Board Of Directors - Alternatives

Fiscal Year 2023 Board of Directors

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Payal Keshvani

Attorney, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Board President

Payal focuses her practice on general corporate and transactional matters. She earned her J.D. from Emory University School of Law and her B.S., cum laude, from New York University. Payal speaks Gujarātī, an Indo-Aryan language. Payal also serves on the junior board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

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Katie Eng

Director, Experience Strategy at PwC

Board Vice President

Katie Eng has nearly 15 years of experience developing consumer-centric brand, digital and communications strategies. She is currently the VP of Growth and Innovation, at PACO Collective, an independently owned cross-cultural marketing agency. Katie received her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 2018.

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Jonathan Gortat

Assistant Director at the University of Illinois-Chicago Office of Technology Management

Board Treasurer

Jonathan Gortat is the Assistant Director at the University of Illinois-Chicago Office of Technology Management. He is responsible for managing a portfolio of technologies emanating from social impact research, engineering and medical technologies. This includes technology and market assessment, negotiation and licensing of UIC intellectual property assets for the widest public dissemination.

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Erin Killingsworth-Walker

Director, Learning and Development at OppFi

Secretary

Erin Killingsworth-Walker is passionate about enhancing the lives of others and strengthening the social fabric of society. Erin is a talent development leader and has focused her career on crafting experiences that propel careers. Erin truly has a heart for public service and is engaged in an array of organizations focused on eradicating the social ills that impact communities.

Penny Smith

President of PQ Business Services

Board Development Committee Chair

A racial equity warrior and former industrial engineer, Penny Smith is the president of PQ Business Services and a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD). She currently serves as the director of learning and impact at Erikson Institute where she leads the Policy and Leadership Department. She provides coaching to Early Childhood Leadership Academy (ECLA) alumni to operate plans via training, information sharing, policy initiatives, and fellow collaborations.

Verónica Cortez

Associate Director of Policy, Erikson Institute

Verónica is passionate about young people having every opportunity to thrive. Early in her career, she helped families and individuals access their rights as a civil rights attorney. Currently, she serves as the Associate Director of Policy at Erikson Institute where she focuses on making IL the very best place to grow up for young children and helps members of the early childhood workforce find their voice as policy change-makers.

Ron Nguyen

Finance Lead, Cushman and Wakefield

10+ years in corporate finance in Manufacturing, Publishing, Consumer Packaged Foods, and Commercial Real Estate industries. He is a passionate practitioner of Latin dances including Salsa/Mambo and Bachata. Lifelong "midwesterner" growing up in St. Louis and most recently residing in Chicago.

Baron Rush

Manager of Desktop Services at Chicago Housing Authority

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Tom Ziegenfuss

Vice-Chairman, EN Engineering

Tom Ziegenfuss has worked his entire career of 38 years in the energy industry. In 2004, Tom joined EN Engineering, LLC, and is currently Vice-Chairman. Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors for GPRS, LLC in Ohio from 2018 to 2020 and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Thayer Power and Communications, LLC in Ohio.

Randall Doubet-King

Retired

Randall is a retired ordained minister with standing in the United Church of Christ. In addition to 30 years of parish ministry Randall has provided over forty years of volunteer leadership for a variety of organizations focused on racial and economic justice, including work on organizing, housing, healthcare, and youth development. He has been a volunteer at Alternatives for nearly twenty year. This is his second rotation as a Board member having previously served from 2013 to 2020.

Rachel Pate

Manager of Civic Partnerships, Chicago United for Equity

As the Manager of Civic Partnerships, Rachel leads Chicago United for Equity’s strategy to engage key stakeholders (government, philanthropy, research, media) in organizational and systems change and creating accountability for long-term civic culture shift and transformation. Rachel is building a Racial Equity Impact Assessment sustainability pilot strategy and supporting partnership engagement as institutions work to shift power to communities.

Prior to joining CUE, Rachel worked at The Chicago Community Trust Foundation working with the Growing Household Wealth team to strategize, distribute grants, build community partners, strive for racial equity, communicate the importance of closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap, and support coordination of the initiatives and grant-making of the team.

Grace Taylor

Principal Product Designer, The Washington Post

Grace currently works at The Washington Post as a Principal Product Designer where she has the pleasure of creating engaging and impactful digital experiences. Over the last years, Grace has taken on countless opportunities, holding different titles in the design space in organizations ranging from small startups to enterprise companies, large media companies, and global & boutique agencies. Grace also took part in Alternatives as a young teen, being part of Girl World and Restorative Justice, and is truly passionate about engaging in thoughtful and meaningful work that improves communities and creates spaces where people can come together.

Nicole Milano

MSW, LCSW- Senior Account Manager, Integrated Behavioral Health, Medical Home Network, Chicago

Nicole works solely with the Westside Health Equity Collaborative, a HFS Healthcare Transformation grant. Nicole has a variety of experience in program administration and management in health care, community health, behavioral health, and addiction medicine for over 20 years. She is passionate about closing the gap on racial disparities in health outcomes and is a strong advocate for improving the health and wellbeing of impoverished and marginalized communities.

Olivia Santiago

MSW, LCSW, Clinical Psychotherapist

Olivia is a Chicago-native Licensed Clinical Social Worker that is passionate about speaking on the intersections of social, racial, and cultural inequities that disproportionately impact BIPOC. With her background in the Chicago nonprofit sector, Olivia has dedicated her career toward using her platform and educational background in Clinical Social Work to amplify the experiences and voices that deserve to be heard.

Join our Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Alternatives has term limits to ensure new perspectives and ideas are included. For this reason, we are always looking for dynamic and committed individuals interested in joining our Board.

Qualifications we are looking for…

Alignment with and understanding of Alternatives’ Mission, Vision, and Values
Understanding of Alternatives’ stance on advocacy issues and demonstrate a willingness to learn
Demonstrate self-awareness of your journey toward understanding and evaluating your own privilege
Willingness to engage with the organization outside of board meetings
Serve as an actively engaged member during a 3-year term
Regularly attend Board meetings 6 times per year
Engage via committee or task force 5-10 hours per month
Contribute to annual board member give/get: $2,500

For more information:

Learn More

If you're interested in joining the board, please fill out the interest form and someone will be in touch with you.

Interest Form

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