Our Board of Directors

Linda Blakley

Linda Blakley is the Vice President of the Office of Public Relations and Communications at DePaul University. Before joining the university's Office of Public Relations and Communication, she spent more than 25 years in corporate marketing communications. She joined DePaul from GolinHarris where she was Executive Director of Business Development. Earlier, she served as senior director of PR and brand reputation for Walmart, where she led the development and implementation of fully-integrated marketing/PR programs. Before that, Linda spent 16 years at Sears, Roebuck, and Co., serving as public relations manager, community relations manager and director of corporate public relations and reputation management. Linda has a BS in journalism and an M.S. in integrated marketing communication from Northwestern University. She is a long-time Evanstonian – her son attended Evanston schools -- and a member of St. Nicholas Church.

Susan Brenner

Susan Brenner has served the Chicagoland community through both her career and volunteer efforts. She earned a master’s degree in childhood leadership and advocacy and worked for 25 years in the field of early childhood in Evanston and as the Director of Unity Nursery School for ten years. After she retired, Sue served as President of the Childcare Network of Evanston and is currently the Disaster Chair at the Red Cross-Greater Chicago Region. As a member of the Disaster Services Client Casework team she went to New York several months after the September 11 attacks, and after Hurricane Katrina, she helped the Chicago chapter provide services to 7,500 people who came to Chicago.

Sandra Brown

 Sandra Brown has been a member of the Y.O.U. Board since 2002, when the youngest of her four children went away to college, leaving her with a little more time on her hands. She had known about Y.O.U. since the 1970s and had always heard great things about the organization. She had no doubt that it was the best place for her to spend her extra time and energy.

Sandra is a broker with Weichert Realtors-Lakeshore Partners on Central Street in Evanston. She attended Kenyon College in Ohio before taking time off to travel in Europe for eighteen months. She graduated from the School of Education at Northwestern University and taught for a short time at Haven Middle School in Evanston. She has been involved in real estate brokerage and management since 1985.

… and has seven grandkids, most of whom are all loyally and wisely living in Evanston!

Al Butkus

Al Butkus joined the Y.O.U. Board in 2011 and serves on the Executive committee and is chair of the Facilities committee. He is an engineer and a senior principal at Grumman/Butkus Associates, an Evanston-based firm that specializes in energy efficiency consulting and sustainable design engineering for buildings. He has designed and consulted for many projects around North America and has published several studies and articles in his field. Al received a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois and a Master of Management degree with honors from Northwestern University.

Al has lived in Evanston since 1975.  Previously he served on the Board of the McGaw YMCA, including a stint as Board Chair, and remains active on several committees.  He also serves as chair of the Advisory Board of Senior Connections, an Evanston non-profit that provides visitation of isolated older adults by caring volunteers.  He and his wife Ellen have three children: Matthew, Abigail, and Gwendolyn, who all attended Evanston schools and still live in the Chicago area. In his free time, Al enjoys road biking and traveling with his family.

Marty Cless

Ann Covode

Ann has spent many years volunteering in the Evanston Schools with the coordination of artist-in-residence programs at Oakton and Chute Schools and tutoring at Oakton School. With a focus on helping disadvantaged youth, Ann founded a non-profit called KIDS Global Network, Inc. that funded a library in South Africa for school children and funded local arts programs in Chicago Public Schools. Ann currently serves as a commissioner for the Ridgeville Park District in South Evanston and works part-time at Title Nine, a sports apparel store in Evanston.

Ann has lived in Evanston for 23 years with her husband and three daughters. She now serves on the Y.O.U. Board because she thinks it is important to support the underserved youth in our community and she believes that Y.O.U. does a great job at inspiring and supporting our youth.

David Cutter

David Cutter joined the Y.O.U. Board in 2012. David is a Chicago-based partner with Troutman Sanders, LLP and focuses his practice on insurance matters and complex commercial disputes. David’s wife, Julie, is an Evanston native, and they have lived in Evanston since 2003. Their two children, Ali and Zach, attend Evanston’s Dewey Elementary School. David and Julie are Co-Chairs of the Noah’s Playground for Everyone Committee, which raised funds to build a handicapped-accessible playground at Lawson Park in Evanston and to provide an accessible route to the washrooms at the playground and onto nearby Lighthouse Beach. Although David is not a native Evanstonian, he can often be heard telling people what a great place Evanston is to live. David was introduced to Y.O.U. by two friends and was immediately inspired by the wonderful work that Y.O.U does for kids in Evanston and by the amazing qualities of Y.O.U.’s leadership and staff. David gladly accepts the privilege of serving on the Y.O.U. Board to provide him with the opportunity to contribute in some small measure to Y.O.U and to the betterment of the Evanston community. 

Matthew English

Matthew is a strategic business partner responsible for HR leadership with Exelon. He and his team are responsible for development and implementation of organizational strategies that help drive successful execution of business strategies.   

Prior to his current position, Matthew served as Director, HR Operations with Exelon.  He also had generalist and manager roles at ComEd where he worked jointly with the senior executive team to provide expertise on employee development, compensation/benefits, labor relations, organizational development, and change management. Earlier positions were with Baxter International and Sears.   

Matthew has been on the Y.O.U.  Workplace Excellence Committee for a year and has organized volunteer experiences for his team at Exelon to contribute to Y.O.U. He raised his children here in Evanston and is an active member of the community.

Mary Finnegan

Mary and her husband, Paul, have lived in Evanston since 1988. All three of their children graduated from ETHS. Mary joined Y.O.U.’s Board of Directors in 2015 because she believes that the organization plays a critical role in closing the achievement and opportunity gap for youth in Evanston and Skokie. Prior to board service, she became a member of the Y.O.U. Capital Campaign Steering Committee and has been a member of the Y.O.U. Community Counsel since 2013. Mary currently also serves on the Board of Evanston Scholars where she also mentors two of their Scholars. Preceding that, Mary served on the Board of the Evanston Community Foundation for nine years. Mary graduated from Indiana University where she received an M.A. in Language and Speech Pathology. Eventually, she changed careers and worked in marketing for LEXIS/NEXIS legal and news database prior to raising her children.

Shelley Gates

Shelley Gates has served as Chair of the Career and Technical Education Department at Evanston Township High School for more than 10 years. She oversees all aspects of the department including supervision and evaluation of 14 teachers; program development and implementation, including Geometry in Construction and the Project Lead the Way Engineering Program; community partnerships including industry-based advisory committees; adoption of new courses and instructional materials; and professional development in the areas of Project Based Learning (PBL), workplace readiness skills, disciplinary literacy, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).  She is a member of the ETHS District Equity Leadership Team.

Prior to her career in education, Shelley worked as the School-to-Work Coordinator for the Construction Industry Corporation, a Gender Equity Consultant for the Illinois State Board of Education, the Education and Development Director at Chicago Women in the Trades, and held various positions at Women Employed.  Shelley has a BA from Western Washington University and an MA from the University of Chicago.  She completed courses leading to teacher certification at DePaul University at the age of 40. 

Rachel Hayman

Rachel Hayman has lived in and been an active member of the Evanston community for almost 30 years. After receiving her Masters in English (with distinction) from Indiana University, Rachel worked as an Editor at World Book Encyclopedia and then attended law school at Northwestern University before suspending her studies upon the birth of her first child. Over the years, Rachel has worked in communications, training, and education at Mead Data Central, Presbyterian Homes, and Evanston Township High School.

Rachel’s three children (all now college graduates) attended D65 schools and graduated from ETHS.  In 2005 Rachel was elected to the first of two four-year terms on the District 202 Board of Education, serving from 2009-2011 as President of the Board. Rachel has also served as a member of the Board of the YWCA Evanston-North Shore for over a decade and was a founding member of the YWCA’s Racial Justice Committee. Rachel also serves as a member of the advisory council of the Youth Job Center in Evanston and is a docent at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie.

Rachel joined the Board of Y.O.U. in 2013 and is a member of the Program Committee.

Richard Hubbard

Richard Hubbard currently serves as Secretary of Y.O.U. Board of Directors and is a member of the Y.O.U. Executive Committee. Rick recently retired after a long career with Pfizer, Inc., most recently serving as the Executive Director of Global Research and Development and External Medical Affairs. Rick earned a Doctorate of Medicine from Harvard University, specializing in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases, and Clinical Research. Additionally, Rick holds an undergraduate from Harvard University College. Rick is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Campaign for Public Health (Washington DC), member of the Board of Trustees of the Evanston Historical Society, member of the Northwestern University Biomedical Institutional Review Board and formerly a Board member of the Flip Flop Foundation, whose mission was to provide assistance to youth in Zambia. He is the father of two children, Shanti and Eric, who are happy, successful graduates of the Evanston public school system.

