STAFF

2009-2010 Executive Board Members

John Mulherin, President

John Mulherin is a 16 year resident of Glen Ellyn. He is a founding principal of, and now "of-counsel" to Mulherin, Rehfeldt &Varchetto PC, attorneys in Wheaton. John has been a member of the Board of Directors of Glen Ellyn Children's Resource Center since it was incorporated in 2004. John received a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in 1964 and a Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University in 1967. John is married to Dr. Sara Bonkowski and they are the parent of four children.

Celia Rodee, Secretary

Celia Rodee is an 18 year resident of Glen Ellyn. Celia works for JPMorgan Chase managing a global shared services Knowledge Management team. Celia is a graduate of Cornell University and holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Celia has served on a number of non profit boards. In addition, Celia served as Get out the Vote Chair for the successful D41 “Fund our Future” campaign in 2001 and is active on a number of committees and with PADS at the First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn.

Celia and her husband Peter Cooper have 4 children, all of whom attended Lincoln Elementary School and have been supporters of the Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center since it was founded.

Kasey Sanders O'Connell, Treasurer

Kasey Sanders O'Connell is a 14-year resident of Glen Ellyn. Kasey has been a volunteer with a number of organizations in Glen Ellyn, Including Abraham Lincoln PTA, Glen Ellyn Junior Woman's Club and Glen Ellyn Baseball. Kasey is a graduate of the University of Chicago and has been a member of the GECRC board since it's founding in 2004. She and her husband, Michael, have six children.

Kathy Schmidt, Chairman of Fund raising

Kathy Schmidt is a 24-year resident of Glen Ellyn. She has been active supporting the schools in Glen Ellyn as a district 41 board member for 12 years, a district 87 board member for 6 years and for the last nine years, she has been a Special Education teacher in Glen Ellyn elementary district 89. Kathy received her undergraduate degree in Education of the Exceptional Child from Penn State University. In addition, she received a law degree from Villanova University. She and her husband, David have two children who attended Glen Ellyn public schools.

Carol McElvain, Chairman of Operations

Carol McElvain is a 15-year resident of Glen Ellyn. Carol works for the Learning Point Associates, a not-for-profit educational research organization. She is recognized as an expert on quality after-school programming. Trained as a lawyer, Carol has worked as an advocate for special needs children and has been a member of the District 41 School Board. Carol and her husband, Pete, have two teenagers. She has been a GECRC board member since 2007.

MaryBeth Sackett, Chairman of Community Awareness

MaryBeth Sackett is a 20 year resident of Glen Ellyn and joined the board of the GECRC in 2009. MaryBeth has been a volunteer with the local schools, the 1st Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn, and is currently working on setting the record for most consecutive years at Forest Glen Elementary school (17!)! She received her Master of Science in Advertising from the University of Illinois. MaryBeth and her husband, Robb, have five children.

Board Members

Jeanna Essick, Annual Fund Chair

Jeanna is a 15 year resident of Glen Ellyn She has been active supporting many organizations including serving as Refugee Team Leader at Blanchard Alliance Church and working with World Relief to sponsor a refugee family from Burma. She has also worked as List Serve Manager for the Refugee Service Providers Network and as a Children's Area Coordinator for Bible Study Fellowship International. Jeanna is a graduate of the University of Illinois where she earned a Masters of Business Administration. She has been a member of the GECRC board since 2007.

Lisa Tylke, Grant Writer

Lisa Tylke is a non-profit management consultant with a background in arts and association management. Her specialty is working with small to mid-sized arts organizations in the areas of organizational development, evaluation, strategic planning, board development and fund raising. Ms. Tylke has worked with over 40 non-profit organizations and foundations She and her family reside in Glen Ellyn and her daughter attends school in District 41. Lisa has served as PTA President for Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and continues to be an active PTA volunteer. Ms. Tylke holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Utah and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Cleo Burtis

Cleo Burtis is a 22-year resident of Glen Ellyn, returning to the village where she grew up to raise her family with husband Jim Comerford. She is a graduate of Duke University and an active volunteer in the community. Jim and Cleo have four children and five grandchildren.

GECRC is proud of our leadership and organization. In addition to three paid positions that run our after school programs, we have a well defined Executive Board that advises and supports the organization This structure results in strong services for our kids.

Led by a full-time Program Director, the children of the GECRC can thrive. A part time Literacy Coordinator and English Language Coordinator continue to support and develop our programs.

The Executive Board meets monthly to review daily operations and provides Fundraising, Marketing, Operations and Financial assistance.

Below are profiles of the individuals who make the GECRC work.

Katie Galli-Holden

Executive Board

Program Director

Katie Galli-Holden began working with the GECRC team in June 2009 as the English Language Coordinator before moving to the position of Program Director in August 2010. Katie holds a B.A. in History from Scripps College (Claremont, CA). Her broad work and volunteer experiences have given her familiarity, practice, and skill working with English Language Learners and diverse communities around the US and internationally. Most recently, she served as US Business Manager for Hand & Cloth, a not-for-profit organization supporting at-risk women in Calcutta, India. Previously, Katie has worked as a Site Coordinator for Kaplan K12 Learning Services in Pomona, CA and International Education Coordinator for Opportunity International. Katie has also spent time in Costa Rica working with Habitat for Humanity as a Communications Officer. Katie is a 20 year resident of Glen Ellyn.

Lauren Sempsrott

Literacy and Volunteer Coordinator

Lauren Sempsrott joined the GECRC team in January 2010. Miss Sempsrott is a graduate student at Wheaton College and has several years of teaching experience. With a passion for working with children and a desire to learn alongside them, Miss Sempsrott is excited for all that this year has to offer. She lived in Honduras for a year, teaching English to children and young adults, and more recently taught Spanish to kindergarten and preschool students at Little Palms Academy in Vero Beach, FL.

Monica Lightner

ELL Coordinator

Monica Lightner joined the GECRC as a volunteer in September, 2010. She worked in the business world for many years prior to starting in her current position in January 2011. She is also currently taking early childhood classes at the College of DuPage and holds a B.A. in history from Western Illinois University.