Heal Chicago Board

VISION FOR THE BOARD

Board members help initiate and champion programs that engage diverse participants from corporate, non-profit and community organizations to come together in a learning environment with a common goal of developing a healthier civic, corporate and personal culture.

JEANNE MCINERNEY - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jeanne Mcinerney is the founder of Align2020 and is a diversity, inclusion and social justice practitioner and advocate. Mcinerney grew up on the south side of Chicago during times of rapid racial change. The events of the time inspired her to study human behavior. She obtained a B.S. degree from Northwestern in Organizational Behavior and a M.A. from DePaul in Intercultural Communication. Jeanne served as director of Development and Programs for Healing Racism Chicago Southland for 14 years facilitating classes for over a thousand community members, police departments, schools and churches. Currently Jeanne teaches Heal Chicago programs through her company Align2020. She is certified as a professional mediator and administrator of multiple assessments for personal and professional development.

AAVIK PAKRASI - PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD

Aavik Pakrasi serves on the Chief-of-staff team to the President at Worldpay, where he supports strategic oversight and communication for the President of Worldpay, manages organizational corporate governance, supports engagement and culture building, and executes on special projects. Prior to his current role, he was a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Aavik’s guiding principles are community, empathy and inclusion. He is an active member of his local Logan Square neighborhood. He received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Johns Hopkins University, where he co-founded Hopkins Undergraduates for Harm Reduction. He aims to bridge people together and empower people to build the fabric of community. In his spare time, he enjoys playing music, traveling and petting dogs.

NICK FERRELL - Secretary

Nick is currently an Engineering Manager at CMG (Capital Markets Gateway). He’s experienced Software Engineer with a demonstrated history of strong leadership, ability to acquire new skills in fast paced environments, and key business insights in addition to software contributions.

STEPHEN WATSON - 2nd VICE PRESIDENT

Stephen Watson is an ophthalmologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He graduated medical school at UIC as one of the first African Americans to be accepted into the Guaranteed Professionals Program. Stephen completed his residency at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Stephen became involved in the Healing Racism program while attending High School in the Southern Suburbs. Stephen’s dad Therone co-created and facilitated the program with Jeanne Mcinerney. Stephen went on to earn his facilitation certificate while still in High School. Currently Stephen practices in an under-served community on the south side of Chicago one day per week. Stephen is president of the Cook County Physicians Associations, an organization of African-Americans physicians that seeks to be a voice for the underserved populations and promotes minority student enrollment into medical school. He is also the champion of the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program geared to increase minority medical student representation in ophthalmology.

DAVID SUDZUS - TREASURER/LEGAL COUNSEL

David B. Sudzus is the principle attorney at Legal Consultant at DBS Law LLC. Dave’s practice focuses on products liability, mass tort, pharmaceutical, medical device, asbestos litigation and class actions. Dave has extensive trial and mediation experience, particularly in drug and medical device cases. He advises companies on product manuals, warning language, and implementing product-recall programs. Dave is active in pro bono matters, supervising cases involving immigrant’s rights, domestic relations, and civil rights violations. Dave earned his JD from Northwestern University School of Law. He is a Board member of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) and President of Architreasures. Dave is a proud Southsider where he currently resides with his wife and two children staunchly supporting his beloved White Sox and Bears.

KARIS YOUNGBLOOD

Karis A. Youngblood completed her B.S. in Business Administration at Georgetown University and earned her MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Now, she is the Senior manager of Surgical Omnichannel Strategy at Alcon. Ms. Youngblood’s professional career has been built on her passion for account management, customer relationships, and business development. Ms. Youngblood proudly lives on the South Side of Chicago with her 3 dogs and in close proximity to her nuclear and extended family. She is an active member of her Chatham neighborhood. Having positive impact as a community advocate and role model motivates her efforts. When she is not working or volunteering, Karis is training for or competing in triathlons and is a 5-time Ironman Finisher.

KALINDI PARIKH

Kalindi Parikh serves as Current’s Program Builder, where she leads the development and implementation of Current’s federally-funded Inclusive Blue Economy Strategy, and builds new programs for Current related to STEM education, workforce development, and ESG. She has a background in urban planning and economic development and has previously worked as the Director of Planning for Chicago Loop Alliance and a Fellow at One Columbus

Kalindi is a dedicated advocate for equity and justice. In addition to her involvement with Heal Chicago, she serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for American Planning Association Illinois. She also volunteers in her own community as the Arts Chair for Buena Park Neighbors.

Kalindi holds a Bachelor of Science in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University and a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from University of Illinois Chicago.

NICK RAMOS

Nick Ramos is currently the Director of Illinois Government of Affairs. He’s experienced Congressional Caseworker with a demonstrated history of working in government and political organizations. Nick is skilled at navigating through bureaucracy, addressing constituent concerns, completing casework, event planning, and organizing volunteers and interns. As a strong administrative professional who graduated from University of Missouri-Columbia, Nick is open to new opportunities to grow within the field.

CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS

Christopher grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago and attended Indiana University. Now, he is the Director of Private Credit at Apogem Capital LLC.

CLAUDIA HENO

Claudia Heno is currently a Marketing Management Professional at InfoArmor in Chicago. She is a directed, hard-working team player with a dedication to problem solving and streamlining processes. Claudia excels at budget planning, corporate training, written and verbal communications. She’s also a detail-oriented multi-tasking project manager with experience managing personnel in the employee benefits, telecom and non-profit sectors, as well as a former educator.

SHONTELLE WATSON

Shontelle is a Project Manager at Crowe LLP, working with a consulting team to implement Enterprise Relationship Planning software for multi-million dollar organizations. She offers her experience and prospective on the In The Zone Podcast, a podcast dedicated to discussing pop culture and the black experience.

ISHAAN PAKRASI

Ishaan Lyngdoh Pakrasi is an engineer, consultant and artist based in Chicago, Illinois. He has received a BS and MS in Robotics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He works with businesses to develop and implement automation strategies. Outside of consulting, Ishaan is the Senior Product Manager at Bonterra, a SaaS company that provides software across the Social Impact space. In the past, he has worked on projects like the “Robot Opera”, where he wrote and programmed an operatic performance using ground robots and quadcopters. He is also a part-time researcher at the University of Chicago where he is developing a Virtual Reality testbed for research in attention and long-term memory.

BRIAN BRAMMEIER

Brian started his career designing and maintaining hospital computer systems for labor and delivery departments. While graduating early from Illinois State University, he also worked for two years at Discover Financial in security engineering. Brian has been started HigherGround Managed Services in 1998, taking it from a single person residential practice to full-service team of over 40. He had an exit in 2020 and merged his firm with Ntiva. Brian now serves as their Chief Strategy and Chief Information Security Officer and continues to be an owner.

ELIZABETH SHABAZIAN

Elizabeth Shabazian earned her BS in Human Services from California State University, Fullerton and her Peer Support Certification through S.H.A.R.E. She manages hundreds of fellow peer supporters as Moderator Community Manager for Supportiv, the digital peer support network, and concurrently runs an “all-in recovery” TikTok community of over 30k followers, discussing eating disorders and mental health.

CHEVIN FRAZIER

Chevin is an assertive lead in process improvement, developing and implementing new and analyzing existing business operating processes. Seeking a Chief of Staff or Program Manager role with the opportunity to continue to grow and lead teams. Organized, results-driven professional with success in operations, continuous process improvement, operations, administrative, DEI and project management. 

BETSY LEONARD - PROGRAM ADVISOR TO THE BOARD

Betsy Leonard has worked in the not-for-profit sector for over 25 years. Her expertise is in strategy, learning, leadership development, culture, and external relations. Prior to her current role, she served as Senior Director of Employee Services, Chief Culture Officer, and Vice President of Business Services for the five corporations that comprise Heartland Alliance. She earned a Bachelors degree from Elizabethtown College, a Masters degree at Tulane University and studied abroad at the University of Barcelona. She is a 2016 Fellow of the University of Chicago Civic Leadership Academy.

STEPHON WATSON - HEAD FACILITATOR

Stephon Watson is an accomplished engineer and program manager with more than 15 years of success across the computer software, and hospital and healthcare industries. Throughout his career, Stephon has championed having meaningful conversations about race in academia and the workplace, including facilitating classes on the subject at Microsoft. Before moving to Seattle to work for Microsoft, Stephon facilitated numerous classes for Healing Racism Chicago-Southland. Stephon and his wife Corlynn are the proud parents of three beautiful children and volunteer weekly through their church community.

STEVE MCQUOWN -DIGITAL/WEBSITE CONSULTANT

Steve McQuown is a Digital Strategy Consultant focused on helping arts organizations and creative entrepreneurs to optimize and amplify their brands online. Steve is passionate about helping organizations to better understand, improve, and leverage their online presence. He brings over a decade of digital strategy expertise and creative thinking to help organizations at all scales increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their digital efforts.

www.smqconsult.com

CHASDA MARTIN

Chasda Martin is currently the Chief Strategy Office at North Lawndale Employment Network. Mr. Martin serves vulnerable Chicago communities through public and private entities increasing access to clinical services, family programs, quality of life resources, and sustainable partnerships. Chasda consults to several nonprofit organizations including Chicago Public Schools on a wide range of social impact initiatives.

Mr. Martin received a Bachelor’s of Science in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University and a Master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.

ZANE DELIU

Medical Student at Central Michigan University.

