Board of Directors (click an image to see their bio) |
History 2022
New officers elected and two additional Board Members added; Melissa Maguire, our original Board Chair, stepped down from the board after three years of outstanding service 2020 One additional Board Member added 2019 Board expanded to include three additional Board Members 2018 Wingspan founded with three Board Members |
Officers
Chair - Maureen Kelly, LCSW |
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Psychotherapist and Consultant
Private Practice Former Executive Director Cathedral Counseling Center (1993-2018) Maureen has extensive experience in management of not-for-profit organizations and in clinical practice. In addition to her work at Cathedral Counseling Center and at the Women’s Chemical Dependence Program, she has held positions in psychiatry and addictions treatment at Rush, Northwestern, and Martha Washington Hospitals in Chicago, as well as Chelsea Community Hospital near Ann Arbor, MI. Prior to her career in social services, Maureen was a high school English teacher in Ann Arbor, MI. |
Treasurer - Lynn Coe |
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Community Activist
Lynn began her career as a graphic designer and eventually found her way into the retail world through her first love: fibers, textiles and knitting. She bought a retail business, Knit 1, in 2009. Lynn is especially interested in women's issues, civil rights, history, politics, Judaism and Jewish issues. Her store is also a community where Lynn frequently opens the space to people and groups promoting issues that align with her values. Her other passions in include dogs and the human:animal connection. |
Secretary - Gordon Vance, ACSW, LCSW |
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Former Director of Programs
National Runaway Safeline 1999-2019 Former Associate Executive Director Teen Living Programs 1987-1999 Gordon has more than 35 years of social service experience in the areas of program development, staff development, and operational leadership. His direct service social work has been primarily with runaway, homeless and at-risk youth, and youth in the child welfare system. He has served on national and international boards and has presented workshops on trauma sensitive, solution focused crisis intervention, and emerging communication technology locally, nationally, and internationally. He increased the national awareness, response and services to victims of abuse as a founding member of The National Hotline Consortium, which included: The National Domestic Violence Hotline, National Center for Missing and Abducted Children, National Human Trafficking Hotline, ChildHelp Hotline, Victim Connect Hotline, and the Rape, Assault, Incest National Network. |
Members
Christopher Cotten, PhD, MSW, LCSW |
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Core Faculty in the Masters of Social Work Program
Walden University Former Assistant Professor of Social Work University of West Florida Chris’ direct service social work experience has been primarily in residential treatment of children and youth and mental health. He has worked with homeless and runaway youth, children in the child welfare system, people with HIV/AIDS, and homeless individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. He has extensive experience as a clinical consultant and trainer, working for Jeff Levy and Live Oak Chicago for more than a decade. He was also a research associate at Chicago’s Howard Brown Health Center, the largest LGBT health center in the Midwest. Chris was the Florida State Chapter National Association of Social Workers Social Work Educator of the Year in 2014. Since 2010 he has worked for Hearts in Motion, an Indiana-based NGO, in its humanitarian work in Guatemala. Chris resides in Guatemala City. |
Jeff Levy, LCSW, CTRS |
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Founder and Executive Director
The Wingspan Project Psychotherapist, Consultant and Trainer Jeffrey Levy, LCSW, LLC Former Co-Founder and CEO Live Oak, Inc. In addition to his work with The Wingspan Project, Jeff provides psychotherapy as well as consultation and training to other mental health professionals. His current practice is the newest professional iteration of a career that spans almost four decades: first as a recreation therapist with young people in foster homes and residential care and later with young people who had run away from home or were homeless. Even at the beginning of his career, he realized the impact of early and prolonged experiences of trauma. Later, he became a social worker and his work expanded to providing therapy to individuals, couples, families, and groups. He continues to work in a way that is trauma informed, LGBTQIA affirmative, intersectional, creative, and relational. <more> |
Nacole Milbrook, PsyD |
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Chief Program Officer
Youth Guidance Expertise: Clinical Psychology, Teen Parenting, Community Behavioral Health, Professional Development, Non-Profit Leadership, Leadership Development, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Clinical Training Dr. Milbrook has more than 20 years of clinical experience with adults, families, and youth in various settings. Dr. Milbrook currently serves as Chief Program Officer at Youth Guidance, a youth serving organization that believes no matter what challenges a young person faces, they are more likely to succeed when they have many caring adults in their lives. Youth Guidance’s highly trained staff works directly with schools, parents and families to meet kids where they are—physically within schools, socially and emotionally—and help them break cycles of violence, overcome life and academic obstacles, make positive choices, and remain on the right path towards life success. In addition to that, provides consulting services and teaches adjunct at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in the Forensic Psychology program. She serves on the boards of Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) and The Boulevard of Chicago. |
Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC |
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State Program Manager, Illinois
Great Lakes ATTC Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, is an international speaker, trainer, and consultant in the behavioral health field whose work has reached thousands throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Caribbean and British Islands. Mark is the author of five books, which focus on behavioral health. Recent writings include Slipping through the Cracks: Intervention Strategies for Clients Multiple Addictions and Disorders, Recovery Management: and Relationship Detox: Helping Clients Develop Healthy Relationships in Recovery. He has had two stories published in the New York Times best-selling books series, Chicken Soup for the Soul. Mark has been a certified addictions counselor for 34 years. He has received numerous awards including a Life Time Achievement Award from the Illinois Addiction Counselor Certification Board and the Barbara Bacon Award for outstanding contributions to the Social Work profession as a Loyola University of Chicago Alumni. Mark is co-founder of Serenity Academy of Chicago, the only recovery high school in Illinois. He is past president of the board of the Illinois Chapter of NAADAC. He has had a 30 year career as a university educator having taught at the University of Chicago, Illinois State University Illinois School of Professional Psychology, and Loyola University of Chicago, School of Social Work. |
Armando Smith, LCSW |
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Director of Operations and Client Services
Housing Forward Psychotherapist Cathedral Counseling Center Former Associate Director of Healthcare and Clinical Operations Vital Bridges/Heartland Health Outreach Armando has more than 30 years of leadership and counseling experience with Chicago area agencies such as The Night Ministry, Teen Living Programs, Mile Square Health Center and AIDS Foundation of Chicago. He has served on the Board of Directors, as well as several Board Committees, of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County. Armando has trained and consulted for the Office of Minority Affairs and as a Program Monitor for the Division of Administration for Children and Families of Department of Health and Human Services. He has also provided extensive training in the United States and abroad in such areas as Adolescent Health, Cultural Competency and LBGT issues. |
Rae Ann Van Pelt, DVM |
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Co-Founder and Owner
Family Pet Animal Hospital Rae Ann co-founded Family Pet Animal Hospital in 1990. She graduated with honors from the University of Illinois' College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987 and opened Family Pet with the goal of providing the highest quality veterinary care, which demands professionalism, compassion, and a personal touch. Additionally, she served on the board of directors for the Chicago Emergency and Specialty Center (now MedVet Chicago) as Vice President and subsequently as President from 2002 until 2015 to ensure patients had the best specialty and emergency care available to them. |