Eamon Kelly

Eamon is a partner at Sperling & Slater, PC, a litigation firm in Chicago. Eamon previously served as the chief-of-staff of the Illinois State Board of Education and as an aide in the Illinois Governor’s Office.

Eamon was born and raised in Evanston. He participated in Y.O.U.’s program when he attended Nichols Middle School.

Eamon currently serves as the elected Democratic Committeemen for Evanston Township.

John Koski

John Koski joined the Board of Directors in 2004. He is a litigation partner in the Chicago office of SNR Denton US LLP, where he serves as General Counsel and Global Chief Legal Officer. In 2004, the Law Bulletin Publishing Company named John one of the “40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch”. He attended college at Vanderbilt University and received his JD from the University of Miami Law School.

After finishing law school, John moved to Chicago in the early ‘90s, and he and his wife Lorena (a “recovering lawyer”) moved to Evanston in 2004 to raise their two daughters, who both currently attend Orrington Elementary. A client introduced John to Y.O.U., and he knew that the organization was the perfect way to get involved with the community of Evanston.

Paul Lehman

Paul and his wife Ronna Stamm are very proud to have been Evanston residents for nearly 35 years. Paul began his career as a social worker in 1975.  For five years, he was the director of a Chicago youth service agency that helped inner-city teenagers with social issues and substance abuse.  His early interest in youth issues and his commitment to Evanston were two important factors contributing to his current involvement in Y.O.U.

In 1980, Paul joined his family’s business, Fel-Pro, Inc.  A recognized leader in automotive parts, Fel-Pro was also known for its progressive human resources practices and was consistently ranked as one of the Top 10 Companies to Work for in the United States by Fortune and Working Mother magazines.  Paul was involved in purchasing, human resources, strategic planning, and sales and marketing.

After Fel-Pro’s sale in 1998, Paul combined his passions for travel, the outdoors, and physical activity with his experience in the business.  For the next 10 years, Paul joined forces with Dan Austin to create Austin-Lehman Adventures.  As Managing Director, Paul was primarily involved in sales and marketing, customer and quality service improvement, governance, and trip development.  Paul is particularly proud that Austin-Lehman achieved a status similar to his family’s business when in 2009 the readers of Travel and Leisure Magazine named ALA the Number One Tour Operator in the World.  In 2011, Paul established Paul Lehman Adventure Travel, which provided consulting services to nonprofits and travel companies.

Now, Paul is retired, focusing on the activities he loves most—time with his family, attending movies and theater, traveling, cooking, skiing, hiking, and being involved in the communities in which he lives, including community and social justice organizations and cultural institutions in the Chicago area and in Telluride, CO where he and his wife have a second home.

Paul received his BA from Middlebury College in 1972, an MA in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago in 1975, and an MBA in 2008 from the Kellogg Executive Management Program at Northwestern University.

Leslie Lehner

Leslie Lehner has lived in Evanston for 35 years and is an active community volunteer.  She served on various PTA Boards and committees as her children progressed through Districts 65 and 202, as well as the Booster Board at ETHS, and held several positions on the Board of the Wildkit Swimming Organization where all three of her children swam on the age-group swimming team.  She is also an active member of Northminster Presbyterian Church and has served as a member of the McGaw YMCA Board of Directors, chairing both the Financial Development Committee as well as the Nominating Committee.

Leslie has a Masters degree in Speech/Language Pathology and worked for many years as a Speech/Language Pathologist before taking a break to spend more time with her children.  Once all children were in college, Leslie returned to the work force as Internship Coordinator for an off-campus urban semester program where she helped secure unpaid internships for college juniors and seniors.

Leslie joined the Y.O.U. Board in 2013 and serves on the program committee.  She enjoys spending time with her husband, Paul, their children, and grandchildren as well as traveling, reading, the theatre, and gardening.    

