Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring to the position you are seeking, and why would those contributions be valuable to River Forest Township?

I have been a resident of the area for over twenty-five years, and lived in River Forest for almost  two years. I bring a varied skill set from a thirty-year career in executive  management roles in global planning services in the corporate sector. I have worked  for the past three-plus years in the non-profit sector as the executive director of the  Hemingway Foundation.  I have been honored to serve on a number of organizational boards that in part advocate for the well-being and enrichment of  populations including early childhood education, food security, and performance  arts access to underserved communities.  I look forward to bringing my wide range of experiences to the township fostering new partnerships and program services in  a cost effective manner. 

2. What steps will you take to improve and expand community engagement with the Township and the Board? What is your view on how to involve residents in the decision making process in the Township?

Currently, the River Forest Township has three volunteer committees (youth  services, senior services and mental health services).  These are invaluable  opportunities for residents to share their insight and experience helping us to  positively impact our community.  River Forest Township also partners with Oak  Park Township and other community partners such as the OPRF Community  Foundation, Arbor West, Dementia Friendly, etc. I would like to see us further  strengthen the communications component (enhanced website, social media  presence, media outreach, etc) of these partnerships and programs. When  appropriate (post-pandemic), I’m hopeful we will develop in-person forums  furthering community engagement and their needs. The objectives to both  collectively inform and engage our residents of township initiatives as well as their  impact on our community.  

3. Give an example of a time when you worked to understand a situation or view different from your own. What helped you to move through that process? What hindered you as you moved through the process?

The Hemingway Foundation was very much Hemingway-centric in its core mission.  It became clear to me when I joined that our organization had to further expand its  footprint into more of a community-based, arts organization. One that provided not  

just a historical reference but also served as an outlet for creative, artistic and  diverse voices. The obstacles had more to do with mind set of what worked the  previous twenty-five plus years. What helped in the process was for me to delve into  the foundations past to better understand road travelled, and then getting our  people to buy in to this new focus. Just as importantly, has been gaining the trust  and willingness of artists to showcase their abilities with us.  The result has been that our foundation now functions as a historical museum that honors the past but  also a living one serving present and future artists of all kinds.

4. Who or what is your role model for your approach to governing?

This is a big answer, and while I do not pretend to compare myself or anyone else to  him, Abraham Lincoln is my north star.  While he had certain underpinnings to his  thinking, he was always pragmatic, willing to listen, to evolve. He understood that  through consensus building worthy achievements could be accomplished. At the  risk of further comparisons, I will say have been very impressed with the current RF  township supervisor, Carla Sloan. It has been readily apparent to me that both her  ability and passion for the township is commendable and admirable.  I look forward to working with her and township staff members to best serve the residents of River  Forest. 

5. What do you feel are the three biggest issues facing River Forest Township, and how do you intend to address them? How will you prioritize among competing priorities?

Admittedly, I am on a learning curve especially as it relates to the oncoming  challenges and priorities of the township. But certainly, one of the biggest issues is  the “age-wave”, the profound increased demand for seniors’ care of the boomer  generation. