Our Staff
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Patricia Rivera, LCSW
Founder Patricia is the founder of Chicago HOPES for Kids, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that provides academic support and literacy mentoring for children living in Chicago’s homeless shelters. She has a Master of Social Work Degree from the Jane Addams College of Social Work, Chicago, Illinois. She retired in 2010, after 33 years as a school social worker for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), with the last 7 years as the administrator for the CPS Homeless Education Program. After she retired and CPS cut the funding for the shelter-based tutoring program, she and a group of dedicated volunteers founded Chicago HOPES for Kids. She served as the Executive Director of Chicago HOPES for Kids for 8 years before her retirement. She continues to volunteer with HOPES and also enjoys learning the harp, planting and harvesting at her sister's farm in Indiana, and spending time with her grandchildren.
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Rita Kahn
Executive Director Rita Kahn serves as Executive Director at Chicago HOPES for Kids and came to the organization five years ago as Development Manager. She brings a variety of skills and experiences to her position including a teaching background, human resources and marketing leadership. Rita LOVES going to school. She received her Master’s in Education from Dominican University in 2010 and her Master’s in Labor Industrial Relations from Michigan State University in 1996. Before joining HOPES, Rita served as the Development Manager for Oak Park River Food Pantry where she increased community awareness of childhood food insecurity and raised funds to launch the community’s first summer meals program for at-risk youth. She also taught at Reavis High School and was dedicated to helping students in the alternative education program meet graduation requirements. At Chicago HOPES for Kids, she is honored to work with such a talented and passionate staff and looks forward to developing more high- quality programs enabling students experiencing homelessness to reach their potential.
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Erica Walker, MA, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Program Director Erica joined Chicago HOPES for Kids in 2018, bringing two decades of experience in education, social service and commitment to the empowerment of youth, families and vulnerable communities. A native of Chicago's South Side with lived experiences of poverty and housing instability, Erica holds a bachelor's degree from Harvard University with honors in African American Studies. She also holds a master's degree in clinical social work from the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice and is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Illinois. Erica is an avid bibliophile, jewelry designer and cyclist, and is active in several community service capacities in Chicago, including the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and Chicago Public Schools.
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Mel Whitehouse
Program Manager: K-5th Programs Mel first joined Chicago HOPES for Kids as a Site Coordinator, where after a year and a half of read-aloud books, enrichment activities, field trips, and one flourishing program room sweet potato plant, she decided that she wanted to be able to devote more energy to HOPES and became an Americorps Member. During her year of Americorps service, her biggest project was launching a new, more expandable model for our Middle School Aged Program. She first joined our staff as Program Administrator where she supported our Site Coordinators and managed our Americorps State Program. Now, as Kindergarten-5th grade Program Manager, she manages several shelter based, and library based programs so that we can continue to provide the most creative, intentional, and impactful programming for our students. When she's not at HOPES or working on her MEd in Youth Development at UIC Mel likes to create pottery, play board games and swim.
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Alex Kirchner
Development Manager Alex was first introduced to HOPES as a volunteer in 2016, when she volunteered at SRHAC in Austin, and later at Primo-Homan in North Lawndale. She developed a passion for advocacy and service in under resourced Chicago communities while continuing to learn about the issue of family homelessness. After her graduation from Wheaton College with a Bachelors’ in International Relations, she committed to a year of service with HOPES as an AmeriCorps VISTA member. Throughout the year she grew her interest and skill in nonprofit development, events management, and grant writing and helped with projects like the Seeds of HOPE Gala and Lincoln Park Zoo field trip. After a stint as Development & Communications Coordinator with Gads Hill Center, Alex returned to HOPES to pursue her passion of advocating for children experiencing homelessness as Development Administrator. Her role includes fundraising campaigns, communications, grant writing, marathon team management, and event planning. In 2021, Alex was promoted to Development Manager. In her free time she enjoys reading, cooking new recipes, horseback riding, and long road trips.
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Todd Stolarski
Program Administrator: Literacy Leaders On a list of teachers who left the most formidable impacts on a developing Todd, you would see names like Oscar and Grover, Bert and Ernie; Mr. Rogers and Count von Count. Born and raised in Detroit, Todd very quickly recognized how various forms of multimedia can be utilized for educational positive growth. After his graduation from Michigan State University, he continued his education through his field work in various capacities on critically acclaimed and award-winning film & television productions. In the Summer of 2019, Todd joined HOPES and continues to devote himself to balancing educational equity. Assigned to Primo Homan and Madison for his time as Site Coordinator, in February of 2022 Todd became HOPES’ Literacy Leaders Program Administrator. When he’s not enjoying the company of his loved ones, you’ll likely find him making…something. He thrives on creation. He loves using his hands to read, write, paint, and artistically communicate.
