This is the list of Speakers and workshop presenters who will be part of the November 21 conference.

All of the speakers are volunteers, who share their time and knowledge to help volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring programs grow. While most of these speakers and the conference focuses on Chicago, we encourage people from other cities to attend and share your ideas, while borrowing from what we're doing and applying it in your own community.

We see the conference as an energizer in an on-going process that continues from year to year. Thus, we hope everyone who participates in the conference will continue to share ideas and network, using the online forums of the Tutor/Mentor Connection.

If you would like to speak at a future conference,  submit handouts or host a display table, email tutormentor2@earthlink.net

Keynote Speakers


Friday, Nov. 21, 9:00 am - Welcome
Clinton Nichols, Urban Anthropologist, Community Development, Division of Environment, Culture & Conservation at the Field Museum, http://www.fieldmuseum.org.

Friday, Nov, 12:500 pm - 1:15pm - From Volunteer to Leader. Jane Napoli, Executive Director of East Village Youth Program
Jane Napoli is the Executive Director at East Village Youth Program, http://www.evyp.org , and is proud to be a former volunteer tutor with Cabrini Connections Tutor/Mentor Program. Jane has worked in the non-profit sector for 14 years and has held various management roles in operations, strategic planning, training and development, human resources and program evaluation. Jane volunteered with Hands On Bay Area and was co-chair of the Young Non-Profit Professional (YNPN) Bay Area board for three years. She recently joined the YNPN Chicago board and is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago.


Workshop and Panel Participants


Kathy Anderson, Executive Director, Wicker Park Learning Center
http://www.wickerparklearningcenter.com/
Kathy Anderson founded Wicker Park Learning Center in 1989.  Prior to that she taught special education students for four years. At the time Anderson began the Wicker Park Learning Center in the Wicker Park community of Chicago there were no tutoring centers in that area Sylvan and Huntington were the only centers that existed and they were very costly, far too expensive for the families in the Wicker Park area.  The were also located in the suburbs and too far for the families to get to.  The Wicker Park Learning Center started out at 1309 N. Ashland, the basement of the Centrum Hall building. It eventually moved to other locations in Wicker Park and in other neighborhoods.  The Center currently works closely with Chicago Public Schools and has three sites at  3300 N. Whipple, 3259 N. Elston (Brands), and 6330 S. Stoney Island (Southside YMCA).  Anderson also tutors students at local libraries near their homes and hopes to offer services at other Chicago neighborhoods in the upcoming school year.

Shienoval Applewhite from Guest Relations at the Field Museum

Anna Ashbaugh, Client Executive, Burson Marsteller
Anna Ashbaugh is a client executive in Burson-Marsteller’s corporate practice. She joined Burson-Marsteller in June 2007.  Anna’s work at Burson-Marsteller focuses on corporate social responsibility, community relations, internal communications and media relations for Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Hormel Foods accounts. For Takeda, Anna helped plan the company’s annual community outreach day and supported media outreach for the event. She has also manages Takeda’s holiday giving program and frequently writes internal communications and stories for the company’s intranet. Anna has also helped secure executive speaking opportunities and provides daily media monitoring reports to the company’s communications team and CEO.

Anna played an important role in helping to write Hormel Foods’ 2007 Corporate Responsibility Report and continues to help prepare for future reports and communications related to the company’s corporate responsibility strategy. Anna also monitors issues for the company and supports community engagement projects. In June 2007, Anna received her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, where she majored in anthropology and minored in business institutions. She graduated with departmental honors. In her studies, she concentrated on examining business culture, writing her honors thesis on “Corporate Social Responsibility: interpreting and implementing citizenship in a multinational corporation.” For her research, Anna received a Northwestern Undergraduate Research Grant.   Anna lived in Germany for 14 months where she studied at the Goethe Institute in Dresden and Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen and is fluent in German.

