Board of Directors
Angel Cardenas
Angel is not only a proud alumnus of Evanston Township High School (ETHS), but he is a member of the Evanston Scholars Class of 2014. After high school, Angel continued his educational journey at the University of Iowa, earning his degree in 2018 in Industrial Engineering with a focus in management and a Business Administration minor. His professional journey has led him to become a Cost Modeling Engineer at W.W. Grainger where he hones his business acumen and analytical skills. Angel also serves on the Evanston Scholars Alumni Steering Committee, where is committed to fostering connections among Evanston Scholars Alumni. Welcome Angel! |
David Chan David S. Chan is the Director of Instructional Technology at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) where he oversees the libraries, media centers, and student tech support center. He is the project lead for the District's 1:1 Digital Learning Initiative. David is a Google for Education Certified Innovator and Google for Education Certified Trainer. He presents regularly at educational technology conferences and is the conference coordinator for IDEAcon (Illinois Digital Educators Alliance). David earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Northwestern University, a Masters of Arts in Teaching from National Louis University (NLU), and a General Administrative Endorsement from DePaul University. He previously taught math and science at Roycemore School for five years, followed by Chemistry at ETHS for five years. David continues to teach Chemistry online through Northwestern University’s Gifted Learning Links program and he is an adjunct instructor for NLU. David lives in Evanston with his wife and two boys. |
Kourtney Cockrell Kourtney Cockrell is the Founding Director of Student Enrichment Services at Northwestern University, an office that works with students coming from first-generation, lower-income, and/or undocumented backgrounds. Kourtney has spent close to 20 years working with organizations to increase access and opportunity for marginalized students and young professionals across higher education and the nonprofit and private sectors. Kourtney recently co-founded the FGLI Consortium, a national organization, providing leadership, expertise, and resources around the experience of first-generation and/or lower-income college students at highly selective universities and colleges. She earned her BA in African-American Studies and Sociology at the University of Michigan and her MS in Learning and Organizational Change from the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern. Kourtney is a proud Skevanstonian and graduate of ETHS. Prior to working with Student Enrichment Services, Kourtney worked with The Posse Foundation, served as an Admissions Officer with the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, and acted as National Diversity Recruiting Manager with McMaster-Carr. Kourtney has expertise in college access, social justice education, organizational change, nonprofit management, and talent management. Her work as a scholar practitioner is informed through the Intergroup Dialogue framework at the University of Michigan and her graduate education in learning and organizational change. |
Katie Dealy Katie has spent more than 25 years advancing education and health opportunities for young people. Most recently, she served as Director of Engagement for U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, driving national public health efforts on youth mental health, social media, loneliness, parental mental health and gun violence. Previously, she was the founding COO of the TMW Center at the University of Chicago, scaling early childhood and parent initiatives nationwide. She also held leadership roles at Teach For America and in public policy, serving as chief of staff to the CEO of TFA and as an early childhood policy advisor for the city of Chicago. A Pittsburgh native, and a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University, Katie now lives in the Chicago area with her husband Alan and three sons. She chairs the Cornell JFK Memorial Award Alumni Board and serves as Board President of Evanston Scholars, a non-profit that supports first generation college students in high school, college, and beyond. A former ballet dancer, she’s a yoga enthusiast, live music fan, and passionate sports spectator. 
Salvatore Di Bernardo Salvatore, born and raised in Italy, has been living in Evanston since 1998. His two sons graduated from ETHS, and he has been a mentor for Evanston Scholars. He is the CEO of Ciorba Group, a civil engineering firm that also offers consulting services to communities in the Chicago area. Salvatore is a graduate of the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and earned a Master of Science from MIT and an MBA from the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management. He also enjoys running and skiing. |
Eric Dortch Eric Dortch is a born and raised Evanstonian. He graduated from ETHS in 2009. Thereafter, he attended Illinois Wesleyan University receiving his BA in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. At Illinois Wesleyan he was a four year varsity performer for the Men’s Basketball Team all while serving on the Multicultural Student Affairs Committee. Eric currently works in Market Research for one of the industry leaders, Information Resources Inc. Eric’s journey to ES came full circle in 2017 after his former English teacher and ES Founder/Executive Director, Steve Newman, invited him to be a mentor. Eric is currently an ES mentor, serves on the mentor steering committee, and ES Task Force. As a member of the mentor steering committee he has introduced methods to educate and empower mentors as they work to support their Scholar on their educational journey. Stemming from his own experiences as a first generation 4-year university graduate, supporting and advancing marginalized students is a topic he holds near and dear. |
Mary Finnegan Mary and her husband, Paul have resided in Evanston since 1988, and have three children who graduated from ETHS. Along with being a board member of Evanston Scholars, she also was a mentor for two of the scholars in the program. She was previously on the board of Y.O.U. as well as Evanston Community Foundation. Before moving to Evanston, she worked in marketing at Lexis/Nexis. She graduated with a B.S. from Indiana University. |
Steve Galler Steve is a proud ETHS graduate and is thrilled to have raised two ETHS graduates. Steve is Executive Vice President and General Counsel at The Habitat Company LLC, a residential real estate development and property management company. Steve has actively served in many other leadership roles in Evanston and Chicago, including affiliations with Y.O.U., Beth Emet Synagogue, BPI Chicago, Chicago Central Area Committee, Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Apartment Association. He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. Steve enjoys paddleboarding, playing tennis and pickleball, and cheering for his favorite sports teams. 