Peter Lewis

Peter is the Managing Partner of LFL Advisers, a private investment partnership that is based in Evanston. He grew up in Evanston, attending the public elementary, middle, and high schools. After a 23-year hiatus, he returned in 2012 with his wife Rachel and their two young children. Peter’s older child, as well as his two nieces, attend District 65 schools. Peter graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School. From 2002 to 2007, while living in San Diego, Peter served on and eventually led the Board of the Barrio Logan College Institute, a non-profit that shares many of Y.O.U.’s core goals. Peter was proud to join the Y.O.U. Board in 2014.

Letita Mann

Letitia was drawn to Y.O.U.’s mission after seeing first-hand the singular impact of Y.O.U.’s services and programs. She has served on the Y.O.U. Community Counsel since 2015, which has deepened her understanding and support of the scope of Y.O.U’s mission. Prior to her involvement with Y.O.U., Letitia developed skills in non-profit governance as a board member at Baker Demonstration School during its transition to an independent pre-K-8 school. She served as Board Chair for three years among many other key leadership roles in a period of high growth. She is a member of Evanston Community Foundation’s 2017 Leadership Evanston class, and her group project focused on understanding childhood trauma and improving outcomes for youth with trauma.

Letitia’s professional experience includes commercial banking, as well as executive leadership roles in marketing and sales for Xerox. She graduated with a B.A. in German and Economics from Bryn Mawr College and an MBA in Marketing from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Letitia and her husband Jeff have been Evanston residents since 2001 and have two children, one of whom is an ETHS Class of 2017 graduate, and the other will be a 9th grader at ETHS in the fall of 2017. Letitia is excited to participate in Y.O.U.’s work to ensure more equitable outcomes for all children locally.

Adele Martel

David Marzahl

David Marzahl serves as President of the Center for Economic Progress. David is a leading national voice and strategist on economic security issues, seeking to advance policies and practices to create a financial system that works for all Americans. In addition to his work with CEP, he helped establish the National Community Tax Coalition in 2003, which is a group of over 600 organizations that work to promote the economic progress of low-wage workers and their families. Prior to joining CEP in 1998, he was the founding director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights, a statewide coalition promoting the rights and responsibilities of immigrants and refugees. He has worked in Chicago's non-profit community since 1981, serving as a community organizer, outreach worker and leader overcoming barriers and boundaries in the pursuit of social and economic justice. David holds a Master’s degree in Political Economy from Northwestern University and a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  

Nicki Pearson

Nicki Pearson has been a Board member since 2006 and is currently a member of the Executive, Finance, Governance, and Advancement Committees at Y.O.U. She has been involved in the Evanston community for many years. Nicki’s biggest passion is kids. In 1982 she co-founded Rose Hall Montessori Preschool in Wilmette. When her son was a student at ETHS, Nicki was active in the PTSA and served as a volunteer on many committees.

Over the years Nicki has been a member of the Board of Directors of several Evanston nonprofit organizations whose work is focused on meeting the needs of children, including the McGaw YMCA, Warren Cherry Scholarship Fund, and Childcare Network of Evanston. She has also served on numerous committees for the City of Evanston. Nicki considers herself to be a serious political junkie, having been involved in many municipal and school board election campaigns.

Nicki and her husband, Greg, have been proud Evanston residents for 48 years. Their son, Matthew, is a graduate of ETHS and is currently practicing law in Colorado. Nicki is crazy about dogs and would love to find time to volunteer at the Evanston Animal Shelter sometime in the future.

Tracy Quattrocki

Tracy has been active in the Evanston public schools for the past fifteen years. When the first of her four children entered kindergarten, she began volunteering in the classroom and eventually became PTA president at Dewey Elementary. Tracy then served on the D65 School Board for eight years, three as President (2013-2016). Tracy is involved in Evanston’s Cradle to Career initiative as part of the Literacy Committee, which focuses on building bridges between early childhood education and D65. During her tenure on the school board, she came to appreciate how indispensable Y.O.U.’s work is in our community. Tracy believes that the past few years have been remarkable as YOU’s relationship with the schools has broadened and deepened, and she has seen this organization grow as a vital source of support for the children in our community. 