 
Daniel F. Bassill, Tutor/Mentor Connection
Dan Bassill has spent more than 30 years, mostly as a volunteer, leading organizations that connect workplace volunteers with youth living in  inner-city neighborhoods like Chicago's Cabrini-Green. He and six other volunteers formed Cabrini Connections in 1992 and the Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) in 1993. Through the TMC, and the Internet, Bassill leads a global learning strategy  intended to draw needed resources to all volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs, including Cabrini Connections, in Chicago and other major cities. Bassill was appointed to be a Commissioner on the Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteering and Community Service in 2001. 
Visit http://www.tutormentorconnection.org ; http://www.cabriniconnections.net and http://tutormentor.blogspot.com

Zachary Boisi, Chief of Staff, Office of the Chairman, Sears Holdings Corporation and Co-Founder, Young Professional Advisory Board at The Mentoring Partnership of New York
Zach Boisi is the former Director of The Mentoring Partnership of New York (MPNY) and Co-Founder of its Young Professional Advisory Board. During his tenure at MPNY (2001-5), Zach spearheaded the launch of the inaugural National Mentoring Month in New York City; brokered strategic partnerships with the New York Mets, New York Jets and NY/NJ Metrostars; and, doubled the office's budget through diversified fundraising. Zach founded the Young Professional Advisory Board prior to leaving the organization in order to leverage young professionals to support MPNY's six key functions: mentor recruitment/referral, mentor/mentee/coordinator training, public awareness, resource development, public policy and data collection/tracking.

Zach is currently the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Chairman at Sears Holdings Corporation. Has received his BA from Yale University and MBA from the Wharton School of Business. He lives in Chicago with his wife and one year-old son.


Marian Casey, Executive Director of Answers for Special Kids
Marian is a business and legal professional with more than 15 years of experienced in the profit and non-profit worlds. As an executive and attorney she has demonstrated a commitment to operational excellence and successful results. She is founder and Executive Director of Answers for Special Kids, a nonprofit organization that provides support and consulting for parents of children with special needs. She is also an active member of three non-profit Boards, the Chair of the Governance and Board Development Committees for two of these Boards, and a certified mediator. She is completing a Masters of Science in Learning and Organizational Change at Northwestern University.

Shane Caterino, Director of Individual & Foundation Giving at Academy for Urban School Leadership, http://www.ausl-chicago.org/
Shane Caterino currently oversees Corporate & Foundation Giving at AUSL, a nonprofit organization committed to preparing new high-quality teachers and transforming public schools in Chicago. In this role, she is responsible for fundraising, grants stewardship, events, and special projects in strategic communications.

Prior to joining AUSL in 2007, Shane worked in corporate philanthropic functions at PepsiCo, Pepsi Bottling Group, and HSBC-North America. In these roles, she worked with nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and abroad on corporate social responsibility projects related to education, environment, youth health & wellness, volunteerism, and other local community engagement initiatives. In addition, Shane served as an AmeriCorps member with Washington Service Corps in Seattle and an AmeriCorps Leader at Public Allies Chicago. During her service at Public Allies, she was appointed to the Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service. She also deepened her national service experience, having assumed various program and fundraising roles at City Year.

Shane received a B.A. in Political Science and minor in Women Studies from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She and her husband reside in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago.
 

Elizabeth Clarke, President, Juvenile Justice Initiative, http://www.jjustice.org 
Elizabeth Clarke is a former volunteer tutor with the Montgomery Ward/Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program in Chicago and the founder and
President of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, a statewide nonprofit juvenile justice advocacy organization designed to reduce reliance on confinement, expand community based alternatives, and enhance fairness for youth in conflict with the law.
 


Angel Diaz, Midtown Educational Foundation, http://www.midtown.org
Angel Diaz is a program director for the Midtown Educational Foundation.  The Midtown Educational Foundation (MEF) operates the Midtown Center for boys and the Metro Achievement Center for girls. These centers help youngsters in 4th-12th grades to become better students and better people through after-school and summertime programs. Integrating academics, character building, parents, and fun activities, MEF’s award-winning programs give Chicago youth the “complete package” for success.