Alicia Henderson Alicia is a native Evanstonian, and the 4th generation of her family to reside in Evanston. Growing up she attended Washington, Nichols, and Evanston Township High School. She has years of previous experience in disability insurance. Currently, she works as a Benefits Administrator for Wespath Benefits and Investments, a not-for-profit organization that provides Retirement, Health and Wellness benefits for the global United Methodist Church. She has raised all 3 of her daughters in Evanston. The youngest is a current Evanston Scholar who will begin attending Northwestern University in the fall. She has previously served as a Parent Ambassador, Lay Organization President with Living Faith Church, and volunteered for various functions over the years. Her recent experience of being an Evanston Scholar parent ignited her excitement about the organization’s commitment to their students. She is now looking forward to officially being a member of the Evanston Scholar community, to serve, and advocate for the Evanston Scholars' mission of getting students to and through college. |
Joel Huerta
Joel is a lecturer in Latin American and Latino Studies. He teaches a variety of courses including Latino Literary Studies and Introduction to Latino Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to his roles as a lecturer and father of a D65/202 student, Joel is also deeply engaged in mentorship to a current Evanston Scholar, and he serves on the Evanston Scholars Mentor Steering Committee. |
Carol Lind Carol and her husband, Chris, have lived in Evanston for more than 20 years. They have raised their two daughters here, both of whom graduated from ETHS. Carol is a graduate of Williams College and The University of Chicago Law School and practiced as a partner at Sidley Austin LLP and then as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. Her other roles at Northwestern Medicine included human resources, governance, compliance, and real estate operations. Along with their involvement with Evanston Scholars, she and her husband also support first generation initiatives at Williams. |
Cheryl Lulias Cheryl Lulias and her husband, Peter, have lived in Evanston for more than a decade and are the proud parents of two ETHS graduates. Cheryl is the President and CEO of Medical Home Network (MHN), which was founded by the Comer Family Foundation and is dedicated to transforming care in the safety net, reducing health disparities, and building healthier communities. She is also CEO of the MHN Accountable Care Organization. Cheryl is a member of The Chicago Network and on the Board of Directors of CommunityHealth, the largest free clinic in the U.S. Cheryl received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Illinois. In her free time, she enjoys rooting for the Wolverines. 
Rachel Robinson Rachel Robinson is an entrepreneur who has used her brand, iWEARMi, to uplift women and inspire confidence. Rachel is the mother of four children including two Evanston Scholars - Aryel (sophomore at Howard University) and Mya (junior at ETHS). In her work as an influencer and ambassador of Confidence, she is a Certified Life Coach, a mentor, a public speaker, a humanitarian, and a podcaster. As an Evanston Scholar Parent, she has volunteered in numerous ways over the years and is eager to join the Board of Directors to lend her voice and talents to the leadership of the organization to further Evanston Scholars’ mission. |
Nina Uziel-Miller Nina received her bachelors degree from Northwestern University and her doctorate in clinical psychology from Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. Nina maintains a private practice and is also a writer. She served on the faculty at Northwestern for many years. Nina and her husband, Rich, are deeply committed to the city of Evanston where they raised their daughters (ETHS 2019 and 2022). She has been an active volunteer in Evanston schools and in the broader community for nearly twenty years. Nina is passionate about college access and success and extremely proud to be a part of the Evanston Scholars team. |
Travis Wallace Born in the tropical paradise of Jamaica, Travis moved with his family to the United States when he was five years old. Settling in Evanston, Illinois, he spent the majority of his childhood exploring Evanston and playing volleyball for the local school and club teams. After graduating from Evanston Township High School (where he was an Evanston Scholar), Travis moved across Lake Michigan to Holland, Michigan for his undergraduate studies at Hope College. While majoring in Business and minoring in Communication, Travis helped coach the Hope College Women's Volleyball team to a National Championship in the Division Three tournament. Today, Travis is a proud member of the Jackie Mack & More Team, where he enjoys working with first time home buyers, buyers looking for the perfect investment property and sellers. His goal is to make the real estate process as seamless and efficient as possible. In addition to Evanston Scholars, Travis also serves as the president of the Evanston Chamber Of Commerce Young Professionals Network and is an active member on the North-Shore Barrington Association of Realtors Young Professionals Advisory Board. |
Chris Ward Chris is a 1988 graduate of ETHS. After Evanston, he attended Franklin and Marshall College, graduating with a Major in Government, and a Minor in History. He currently works at Crown Media, the Home of Hallmark Channel and HMM as the Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales. Chris and his wife Lisa moved to Evanston in 2004 and have three children currently attending schools in Evanston. They have the district covered with a Sophomore at ETHS, an 8th grader at Nichols, and a 4th grader at Lincoln. Chris is currently serving as a mentor to Fernando Licea, who is a Sophmore at the University of Illinois. In addition to Evanston Scholars, Chis has worked closely with The Infant Welfare Society of Evanston in their fundraising efforts. |