Although she moved to Evanston at sixteen, she still considers herself a lifelong Evanstonian. After graduating from ETHS, she earned a BA from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature from Yale University. She then moved back to Evanston after marrying a fellow Evanstonian, Neal Brady, to raise their four children, all of whom are either current or former students in Evanston’s public schools. Tracy first learned about Y.O.U. from her brother-in-law, Chip Brady, over twenty years ago. Although first as merely a spectator, she has since had the privilege of working with Y.O.U. in her capacity on the school board. Tracy now looks forward to deepening her involvement with this remarkable organization.

Tom Scott

Tom Scott has been a Board member since 2010 and is currently the President of the Board.  In 2012 he retired as the Senior VP of Life and Group Operations at CNA Insurance in Chicago. His early career was spent at Washington National Insurance Company in Evanston where he served for a number of years as the company's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary.

Tom was born in Evanston and has lived here since 2002. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston where he chairs the Audit Committee.  He is active in Evanston’s First United Methodist Church and volunteers his time in their soup kitchen and on their Church Council and Finance committees. He also volunteers tax preparation services for low-income families and works with the homeless at the Interfaith Action of Evanston welcome center.

Tom graduated from the University of Michigan (and is still a diehard Wolverines football fan— Go Blue!). He has been married to his college sweetheart, Maryellen, for 46 years, and they have two adult children.

Michael Turner

Michael Turner owns Senior Helpers of Niles-Lincolnwood, a home services agency providing in-home care for seniors and disabled adults. Prior to opening Senior Helpers, Michael was Director, Product Management at AT&T. He has an extensive background in sales and marketing, with the last 10 years focused primarily on product development, marketing, and sales operations. Prior to joining AT&T, Michael spent four years in National Sales for MCI and eight years in strategic business development for Systems & Computer Technology Corporation, educational software and IT outsourcing firm in Philadelphia. Michael moved to Evanston from Philadelphia in 1995 with his wife, Janet, and daughter, Savannah. He is currently a Board member of the Lincolnwood and Edgebrook Chamber of Commerce, past chairman of the Men’s Ministry at Second Baptist Church, a founding member of The Coalition for Drug Abuse, a former a YMCA SOAR mentor and a member of the 2012 Leadership Evanston class.

Zach Williams

Zach Williams became a Board member since he saw firsthand the impact that Y.O.U. had in his children’s school in Skokie.  Zach is a former school Board member and President of Skokie/Morton Grove School District 69.  He is an attorney in private practice focusing on the representation of children in child custody cases.  Prior to entering private practice, Zach worked for many years at the Cook County Office of the Public Guardian where he exclusively represented children.  He is the father of Hannah and John and a longtime resident of Skokie; his wife, Laura, has taught in Skokie for over 20 years. Both Zach and Laura are committed to equality for children and Skokie’s ethnically diverse community. 

Cindy Wilson

Cindy Wilson is  a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Bluhm Legal Clinic Center on Externships  at  Northwestern University School of Law.   Cindy teaches classes including the Public Interest Practicum, the Judicial Practicum, Legal Ethics, and Pro Bono in Large Law Firms.  She also advises law students who wish to pursue careers in public interest law.   Before she joined the law school in 2000, Cindy was the Director of the Employment Opportunity Project at the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, where she worked on class action employment discrimination cases and other civil rights litigation and policy efforts.  Cindy started her legal career at Sachnoff & Weaver and also served as a law clerk to the late Honorable Seymour Simon of the Illinois Supreme Court.   She is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and Knox College. She and her husband Chip Peters have two children, Sarah and Dylan, who are proud graduates of the Evanston public school system and are now attending Williams College and Middlebury College. Cindy was an active volunteer in the Evanston schools, serving as PTA President at Washington Elementary and then Nichols Middle School and as a member of the ETHS Boosters Board.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the ACLU of Illinois.

Margie Morrison Zivin

Margie Morrison Zivin has been a member of the Board since 2005 and serves on the Program Committee. She also volunteers as a clinical consultant to the Y.O.U. counseling staff. Service at Y.O.U. runs in the Zivin family—Margie’s husband Mark is a former Y.O.U. Board member and received the Lora and Todd Wheeler Award for sustaining support and volunteering, and her son Jake has volunteered for Y.O.U.’s summer high school program.