As the Program Director for the One-On-One Tutoring and Mentoring Program at the Midtown Center for boys, Angel offers orientation and training sessions for over one hundred volunteers and volunteer leaders every year. Over the past four years as program director, Angel has gained valuable insight in volunteer management that can be applied in any volunteer program. Through the combination of acquired knowledge and practical application, Angel has improved volunteer retention in his program year after year. Angel has recently completed his Masters of Nonprofit Administration at North Park University and he is an active volunteer with Chicago Jobs for Youth.

Liz Dobrzynski, Mentoring Program Coordinator, Bridge Youth and Family Services http://www.bridgeyouth.org/
Liz Dobrzynski is the Mentoring Program Coordinator for the Youth Advocacy Program at The Bridge Youth & Family Services in Palatine, IL where at-risk
children between the ages of 7 & 15 are matched one-on-one with adult role models. Prior to joining The Bridge, Liz advocated for abused and neglected
children in the Illinois foster care system through the Court Appointed Special Advocate program and served as a mental health professional for the Children's Home & Aid Society of Illinois. Perhaps the greatest influence on Liz's career choice stems from her own experience as a mentor to two at-risk children from Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. Liz earned her B.A. and J.D. from Loyola University Chicago. While there, she had the opportunity to travel to London, Rome and Santiago, Chile to comparatively study legal issues related to children.

Mindy Faber - Director of Open Youth Networks, www.chicagofilmmakers.org
Mindy Faber is Director of Open  Youth Networks, a program of Chicago Filmmakers that assists youth, educators and youth workers in the use of web 2.0 and participatory media for social change, civic involvement and libratory education. Faber is also a Peabody award winning media artist and the 1996 recipient of the Rockefeller Intercultural Media Fellowship.

Toinette M. Gunn, Executive Director, Partnership to Educate and Advance Kids (PEAK), http://www.peakchicago.org
Toinette Gunn is the current Executive Director for the Partnership to Educate & Advance Kids (PEAK), a non-profit scholarship and mentoring organization for at-risk Chicago high school students.  Prior to coming to PEAK in July 2008, Toi was the Executive Director of Student Mentor Partners for seven years, another mentoring and tuition assistance organization in the Detroit, MI area.  

Toi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Michigan University in Criminal Justice and Sociology, a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Oakland University, will complete her Ph.D. degree in Counseling Education in 2009 from Oakland University, and is a Limited Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Michigan with a specialization in Mental Health.  She has worked in the Human Service field and non-profit sector for 12 years, working in foster care, substance abuse therapy, child and adolescent mental heath therapy, low-income housing, and mentoring.  She has nearly 10 years of experience in non-profit management and has expertise in program development in the areas of recruitment, training, family services, treatment, community outreach, fundraising, marketing and public relations. 

Toi states that her educational studies and professional endeavors are aligned with her goal of breaking negative intergenerational cycles through educating, mentoring, enhancing, empowering, and improving resources and the quality of life of at-risk youth and/or lower income families. 

Dachelle Johnson, Guest Relations at the Field Museum

Dan Hogan, Mentoring Program Coordinator, Circle Urban Ministries  www.circleurban.org
Circle's One-to-One Mentoring Initiative (http://circlerockmentoring.googlepages.com) serves 4-8 grade students on the west side and its Alumni Follow-Through Encouraging Resolve (AFTER) program supports mentoring matches as previously matched students go through high school. Hogan is married, and is the proud dad of two sons.  

