNA Relief

sazfar@icnarelief.org
icnarelief.org

Becky Beilfuss

Executive Director

Teen Parent Connection

beckyb@teenparentconnection.org
teenparentconnection.org

Rev. Miguel Briones

Deacon

St. Mark's Episcopal Church

Hilary Denk

District Director
Office of Congressman Bill Foster (IL-11)

Erika Ford

Local Office Administrator
Illinois Department of Human Services
DuPage County Family Community Resource Center

erika.ford@illinois.gov
Abe.illinois.gov

Theresa Forthofer

President & Chief Executive Officer

Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley

tforthofer@eastersealsdfvr.org
eastersealsdfvr.org

Beatris Gonzalez

Director of Human Resources
Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA)

beatris.gonzalez@illinois.gov
veterans.illinois.gov

Shannon Hartnett

Executive Director

Northeast DuPage Family and Youth Services/President
Milton Township Mental Health Board

Chrissie Howorth, CFRE

Vice President of Philanthropy & Communications
VNA Health Care

Reema Kamran

Co-founder, Treasurer
Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition

reema@ilmuslimciviccoalition.org
ilmuslimciviccoalition.org

Mary Keating

Director of Community Services
DuPage County

mary.keating@dupageco.org
dupagecounty.gov

Jessica Lucas

Director, Community Impact

United Way of Metropolitan Chicago

Kara Murphy

President
DuPage Health Coalition

kmurphy@accessdupage.org
accessdupage.org

David Orr

Group President
Sr. Managing Director
Old Second National Bank

dorr@oldsecond.com
oldsecond.com

April Redzic

President & CEO
DuPagePads

aredzic@dupagepads.org
dupagepads.org

Lisa Schvach

Executive Director
DuPage County Workforce Development Division at WorkNet DuPage

lschvach@worknetdupage.org
worknetdupage.org

Amy Van Polen

CEO

Bridge Communities

Rafael Vieyra

Executive Director

Despertar Latino

vieyrarafael@gmail.com

despertarlatino.org

Karen Wells

Chief Strategy & Diversity Officer

Make-A-Wish America

Board of Directors

Dr. Saima Azfar

(Secretary)

Chief Strategy Officer

ICNA Relief

icnarelief.org

Rev. Miguel Briones

Deacon

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Shelley Bromberek-Lambert

Chief Resilience Officer

YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago

ywcachicago.org

Jenifer Fabian

CEO

Peoples Resource Center

peoplesrc.org

Adam Forker

Executive Director

DuPage County Health Department

dupagehealth.org

Theresa Forthofer

(Chairperson)

President & Chief Executive Officer

Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley

eastersealsdfvr.org

Geri Kerger

Executive Director

NAMI DuPage

namidupage.org

Kara Murphy

(Vice Chairperson)

President

DuPage Health Coalition

accessdupage.org

David S. Orr

(Treasurer)

Group President and Sr. Managing Director

Old Second National Bank

oldsecond.com

April Redzic

President & CEO

DuPagePads

dupagepads.org

Jose Eduardo Vera

Executive Director

Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project

ssipchicago.org

Karen Wells

Chief Strategy & Diversity Officer

Make-A-Wish America

wish.org

Staff

Alzawawi, Summer

Program Director

Public Benefits Access

Frankovich, Evelyn

Senior Director, Finance & Administration

Administration

Miller, Danika

Executive Assistant

Administration

Rodriguez, Rosa Isela

Planning and Engagement Associate

Community Planning

Carey, Beth

Director, Grants & Information Management

Administration

Frankovich, Marlene

Bookkeeper

Administration

Rafas, Eva

Senior Program Director

Language Access Resource Center

~ Roth, David ~

Executive Director

Administration

Doll, Mimi

Director, Research

Community Planning

Manson, Michael

Program Coordinator

Language Access Resource Center 

Rivera, Carolin

Manager of Training & Education

Language Access Resource Center

Rubino, Aurora

Program Coordinator

Language Access Resource Center 

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