Pat has been writing poetry for years and she graciously shared her poems with us to share to everyone. She has many notebooks filled with poems from over the years and we are lucky enough to have her share one with us.  To Turn A PageBy: Pat DiNardo In comes January and all is newWhat’s the noise so loud and trueNo one has the slightest clueIt’s just in time and that’s the rule. I hear laughter in the windBaby New Year rushes inRattles, bottles, and diaper pinsLots of smiles and funny grins. Now to change the old to newAll for glory, red white…

Spruce Manor is a 15-unit facility that houses persons over 18 years of age with a disability. We currently have a young man living here whose name is Willie. Willie became blind at the age of 15 and became deaf as a freshman in college – he is now 39 years old. Prior to moving to Spruce Manor, Willie lived with his parents in Chicago. In 2010 he started learning sign language and because of the complexity of American Sign Language, his family had difficulty picking up the signs. This made for a huge communication barrier between Willie and his…

Advisory Council Memeber Vice President, JPMorgan Chase Julie Kraft is a seasoned and versatile risk manager with over 20 years’ experience in banking. As a Vice President Client Credit Manager in J.P. Morgan’s asset-backed securitization business, she manages the risk aspects of a $5 billion portfolio of complex esoteric asset classes funded within the firm’s multi-seller conduits. Her 16 years’ securitization experience includes both “risk-on” and “risk-off” environments, and she has a proven ability to shift seamlessly between offense and defense. The wide range of asset classes covered during her career include trade receivables, fleet lease, insurance premium finance, rental…

Advisory Council Member Executive Director, Westside Institute for Science and Education, Jesse Brown, VA Kevin states that “belief and faith that I can be an agent of change in the lives of those we serve. those who served and continue to serve others” is the reason he’s an advocate for VOA of IL.

secretary Emily Sherrer is an attorney at Cboe Global Markets, where she leads the company’s efforts in licensing market data and analytics to customers in the finance and FinTech spaces. With more than 20 years of experience in the legal field, Emily has developed expertise in a variety of areas, including intellectual property, licensing agreements, and global sanctions compliance. She excels at finding creative solutions to complex issues, and is determined to help her clients find a way to “yes” in seemingly impossible situations. She is known to be thoughtful, decisive, direct, and unafraid to engage in the crucial conversations…

Treasurer, finance/investment committee chair Matthew (Matt) Barden is Managing Director and Group Head, Specialty Sectors for BMO U.S. Treasury & Payment Solutions Sales Team. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing a national team of cash and liquidity management sales consultants focused on advising corporate clients on optimizing their working capital and implementing more efficient payment processing solutions. The Treasury & Payment Solutions group offer a full suite of solutions to help clients take control of their cash flow, including tools to help streamline payments and collections processes, as well as services that provide the information client need to…

Director, board development committee chair Brandon LeFlore-Nemeth currently serves as an Executive Officer with the VA Office of Inspector General, Division for Healthcare Inspections. Brandon served five years in the Army prior to joining the Hines VA Hospital in the Greater Chicago area. There, he served in various roles from 2007 – 2015. He then moved to Yokosuka, Japan, serving as the Health System Specialist and Analytics Manager with the Directorate for Healthcare Business at United States Naval Hospital Yokosuka. In that position, he provided oversight to three business managers and more than 30 clinic managers and department heads across…

Director Edwin is an Assistant Commissioner in the City of Chicago, Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, where he oversees the grant programs of the Small Business Advocacy Unit. With over 15 years as a public administrator, an MSC from Northwestern University, and former business owner, Edwin is an experienced leader and an entrepreneurship advocate. As a Filipino immigrant who grew up in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, Edwin is passionate about programs and initiatives that support the needs of historically underserved communities. He currently resides in Chicago with his wife and daughter.

Director Derrick Cabrera is a long-time resident of Chicago with a B.S. in Business Management and completing his Masters of Science in Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of law. Derrick has over 20 years of consulting non-profits on community initiatives and consulting emerging community leaders on political strategies for their political futures.

vice chair Allecia is a nonprofit advisor, strategist, trainer, and facilitator on leadership and growth.  She’s also the CEO and Principal Consultant for IntuWork, a leading provider of organizational consulting and training services.  She leads a team of specialists who help nonprofit executives build intuitive workplace cultures. In addition, Allecia serves as the vice-chair of the board of VOA Illinois, secretary of the board for PJB Village Mentoring, and is a member of the board of the Association of Consultants to Nonprofits.  Allecia holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science…