Daniel Isherwood, Executive Director, Urban Initiatives, www.urbaninitiatives.org
Urban Initiatives runs health and education soccer programs for at-risk children in the Chicago Public Schools. Urban Initiatives was started by two Chicago Public Schools who saw a need for programming in the younger grades and saw sport as a great vehicle to engage their students. Dan Isherwood started playing soccer in preschool and hasn't stopped. He and co-founder Jim Dower played soccer at Loyola Academy, and the skills and character traits the two learned from that experience helped to shape Urban Initiatives. Isherwood, a University of Iowa business graduate who dreamed of launching his own venture, found a way to combine his passion for soccer with his concern for at-risk kids through the not-for-profit Urban Initiatives. Isherwood serves as the on-site director at Jenner Academy for the Arts, spending time in the classroom or cafeteria as needed to supplement the health, fitness and character education delivered on the soccer field. As a professional coach, Isherwood brought his Wilmette Wings U10 boys to a Triple Crown victory in 2007, winning division, tournament and indoor league championships. This past fall, his Wings U12 Premier boys team won first-place in the top U12 division of the Illinois Youth Soccer League.


Kurt Kittner,  Former University of Illinois and NFL Quarterback
Kurt Kittner (born in Schaumburg, Illinois) is member of the Tutor/Mentor Connection Board of Directors, and an advocate for volunteer-based tutoring/mentoring.   Kittner most recently played quarterback for the Chicago Bears. Prior to playing professional football, he was a record-setting quarterback for the University of Illinois, leading them to the 2001 Big Ten Championship. Kittner currently resides in Chicago. He works for Jones Lang LaSalle, Americas. In July 2007, Kittner was named the color analyst for University of Illinois football radio broadcasts, replacing long-time analyst Jim Grabowski.

Zak Kustok, Former Northwestern University and NFL Quarterback
Zak is a volunteer tutor with Cabrini Connections and currently works in medical sales in Chicago. This is Zak's bio from when he played at Northwestern University. http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/kustok_zak00.html After playing there, he spent time in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. 

Nancy Kukankos, Supervisor of Prevention and Volunteer Services, Bridge Youth and Family Services http://www.bridgeyouth.org/
Nancy Kukankos is Supervisor of Prevention and Volunteer Services at The Bridge Youth & Family Services in Palatine, Illinois. Part of her duties include supervising The Bridge’s mentoring program, facilitating a youth leadership development group and assisting Fremd High School in implementing a Social Norms Marketing campaign to reduce alcohol and tobacco use among students. Nancy was previously employed as a local coordinator for Project Success, a state grant program designed to develop collaborative relationships between health and human service providers and schools. While rearing her children, she worked as a substitute teacher and was extensively involved in the elementary school PTA. She also worked as a law clerk for an Illinois Appellate Court justice. Nancy earned her B.A. from St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota and J.D. from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois.

Gordon Mayer, Vice President, Community Media Workshop at Columbia College Chicago,  www.communitymediaworkshop.org
Gordon Mayer is Vice President of Community Media Workshop. He has worked as  a writer and reporter, communications consultant and director and has
managed nonprofit agencies' programs. Since starting at Community Media Workshop in 2005, Gordon has increased custom workshop collaborations and
helped to broaden the Workshop's scope from the Chicago area to a more regional focus. His training and coaching of nonprofits on communications-related issues have produced headlines on NBC Nightly News and in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today as well as coverage on-line and in trade papers and local and regional media. A former journalist at the Gary (Ind.) Post-Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Chicago Defender, he also completed a master's degree at University of Chicago for which he focused on Chicago's early newspaper history. He has lived in Chicago for more than 20 years where he and his wife Kate are raising two children. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Public Relations Society of America and serves on the board of nonprofit startup Issuelab.org.


Steven Miller, President, Legacy Home Mortgage Corporation
Steven Miller is owner of several successful Southside real estate-based businesses averaging $6 million per year in revenue. Born in Chicago, he was raised in Palos Heights, Il. In 1988 he graduated from the University of Illinois and created Legacy Home Mortgage, Inc. He is a member of the Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection Board of Directors and Olympia Fields Country Club.
 

