Our Members and Fellows
Our Members and Fellows are diverse emerging and established leaders with disabilities from all walks of life. Fellows are participants in the current year-long Leadership Institute. Members include past Fellows as well as established leaders who join in a variety of ways.
All of our members are interested in learning more about civic and career leadership opportunities. This page includes search tools to help you find key interest areas or professional expertise, but there is more than we have space to include here. Feel free to reach out to ADA 25 Advancing Leadership staff here if you would like to connect with one or more of our members about a specific opportunity.
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AZEEMA AKRAM
- Transportation Counsel
- Illinois Commerce Commission
- azeema.n.akram@gmail.com
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JOE ALBRITTON
- Deputy Commisioner
- Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, City of Chicago
- jalbritton@cityofchicago.org
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ERICK ALLEN
- Chief Visionary
- Prospectus Group
- erick.allen@theprospectusgroup.com
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ZULLY JF ALVARADO
- Founder & President
- Causes for Change International
- Zully@CausesforChange.org
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STEPHANIE ANDERSON
- Vice Principal
- Vaughn Occupational High School
- saanderson8@cps.edu
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RACHEL ARFA
- Staff Attorney, Civil Rights Team and PABSS Project Manager
- Equip for Equality
- rachela@equipforequality.org
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GARY ARNOLD
- Program Director
- Progress Center for Independent Living
- gary8970@gmail.com
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ADAM BALLARD
- Manager of Organizing and Policy
- Access Living
- aballard@accessliving.org
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LINDA BANNON
- Founder
- Look Ma, No Hands
- lookmanohands79@gmail.com
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FRANCINE BELL
- Founder and Executive Director
- The Hilliard Foundation
- fhbell78@gmail.com
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PETER BERG
- Project Coordinator of Technical Assistance
- Great Lakes ADA Center
- pberg@uic.edu
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GARY BERINGER
- Principal/CEO
- Beringer & Associates
- gbberinger@sbcglobal.net
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JUAN BERNAL
- Deaf Multilingual ASL Interpreter and Mentor
- ASL-BERNAL LLC (Based in Texas)
- mrjuanabernal@gmail.com
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EMILY BLUM
- Director of Marketing and Communications
- Metropolitan Planning Council
- eblum@metroplanning.org
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BILL BOGDAN
- Disability Liaison
- Illinois Secretary of State
- billyb4access@gmail.com
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BECKY BRASFIELD
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MARCA BRISTO
- President and CEO
- Access Living
- mbristo@accessliving.org
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KIMBERLY BROWN
- Senior Business Analyst
- Commonwealth Edison
- kimberly.brown2@comed.com
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ANNE M. BURKE
- Justice
- Illinois Supreme Court
- ambjurist@gmail.com
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JACK CATLIN
- Founder and Partner
- LCM Architects
- jcatlin@lcmarchitects.com
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PATRICK CORRIGAN
- Distinguished Professor of Psychology
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- corrigan@iit.edu
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C. Richard Costes
- Manager, Chapter & Membership Services
- Association for Corporate Growth
- c.richard.costes@gmail.com
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CLARK CRAIG
- Community Organizing Advocate
- Progress Center for Independent Living
- ccraig@progresscil.org
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KEVIN D’AMBROSIO
- Office Supervisor
- Faithful+Gould
- kmdambro@gmail.com
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KAREEM DALE
- Director and Senior Counsel
- Discover Financial Services
- kareem.a.dale@gmail.com
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LIZ DAVIS
- User Experience Designer
- SPR Consulting
- elizabeth.ch.davis@gmail.com
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HORACIO ESPARZA
- Executive Director
- Progress Center for Independent Living
- hesparza@progresscil.org
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BRIDGET EVANS
- Patient Safety Consultant
- Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital
- bridget4evans@gmail.com
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Anthony M. Abou Ezzi
- Owner and Principal Attorney
- Ezzi Law
- tony@ezzilaw.com
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CHERYL FARNEY
- Certified Recovery Support Specialist and Medical Social Assistant
- University of Illinois Chicago Hospital
- crfarney@uic.edu
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JUSTINE FEDAK
- Senior Vice President and Head of Brand, Advertising, and Sponsorships
- BMO Financial Group, North America
- Justine.Fedak@bmo.com
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DAISY FEIDT
- Executive Vice President
- Access Living
- dfeidt@accessliving.org
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JAMES FERG-CADIMA
- Associate General Counsel, Public Safety
- City of Chicago, Office of Inspector General
- jfergcadima@gmail.com
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TANYA FRIESE
- Assistant Professor
- Rush University College of Nursing, Department of Community, Systems, and Mental Health
- Tanya_R_Friese@rush.edu
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ANDRéS J. GALLEGOS
- Attorney
- Robbins, Salomon & Patt, Ltd.