BROOKE RISCHBIETH

Brooke Rischbieth is an associate at Blackstone. She was born and raised in a rural Australian town, two and a half hours from the closest city. Brooke arrived in America on a tennis scholarship to Northwestern University. There, she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Learning and Organizational Change, which inspired her interest in driving real and authentic change in the community. After graduation, she served as a board member for the Great Lakes Academy Fall Fundraiser. Brooke is currently a mentor for the Goldman Sachs summer analyst program, and a Panel leader for both Women in Business and Student Athlete firmwide recruiting events. She is passionate about the network effect and specifically, fostering inclusivity as a springboard for success.

ROBERT LUDEW

Robert Ludew currently works on a Business Operations team at Lime in San Francisco. He was previously in the Chicagoland area for almost 7 years, working as a management consultant and attending Northwestern University. At Northwestern, he graduated with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Economics in 2016. While there, he was an executive board member for NU Dance Marathon his senior year, raising over $1M for Blessings in a Backpack and the Evanston Community Foundation. Robert grew up in New Hampshire and is a first generation Polish-American. He enjoys skiing and snowboarding, hiking, chess, football, and architecture in his spare time.

CELESTE JOHNSON

Celeste is an engagement professional specializing in bridging the gap between impact and learning by connecting audiences to meaningful experiences to promote understanding of issue. Operating with a “solidarity versus charity” approach, she aims to connect people with experiences they may not organically come by. She currently works with the Engagement team at Heartland Alliance where she leads group volunteering events, in-kind campaigns, corporate and institutional partnership projects, and serves as a liaison for the Associate Board, Heartland Alliance’s young professional’s board. Celeste began her career of service in Washington, DC where she interned in the House of Representatives before working with several non-profits including the KaBOOM!, Easter Seals, and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in addition to co-founding a non-profit, Urban Energy Garden.

REBECCA DOBREZ

Becca got her start as a Field Organizer on President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Becca learned that organizing starts with the fundamental belief that every single person can contribute to achieving a greater goal. Organizing requires building real relationships. A good organizer can bring a group of individuals together to make an impact much bigger than any one person could have done alone. No matter the organization or her role Becca has applied these principles to everything she has done.

Through working on political campaigns, a tech start-up, a public engagement consulting firm, and large non-profit Becca has gained expertise in: project management, community organizing, event coordination, training development, process design, online and offline communication and engagement strategies and staff management.

BRIAN ROBERTS

Brian is an experienced practitioner and educator with a demonstrated history of working in the sports education and player care industry. He’s skilled in Elite Player Pathways, Player Health, Welfare and Education initiatives. Brian is a strong support professional with a Graduate Teaching Program focused in Physical Education from University of Leicester and UEFA and US Soccer coaching qualifications.

TERRENCE WRIGHT

Terrence Wright is a native to the Chicago area. Terrence grew up in the south suburbs, attended Eisenhower High School in Blue Island and earned a bachelor’s degree from Governors State University in University Park, IL and a master’s degree from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Terrence’s professional background is in the area of Industrial / Organizational Psychology with a focus on Exam / Assessment Development. Terrence has developed exams for The National Council State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), American Dental Association, Amazon Web services and Google Cloud. Terrence is passionate about positively impacting the world and would love to assist in positively impacting the trajectory of race relations in the Chicago area.

LAUREN POLLAK

My career in marketing stems from a passion for people. I'm fascinated by what motivates us in the marketplace and how brands can impact consumers in meaningful ways. Today, I've enjoyed 7+ years of working with diverse teams to bring a brands and products to life. With hands-on experience across a broad range of organizations, from a pre-revenue cannabis startup to a fortune 500 CPG corporation, I have a proven record of adapting to new industries, solving complex problems and building collaborative cross-functional teams.

NICOLE FISHER

Nicole Fisher is a director at GSK in the Office of the CMO. She oversees human subjects research, bioethics and medical governance in oncology. Ms. Fisher has championed advancements of patient engagement and recruitment, especially in medically marginalized populations. Galvanizing stakeholders around these issues, she spearheaded the Illinois Consortium launch for the National Institutes for Health (NIH) Precision Medicine, All of Us program. Nicole is passionate about the influence of race and ethnicity on lifespan, healthcare and the compounding inequity from newborn screening to clinical trial access. She managed a project to improve newborn screening guidelines for infants with Cystic Fibrosis, especially in minority children. Nicole sits on several patient quality improvement boards. Nicole co-chaired the Illinois chapter of the International Children’s Advocacy Network and currently serves on the Heartland Alliance Associate Board as Volunteer Chair.

CHARLIE LUBECK

Charlie is a musician, currently based between Chicago and Los Angeles. His sound is an artifact of history, religious, social and political, interpreting the present through the lens and vision of past influence; American Folk, Mississippi Delta Blues, Psychedelic Rock, and Irish Storytelling. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, holding a bachelors in the Performing Arts.

EMMA DAVIS

Emma is currently an advisor at dscout.

ANDRE KING