Arthur Mollenhauer, Chief Executive Officer, Big BrothersBig Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, http://www.bbbschgo.org
Mr. Mollenhauer joins BBBSMC following a distinguished, 24-year career with Baxter Healthcare where he served in General Management, Business Development, Strategic Planning, and Financial Management roles.  Mr. Mollenhauer also has served Lake County BBBS as a volunteer Big Brother and Board Member over the last 7 years and was also a fellow in the Leadership Greater Chicago Program.  He has traveled extensively and has lived in Rome, Miami and Los Angeles. His family is active supporters of many Cultural and Academic institutions in the metropolitan area as well as the United Way campaign.  He is graduate of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and Eastern Illinois University. He was born in Chicago and attended Morton West High School in Berwyn and he currently resides with his wife in north suburban Evanston. 


Katherine Moone, East Village Youth Program, http://www.evyp.org
Katherine Moone is the Program Director at East Village Youth Program. Katherine is entering her 5th year with the college readiness organization, and aside from managing and supervising programs, she also runs the mentoring and parent programs. Katherine received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Spanish at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and she is currently working on her Masters of Arts in Educational Policy Studies at DePaul University. Previous to working at EVYP, Katherine lived and worked in Mexico City where she was a 4th grade classroom teacher at the American School Foundation, one of the oldest, private, bilingual schools in Latin America.
 

Jane Napoli, Executive Director, East Village Youth Program http://www.evyp.org
Jane Napoli is the Executive Director at East Village Youth Program and is proud to be a former volunteer tutor with Cabrini Connections Tutor/Mentor Program. Jane has worked in the non-profit sector for 14 years and has held various management roles in operations, strategic planning, training and development, human resources and program evaluation. Jane volunteered with Hands On Bay Area and was co-chair of the Young Non-Profit Professional (YNPN) Bay Area board for three years. She recently joined the YNPN Chicago board and is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago.


El Da' Sheon Nix,  Administrative Coordinator, Cabrini Connections Tutor/Mentor Program  
 EL Da’Sheon Nix is a former football player and a 2004 graduate of Northwestern University who majored in Human Development and Psychological Services and has a Bachelor’s in education and social policy. Due to a career ending knee injury, Nix’s football career ended prematurely. Following graduation from Northwestern, Nix worked for two years as the Lead Mental Health professional at the Rice Child and Family Center which is a residential treatment facility in Evanston, Ill. that provides services for adolescents with mental and behavioral disorders.  Nix then began working as a Youth Development Worker at the Youth Organization Umbrella in Evanston, Ill.  A little over a year later Nix was offered and accepted the Director of Social Services position at the Evanston Community Defender Office where he provided individual and group counseling services to Evanston adolescents and their families.  In Nix’s new role as the administrative coordinator he is in charge of coordinating the Cabrini Connections program and continuing to connect the Cabrini Green youth to the necessary resources in an effort to prepare them for successful careers in the future.    http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/newsCenter/inquiry/?issueSelect=18&category=4


Joel Newman, Program Director - Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley
Joel Newman is currently serving as Program Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley. In this position, he is in charge of all matching and enrollment within a five-county territory reaching from the Mississippi River to LaSalle County. Newman holds a Bachelors degree in Education from Western Illinois University and spent several years teaching in numerous school districts in the Quad Cities Area. From 2006 ­ 2008, Newman served as a volunteer in the AmeriCorps program conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Assigned to the Quad Cities Chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Newman introduced youth mentoring services into two new counties in the region. In 2007 ­ 2008, he served as the president of Illinois LeaderCorps, overseeing the activities of volunteers in twenty-two service programs throughout the state.

Clinton Nichols, Urban Anthropologist, Community Development, Division of Environment, Culture & Conservation at the Field Museum, http://www.fieldmuseum.org.