- AGallegos@rsplaw.com
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VALERIE GILLES
- Manager, Strategy and Management Consulting
- KPMG
- vgilles@kpmg.com
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Lori Goddard
- VP, Management Director
- FCB Chicago
- lori.goddard@fcb.com
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Nakia J. Green
- President
- Nakia J Consulting
- nakia@nakiajconsulting.com
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Robert Green
- Access Living/Peer Health Navigator
- University of Illinois
- rlgreen@ameritech.net
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EMILY HARRIS
- Executive Director
- ADA 25 Advancing Leadership
- eharris@cct.org
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BRIDGET HAYMAN
- Director of Digital Content Marketing
- Easterseals National Headquarters
- bhayman@accessliving.org
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PAM HEAVENS
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TSEHAYE GERALYN HEBERT
- Independent Writing and Editing Professional, Playwright
- tsehayegeralynhebert@gmail.com
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SARAH HELM
- Manager, Diversity & Inclusion
- Discover Financial Services
- sarahhelm@discover.com
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DIANA HELT
- Project Manager
- Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital
- dianahelt@gmail.com
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BRIAN HEYBURN
- Doctoral Candidate, Disability and Human Development
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- brian.heyburn@gmail.com
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KEVIN IRVINE
- Director
- Chicago Transit Authority Board of Directors
- kirvine@transitchicago.com
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PAULETTE JAGERS
- Vice President, Managing Director, Talent Management
- BMO Harris
- Paulette.Jagers@bmo.com
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ANDRE JOHNSON
- Founder and CEO
- LiveEquipd
- andre@liveequipd.com
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STEPHANIE KANTER
- Business Support Manager
- Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
- skanter1021@gmail.com
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Nicole Kelly
- Marketing Coordinator
- Keno Kozie
- missnicolegkelly@gmail.com
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EVELYN KEOLIAN
- Children's Librarian
- Chicago Public Library
- ekeolian@chipublib.org
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Abdul Hakim Khan
- Measurement and Verification Services Manager
- Honeywell
- ahakimkhan@gmail.com
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KEVIN KNABE
- Requirements Management Engineer
- General Electric Company
- Kevin.Knabe@ge.com
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SAM KNIGHT
- Independent Living Advocate
- Disability Resource Center
- sam@drcjoliet.org
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BENJAMIN LACHMAN
- Go To Market Associate
- UnisionHQ (Based in Greater Detroit Area, Michigan)
- ben.lachman@gmail.com
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TUYET LE
- Former Executive Director
- Asian American Advancing Justice
- tuyet773@gmail.com
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MICHELE LEE
- Finance Senior Administrator, International Treasury
- Aon Corporation
- MICHELE.LEE@AON.COM
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Jason Lehmann
- QA Analyst
- Aspiritech
- jasonmlehmann@gmail.com
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Tekki Lomnicki
- Artistic Director & Co-Founder
- Tellin’ Tales Theatre
- tekkil@aol.com
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VERONICA “V” LOZANO
- Women, Infant, Youth, Children Ryan White Case Manager
- Howard Brown Health
- veronicaplozano@gmail.com
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BENJAMIN LUMICAO
- Counsel
- Allstate Insurance Company
- blumicao@allstate.com
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PATRICK MAHER
- Director of Civic Engagement
- SPR Consulting
- pat.maher@spr.com
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Shannon Maher
- Recruiting Programs Specialist
- Exelon
- shannonkwebster@gmail.com
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CHAITANYA MANCHANDA
- Information Security Risk Management
- Discover
- chaitanyamanchanda@discover.com
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Ann Manikas
- Director, Organizational Development and Learning
- American Medical Association
- Ann.Manikas@ama-assn.org
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LINDA MASTANDREA
- Director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (Based in Washington, D.C.)
- lmastand@gmail.com
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MARGARET ROSE MCDONNELL
- Director
- Disability Services at Saint Xavier University
- mairead121@comcast.net
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CHRISTINA MCGLEAM
- Assistant to the Commissioner
- Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
- christina.mcgleam@cityofchicago.org
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NORMA JANE “JANIE” MEJIAS
- Doctoral Candidate and Instructor, Disability and Human Development
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- nmejia2@uic.edu
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JOSE MENDEZ
- Diversity Consultant
- Disability Consulting Services, Inc.