Margie is a licensed clinical social worker who has been practicing psychotherapy since 1976. Margie was a clinical supervisor of graduate students and staff at the Child Psychiatry Clinic at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Also at the University of Chicago, Margie was co-founder and clinical case coordinator of the Parent-Infant Development Service, an early intervention clinical research project. She also worked for three years as a clinical consultant for the City of Chicago Department of Human Services’ Headstart Programs, evaluating and referring children and consulting with classroom teachers.

Margie and Mark have twin sons, Jake and Sam, who are very proud to have grown up in Evanston. Margie can be seen power-walking up the Evanston lakefront every morning with her dog.

Jonathan Baum

Jonathan Baum has served on the Y.O.U. Board since 1990, when longtime Y.O.U. Board member and supporter Ned Lauterbach told him that there was no greater way he could contribute to the Evanston community than through Y.O.U. Ned was so right! Jonathan became an Associate Board member during his term on the District 65 Board of Education (2003-07) and currently serves on the District 202 Board of Education. An attorney with the law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Jonathan serves as Director of Pro Bono Services. Jonathan grew up in Evanston, and he and his wife Bonnie are raising their four children here.

Chip Brady

Chip Brady has been on the Y.O.U. Board of Directors for 15 years, and served in many capacities, including three years as Board President.

Chip has a lifelong connection to Evanston—he grew up here and taught for 18 years in the History and Social Science department at Evanston Township High School. As a neighbor and teacher, Chip was drawn to Y.O.U. because he saw first-hand the work that was being done by the organization. He was impressed with a staff that went so much further than just keeping kids occupied—they helped the kids grow and be challenged. His mother is a former Board member as well.

Chip is also the co-founder and president of The DBQ Project, an educational publishing and consulting group dedicated to working with teachers and students on historical inquiry and writing. He and his wife, Katie, who is a pediatrician, have four daughters who are all current or former students in Evanston’s public schools. Despite his lifelong connection to the North Side, Chip is a White Sox fan.

Craig Collinson

Craig serves on Y.O.U.'s Associate Board and is a member of the Finance Committee. His first involvement with Y.O.U. was as a volunteer in an after-school golf program for middle school students.

Craig has lived in Evanston since 1978. After growing up in a small town in Kansas, he came to Chicago for graduate school in business at the University of Chicago. He retired after 33 years in commercial banking in Chicago – the last 23 with US Bank.

Married 34 years to Kate, Craig has two adult children. Besides enjoying golf, Craig is an avid runner—he has completed 11 marathons to date, including Boston three times.

Jim Hagedorn

Jim Hagedorn serves on Y.O.U.'s Associate Board and Community Counsel. He is a veterinarian and hospital director of Bramer Animal Hospital Ltd. and has practiced in Evanston since 1985. Jim has been active in organized veterinary medicine, serving as a president and currently a life member of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association; and is a member of the Illinois Veterinary Medical Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Animal Hospital Association. Jim also serves as Executive Committee chair of the Veterinary Management Group 4.

Mark Hall

Mark grew up on the east coast. He came to Chicago to obtain his MBA from the University of Chicago and decided to stay. He moved to Evanston in 1977.

He and his son were part of an Indian Guides tribe that included Y.O.U.'s founder Don Baker.  He and his family moved to Glenview in 1997, but Mark has continued his support of Y.O.U. He joined the Y.O.U. Board in fall of 2009 and chairs Y.O.U.'s Finance Committee.

Prior to his retirement at the end of 2008, Mark spent 31 years as a strategic and financial advisor to not-for-profit healthcare organizations of all types throughout the country. In 1985, he co-founded Kaufman, Hall & Associates, Inc., which is counted among the country’s most respected independent strategic financial and capital markets consultants serving the healthcare industry.

Since his retirement, Mark has come to appreciate life outside of airplanes and hotels. He keeps himself busy with reading and coursework in history, religion and science, karate and other athletic pursuits, involvement in service organizations, and care of his five dogs. So far his family remains glad to have him around more, and he is hoping that his tennis game will improve sufficiently that his wife Shelley will play with him.

He and Shelley have six mostly grown children, Brandon, Megan, Caitlin, JP, Sam, and Michael. Cats, fish and a lizard round out the Hall menagerie.