Moses Rasberry, Loan Coordinator, The Harris Educational Loan Center at the Field Museum

Troy Ratliff, Executive Vice President, Better Boys Foundation, http://betterboys.org/index2.html 
Mr. Ratliff is the Vice President and the Executive Director of the Joseph Kellman Foundation.  The Foundation focuses its giving on organizations providing services to disadvantaged youth living on Chicago’s West Side.  Prior to joining the Kellman Foundation, Mr. Ratliff completed a twenty-year career in Municipal Government.  As a member of the administration of Mayor Richard M. Daley, he served as the Managing Deputy Commissioner in both the Building and Purchasing Departments.  A life long Chicago resident, Mr. Ratliff holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Roosevelt University. 

April Richards, Education Department, Chicago Field Museum

Karen Royster-James, M.S.Ed. Science and Mathematics Learning Center Director Columbia College Chicago
Karen has helped organize the May and November Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conferences since November 1999, thus helping us bring together hundreds of people who are involved with youth and youth-serving organizations.  Through these networking events she has introduced conference participants to people in her network, such as the National Tutoring Association.  She has also shared her own experiences of working with youth. In her current an past jobs she has been responsible for the management of a learning center, faculty tutors, and student workers; she has served as a coach, counsel and advisor to faculty tutors and students; she has built networks with other campus units; and she has develop and managed budgets had fund raising responsibilities.



Patrick Shaffner, Community Outreach Coordinator, 826CHI, http://826chi.org
Patrick Shaffner serves as the outreach coordinator for 826CHI. In this role, he manages outreach to new volunteers and program participants, plans events and dabbles in tutoring and creative writing projects with the students. He also runs The Boring Store, Chicago's only undercover, spy supply store (that donates all profits to 826CHI.) A proud native of Indiana, Patrick received his bachelor's degree from William & Mary, with double majors in anthropology and literary and cultural studies and, when not at 826CHI, may be spotted at local improv haunts.

Cassina Sanders, Marketing, Fund Raising and PR Coordinator for Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection. http://cassinazcabrini.blogspot.com/

Alexandria Taylor, Program Officer for the College Success Network at the Associated Colleges of Illinois, http://www.acifund.org/
The Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI) is a group of private colleges and universities rooted in the liberal arts tradition working with business, government, and community leaders. She is responsible for student retention and coordinating ACI's College Readiness Alumni program. Alexandria comes to ACI with eight years of experience from North Park University as the Director of the Center for Africana Studies. Before leaving NPU, she was promoted to Assistant Dean for Multicultural Student Development. Alexandria has a strong understanding of student success in college. She as presented and created different programs and workshops addressing student needs in higher education.

Alexandria holds a Bachelor of Art in Political Science with a minor in Public Administration from Fayetteville State University and a Master of Arts in Multicultural Education with a concentration in International Leadership from Columbia College in Chicago, IL.
 

Robbie Telfer, Performances Manager, Young Chicago Authors http://www.youngchicagoauthors.org
Robbie Telfer is a touring performance poet, having been a featured performer/reader in dozens of venues across North America and Germany. Previous work appears in the American Book Review, Octopus Magazine, and a forthcoming cream city review, as well as several spoken word poetry anthologies and DVDs. He lives in Chicago where he performs in Marc Smith's Speak'Easy Poetry Ensemble and is the Performances Manager for Young Chicago Authors, a not-for-profit that gives creative writing opportunities and mentorship to Chicago teens. In August 2007, he placed 8th individually at the National Poetry Slam in Austin, TX.

Mike Trakan, GIS Mapping Coordinator, Tutor/Mentor Connection, http://mappingforjustice.blogspot.com
Mike joined the Tutor/Mentor Connection in January 2008, as a part time map maker, using his experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Mike is also a substitute teacher and part time musician. Visit his blog to read map articles  he has created and learn more about his other interests.