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Jen Harden-Finn
Volunteer Manager Jen loves building relationships and has a passion for community volunteerism and education. She brings many years of community outreach, team-building, and marketing experience to the organization from her work with public schools, small businesses in the Austin neighborhood, and large organizations including Shell, BP, and McDonald's. As the daughter of a retired Chicago Public School teacher who taught for over 40 years in the Chinatown and North Lawndale neighborhoods, Jen realized at an early age the importance of educational support outside the home. She is excited to be part of the Chicago HOPES for Kids team as the Volunteer Manager and is looking forward to inspiring and encouraging others to donate their time. Jen received her BA in Journalism from Northern Illinois University and her MS in Integrated Marketing from Roosevelt University. In her free time, Jen is a board member for ProMusica Youth Chorus in Oak Park and enjoys traveling.
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Deborah Perez
Outreach & Family Engagement Administrator Deb joined Chicago HOPES at the start of 2021 as an AmeriCorps Program Coordinator. During her term of service she led engagement efforts at family shelters, planned field trips, built relationships with parents and dived deeper into community service. Deb comes to HOPES with ten years of experience working with youth and families through various non profits. In her previous roles she created sustainable program partnerships, fundraised for mural art projects, met with many community stakeholders and coordinated organization wide events for youth and families. She is a program visionary, creative and passionate about all things youth and family. Outside of work she serves as a member of the local school council at her kids school, leads a small women's leadership group and is currently in school pursuing a degree in Human Development and Family Studies. In her free time she enjoys rollerblading, exploring public art, cooking and spending time with her family at home.
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Kimberly King
Volunteer Administrator Kimberly is a Chicagoland native and a 2020 Howard University graduate, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Strategic Communications minor. Her volunteer work and professional experiences throughout the Chicagoland and Washington, DC areas increased her interests in community advocacy, education and public relations. She came to HOPES in December 2020, serving as an Americorps VISTA Volunteer Coordinator. Kim says that Chicago HOPES for Kids gave her a foundation of skills and hands-on experiences that positively challenged her. Throughout her service term, she gained insight into many facets of a nonprofit including volunteer coordinating, community outreach, development & strategic communications. More than anything, she was honored to be able to work alongside a team that was passionate about being a resource to the community. In January 2022, Kimberly joined the HOPES staff team as a Volunteer Administrator. Outside of work, Kimberly enjoys spending time with family and friends, binge watching tv shows, journaling and reading books within the African American literature genre.
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Jocelyn Tenorio
Development Administrator Jocelyn graduated from Middlebury College with a Bachelor's in Latin American Studies. During her time there, she taught migrant farmworkers English. She became interested in providing access to literacy and education for under-resourced communities, and joined Chicago HOPES for Kids as a VISTA Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator in 2019. During her year of service, she led volunteer trainings, worked on communications, and engaged in community outreach and advocacy. After working as a Digital Marketing Coordinator at Casa Central for over a year as their Digital Media Coordinator, Jocelyn returned to HOPES to help further their mission of empowering lives through education. Jocelyn is currently pursuing her MEd in Educational Policy Studies at UIC. When Jocelyn is not working or studying, she enjoys going to museums, long walks, and finding the best vegan spots in the city.
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Our Executive Board
Tonya Rice, JD, Board President- Executive Committee
Leader, US Elections, Amazon Web Services |
Rita Winiecki, Board Vice President
Brand Marketing and Account Manager, BigMarker |
Andy Flynn, CPA, Board Treasurer - Executive Board
Portfolio Manager on the William Blair Global Leaders and International Small Cap Growth strategies |
Kate O'Connell, JD, Board Secretary
Attorney, Morse, Buldoc, and Dinos, LLC |
Pat Rivera, LCSW, Board Member - Governance Committee
Founder, Retired Social Worker |
Lucretia Jackson, Board Member - Program Committee
Therapist, Thresholds |
Philip Montgomery, Board Member - Program Committee
Therapist, Thresholds |
Matt Eddington, JD, Board Member
Assistant Counsel, Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs |
Sarah Korf, Board Member - Fundraising Committee
Management Consultant, Gartner |
Frieda Holley, Board Member
Not-for-profit Manager, CHFK Site Coordinator, Central American Martyrs Board Member |
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Board Member - Fundraising Committee
Professor, Northwestern University |
Amy Anthony, Board Member
Strategy and Analytics, Salesforce |
Sonya Teague Kingsley, JD, Board Member
Chief Administrative Law Judge, Illinois Commerce Commission |
Christine Brynaert, CPA, Board Member
Senior Manager, Deloitte Tax |
Ted Lindholm, Board Member
President, Corterra Solutions |