Barbara Hiller

Barbara Hiller serves on the Governance and Personnel Committees. She has lived in Evanston since 1969 and is currently a principal coach for the Consortium for Educational Change in Illinois. Barbara previously served as co-chair of Program Committee on Foundation 65 and as Interim Chief Education Officer of District 65. Barbara also served as principal of Nichols Middle School for 12 years.

Barbara retired as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in District 65. She also served as a consultant to the University of Chicago Everyday Mathematics development project. As a Peace Corps volunteer in the early years of the program, Barbara taught mathematics at the Philippines Normal College, training new teachers and providing staff development throughout the country.

Betsy Hohman

Betsy Hohman became a Board member in 2005 after attending a benefit for Y.O.U. and being amazed by the work that the organization was doing for Evanston’s youth. Y.O.U.’s “It Takes a Village” philosophy resonated with Betsy and she decided it was a great place to spend some of her time and energy. She is a Vice President at Blueleaf Lending where she works in mortgage lending. Before ending up in finance, she received a degree in Retailing from Miami University of Ohio.

Betsy grew up in Dayton, Ohio, but has lived in Evanston for the past 22 years. In addition to her work at Y.O.U., Betsy has served on Evanston’s Preservation Commission (motivated by her love of old houses and architecture), and Northwestern Neighbors. She is a regular at the Evanston Athletic Club. Betsy and her husband Don have one daughter, Jane, who attends Northwestern University's master's program in speech pathology.

Marti Lannert

Marti Lannert is a member of the Program Committee and has served on Y.O.U.’s Board since 2002. She taught at Chiaravalle Montessori School in Evanston for over 20 years before retiring from teaching in 2005.

Marti grew up in Glenview and has lived in Evanston since 1976. She was introduced to Y.O.U. while on Northminster Presbyterian Church’s Mission and Society Committee.  Marti was a member of Invest and served on the board of Evanston’s “I Have a Dream” project, a program co-sponsored by Northminster and St. Matthew’s churches.  Currently, Marti is a member of the Garden Club of Evanston, the Highland Garden Club, and serves as a commissioner on the Board of Commissioners of the Lighthouse Park District of Evanston.

Marti and her husband George have two grown daughters, Courtney and Kerry, who attended Evanston public schools. Marti and George enjoy going on bike trips, doing triathlons and cross-country running and downhill skiing. 

Betsy Sagan

Betsy Sagan, a member of the Governance Committee, has lived in Evanston for over 16 years. She has served on the District 65 school board.

Kent Swanson

Kent Swanson a member of the Associate Board. He is the Chief Financial Officer at Newcastle Limited, a real estate development and investment firm. He received a BS in Economics from Duke University and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Kent has lived in Evanston for 22 years, before recently moving to Chicago. In addition to his work on the Y.O.U. Board, Kent has also served on the Boards of the Civic Federation, Chiaravalle Montessori School, Lutheran Social Services, Evanston Inventure, and the Evanston History Center.

Michael Weston

Michael Weston served on the Y.O.U. Board in 1996-2006 and was president in 1998-2001. He was again elected to the Board in 2011. Mike worked at Northwestern University for 28 years, serving as the University's chief legal officer for twenty of those years and retiring as vice president and general counsel in 2001. Mike was very active in the National Association of College and University Attorneys; he was that organization's president in 1995-96, was accorded Life Membership, and is a recipient of its Distinguished Service Award.  He received his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his JD from the University of Michigan.

Mike's other community activities include being vice president for governance of the Evanston History Center, and a member of the ETHS School Improvement Team. Mike has also volunteered with the Jazz Institute of Chicago, reflecting his long-held passion for the music.

Mike and his family have lived in Evanston since 1973. His wife Mary Ann, now retired, taught at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. She is a member of the Evanston League of Women Voters, and of the Alumnae of Northwestern, which conducts extensive community continuing education programs. Mary Ann and Mike’s sons Christopher and Matthew went to school in Evanston at Willard, Haven, and ETHS. 

Jackie Quern Berry

Basil Clunie

Matthew Cohen

Thomas Cook

Fay Godman

John Hamal

Roland J. Hinz

Horton Kellogg

Robert P. Magee

Sam Pettineo

Barbara Putta

Mary Anne Snyder

Emory W. Williams