Board of Directors
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.
Leslie Coronel
Leslie Coronel is a 2012 graduate of Evanston Township High School and a member of the very first class of Evanston Scholars. After Evanston, she attended and graduated from Amherst College in 2016, double majoring in Economics and Spanish. Leslie has three younger siblings who are also part of the Evanston Scholars program. She is the oldest daughter of Mexican immigrants and is the first in her family to attend college. While in college she helped kick off the First Generation Association, a club created with the goal to support first generation college students during their time at Amherst. Leslie also worked at the college’s Office of Admission for three years where she was able to gain more insight into the application review process for her institution.
Today Leslie is working at Medline Industries and is part of a three-year finance management development program where she will rotate to several different functions within the finance department at Medline. She helps to support the surgeon’s gloves division providing the President of the division with insight into the drivers of his sales, gross margin, and expenses in order to support the division in meeting their AGM growth goal. Leslie looks forward to using her own personal experience at both ETHS, Amherst College, and as an Evanston Scholar alumni to work to improve and continue to grow the organization to fill the very real need for college support for students at ETHS.
Katie Dealy
Katie Dealy is the Chief Operating Officer at TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at The University of Chicago. In this role, Katie leads TMW’s strategic planning and execution and oversees all staff, fundraising, and operations. Katie has spent her career working to improve education and health opportunities for children growing up in low-income communities, and she has extensive experience spanning public policy, strategic planning, fundraising, and nonprofit leadership. Prior to joining TMW, Katie worked for the national offices of Teach For America from 2010 to 2016 in increasingly advanced roles, most recently serving as chief of staff to the CEO from 2013 to 2016. Prior to Teach For America, Katie was the early childhood policy analyst for the City of Chicago. In that role, Katie analyzed and helped advise the city’s early childhood efforts. She was the education program officer at the Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, and also worked for the Ounce of Prevention Fund as the senior writer, translating critical early childhood research and policy ideas for general audiences. Katie started her career as a teacher in Oakland, California through Teach For America. A proud Pittsburgh native, Katie has a BA in Government from Cornell University where she served on the Board of Trustees and was the recipient of the JFK Memorial Award. She holds a MA International Education Development from Columbia University. Katie lives in Evanston with her husband Alan and three sons.
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. Their three children all graduated from ETHS. As a believer that education is key in achieving equity, she is currently on the boards of Evanston Scholars and Y.O.U. She also served as a mentor for two of the scholars at Evanston Scholars. Prior to that, she served on the board of the Evanston Community Foundation and was involved in her children's schools. Before before moving to Evanston, she worked in marketing for Lexis/Nexis. She graduated 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.
Rachel Holmes
Rachel Holmes 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.
Tammy Johnson
Tammytha Johnson is a life-long Evanstonian and an alumna of ETHS. Tammy brings extensive knowledge of and involvement in the community as well as a strong background in business. She has over twenty years of corporate experience with Fortune 500 companies such as AON Corporation, Kraft Foods, Global and Baxter Healthcare, within the sales and training arena. She holds an MBA with a dual concentration in Marketing and Human Resources from North Park University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She is actively volunteering as a mentor with Evanston Scholars and at her church New Life Covenant Southeast, in Chicago, IL.
She donates her time to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. serving all mankind and supporting Young Entrepreneurs. Her passion for serving has led her to serve a recent six-year term on Foundation 65’s board, a workshop facilitator for Youth Job Center Evanston, a job coach for Job Coaches Connection in Chicago, and a three-year term as a PTA President of Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet School. Tammy is committed to using her gifts and talents to enhance the mission of Evanston Scholars. Tammy and her husband Shawn Sr have raised three ETHS graduates: a recent class of 2020 DePaul University graduate (Taylor Noelle) and two currently attending college (Ryan Nicole & Shawn Jr).
Mellonese Latimer-Adams
Mellonese Latimer-Adams was raised in Evanston and attended College Hill, Timber Ridge, Chute Middle School, and King Lab before graduating from Evanston Township High School in 1986. Mellonese went on to earn her B.A. in Criminal/Social Justice from Lewis University. In dedicating her life to social services, she has worked in the Child Welfare System with the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services as a Mental Health Professional to Foster Parent; as a Child Court Advocate to Case Manager. Mellonese continues working with the Child Welfare System as a Youth In Care Coordinator with Centene. Mellonese raised 3 daughters, all of which graduated from Evanston Township High School. Two of her daughters became a part of Evanston Scholars. Her eldest graduated Magna Cum Laude at Marist University in Poughkeepsie, New York in 2017 and the youngest is attending Washington University in St. Louis.
Carol Lind
Carol and her husband, Chris, have lived in Evanston for more than 15 years. They have raised their two daughters here, one of whom recently 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. She is currently Senior Vice President, Administration at Northwestern Medicine with responsibility for Human Resources. Her other roles at Northwestern Medicine have included 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.
Nina Uziel-Miller
Nina is a licensed clinical psychologist. She received her bachelors from Northwestern University and her doctoral degree from Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. Nina has published research papers in peer-reviewed, scientific journals as well as creative nonfiction in several literary magazines. She is in private practice and also on faculty at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. Nina and her husband, Rich, are deeply committed to the town of Evanston where they are raising their two daughters, one a 2019 ETHS graduate and college freshman, the other an ETHS sophomore. Nina has been an active volunteer in Evanston schools and in the broader community. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to make a significant impact through her position on the Evanston Scholars board.
George Varela
George Varela is a Principal Environmental Scientist with AECOM, an international engineering design firm. He has served as a mentor for Evanston Scholars and is a member of the Kingsley Books & Breakfast Committee. George was born in Cali, Colombia, grew up in Buffalo Grove, IL and received a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MS from the Illinois Institute of Technology. George, his wife, Casey, and their two daughters - Sofia and Madeline - live in Evanston.
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.