Mary Visconti, Director of Agency Advancement, Better Boys Foundation, http://betterboys.org/index2.html

Nicole White, Tutor/Mentor Connection Research and Networking Coordinator  
Nicole White is the Tutor/Mentor Connection Research and Networking Coordinator for the Tutor/Mentor Connection. She joined Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection in July 2007 through the Northwestern University Public Interest Program Fellowship, which matches graduating seniors from Northwestern with non-profits in the Chicagoland area for one year. She took on the T/MC role in April 2008. In her new role, White will be working to establish and maintain relationships between Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection and the 400 tutoring and mentoring sites in the T/MC Database. She will also be working to rebuild the August/September Volunteer Recruitment Campaign so that by September 2009,  50 tutoring and mentoring organizations in the Chicagoland area will be a part of a push to recruit volunteers to be tutor/mentors.  White graduated from Northwestern in June 2007 with a Bachelor’s in French and International Studies.   Read her blog at http://nicolecabrini.blogspot.com .   

Evan Witalison, Project Coordinator, Mentor Kenosha & Racine, http://www.uwp.edu/departments/community.partnerships/mentor.cfm
Evan is a 2008 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, majoring in Sports Management. He was the Habitat for Humanity Club President for two years at Parkside. As a member of the club, he worked in New Orleans in the springs of 2006 and 2008 and Biloxi Mississippi in the spring of 2007 helping them rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. Evan is from Madison Wisconsin and is a graduate of Madison East High School in 2003. After graduating from Madison East, Evan went to school at Rock Valley College in Rockford IL.  While at Rock Valley he played two years of college football and also served as an Assistant Offensive Line Coach as well as a worked for the Rock Valley College Upward Bound program. Currently Evan is serving as an AmeriCorps*VISTA in the Center for Community Partnerships as the Coordinator for Mentor Kenosha & Racine Initiative.

Charnika Williams, Case Manager, Youth Service Project, Inc. http://www.youthserviceproject.org/

Jessica Woldt, Partnership Development Manager, BBBS, http://www.bbbschgo.org
Jessica Woldt is the Partnership Development Manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago. Jessica is responsible for driving the
agency's strategic growth through the cultivation, recruitment and stewardship of mentor-rich corporations, cause-marketing partners, universities, school districts and other organizations that provide sustained financial and volunteer resources.

Prior to coming to BBBSMC, Jessica served as the After-School Program Director for the Union Square Partnership in New York, and spent three years as an Enrollment Specialist for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay. Jessica received a Masters in Public Administration from New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and is a graduate of Boston College

Allison Smith Youngblood, Independent Consultant, amsyoungblood@gmail.com , 312-560-3238
Allison Youngblood is a consultant helping non-profits increase their organizational capacity.  She is a visionary leader who recognizes the practical realities that can limit capacity and effectively uses her experience to help organizations overcome these limitations.

Ms. Youngblood is currently working with the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago to provide project management, strategic planning, and support for their participation in the Chicago “Go To 2040” regional plan sponsored by the Chicago Community Trust and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).  Previously she has helped organizations review and implement strategic plans to more effectively fulfill their missions, develop frameworks for strategic alliances, and build consistent service delivery across multiple facilities.  Allison has recently been working to translate business trends such as social networking so they can be used more effectively in the non-profit sector.

Ms. Youngblood has been a consultant for almost 20 years, leaving Hitachi Consulting earlier this year to found her own firm in order to focus on the non-profit sector.  In her work, she is recognized as a leader who is focused on measurable results, adaptive and flexible in style, resourceful and creative in working with limited resources, and driven to create productive relationships throughout the community.  She has served on the boards of the Junior League of Chicago and Fourth Presbyterian Church after actively volunteering at these organizations for many years.  At the Junior League, Ms. Youngblood was recognized with the “Torch Award” for thoughtful risk-taking as a result of co-founding the innovative project “CON:CERN” which has been nationally recognized for its community impact.  Currently, Ms. Youngblood is helping Fourth Presbyterian Church update its strategic plan. 

Ms. Youngblood has a BS in Business from the University of Missouri at Columbia and in 2009 will complete a Masters-level Certificate in Learning & Organizational Change from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.