- josemendez22@hotmail.com
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ANGEL MILES
- Health Policy Analyst
- Access Living
- amiles@accessliving.org
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Rosalind Moore
- Director of Programs
- Teamwork Englewood
- rmoore@teamworkenglewood.org
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DAVID ERNESTO MUNAR
- President and CEO
- Howard Brown Health
- davidm@howardbrown.org
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KATHLEEN DILLON NARKO
- Clinical Professor of Law
- Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
- k-narko@law.northwestern.edu
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ANNE NASH
- Program Manager
- anneenash@gmail.com
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KELLY O’BRIEN
- President and Founder
- Ideaction Corps
- kelly.obrien67@gmail.com
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WILLIAM O’CONNOR
- Information and Referral Specialist
- Ability Links
- william.oconnor1@outlook.com
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BENRO OGUNYIPE
- Accessibility Specialist
- State of Illinois, Department of Human Services
- naijabo@gmail.com
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RONALD OTTO
- Director of Recovery
- Thresholds Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centers
- Ronald.Otto@thresholds.org
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JOYCE OTUWA
- Staff Attorney
- Equip for Equality
- jotuwa@gmail.com
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RANDALL OWEN
- Clinical Assistant Professor, Disability and Human Development, Associate Director
- Institute on Disability and Human Development
- rowen4@uic.edu
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KANEY O’NEILL
- President and Founder
- ONeill Contractors, Inc.
- kaney@oneillcontractors.com
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ALICE PALMER
- Former Illinois State Senator
- palmer_alice99@ymail.com
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Christea Parent
- Studio Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
- The Arts of Life
- christea.parent@gmail.com
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RAHNEE PATRICK
- Director of Independent Living
- Access Living
- rpatrick@accessliving.org
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KELLY PIERCE
- Legal Assistant and Disability Specialist
- Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
- kkellyp@gmail.com
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Brenda Pino
- Vice President, North American Physical Channels Operations
- BMO Financial Group
- Brenda.pino@bmo.com
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GREG POLMAN
- Senior Vice President, Public Policy
- The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
- Greg.Polman@chicagolighthouse.org
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Christophe Quancard
- Manager, Global Employer Services
- Deloitte
- quancard@gmail.com
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MAUREEN REAGAN
- President
- MRA Architects, Ltd.
- mreagan@mra-chicago.com
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RISA RIFKIND
- Program Manager
- Chicago Community Trust
- rrifkind@cct.org
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MARY ROSENBERG
- Staff Attorney
- Access Living
- MRosenberg@accessliving.org
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JOSEPH RUSSO
- Deputy Commissioner of Compliance
- Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, City of Chicago
- Joseph.Russo@cityofchicago.org
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COURTNEY SASS
- Student Aide
- British International School of Chicago
- csass09@gmail.com
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Ann Scholhamer
- Vice President
- Brenda Borri Company
- ann@brendaborri.com
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GRISHMA SHAH
- Mass Media Consultant and Artist
- rasgoolie@gmail.com
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ATHER SHARIF
- Software Engineer
- Comcast
- ather.sharif@gmail.com
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Art Sims
- Radio Talk Show Host & Executive Producer
- WVON 1690AM - Midway Braodcasting Company
- artdsims@gmail.com
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WILLIAM SITTER
- Senior Market Analyst
- Talent Hitch
- w.sitter@yahoo.com
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SIDNEY SMITH
- Head, Global Brand Protection
- Shire
- bio.engr@comcast.net
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AMBER SMOCK
- Director of Advocacy and External Affairs
- Access Living
- asmock@accessliving.org
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Rebecca Staley
- Market Performance & Strategy Consultant
- Health Care Service Corporation
- rebecca_staley@bcbsil.com
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MARGARET SUGRUE
- Public Affairs Analyst
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois
- margaret_sugrue@bcbsil.com
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KAREN TAMLEY
- Commissioner
- Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, City of Chicago
- karen.tamley@cityofchicago.org
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Sandy Tiania
- Cost Accountant III
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
- tianias@gmail.com
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CHAD E. TURNER
- Vice President, Finance & Business Manager
- JPMorgan Chase
- cturner003@gmail.com
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CAITY-SHEA VIOLETTE
- Manager of Marketing and Communications
- caitysheaviolette@gmail.com
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JEWEL HOLLY WARE
- Owner
- Jewels of Success
- jewel@jewelsofsuccess.com
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ANDREW WEBB
- Equal Justice Works Fellow and Attorney
- Equip for Equality
- awebb2168@gmail.com
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Molly Wiesman
- Administrative Assistant
- Peters & Associates, Oak Brook
- mollywiesman@gmail.com
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MARK WILLIAMS
- Grants Manager
- United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
- mrkwllms0@gmail.com
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BRYEN YUNASHKO
- Owner
- Access 256 Productions
- hello@bryen.com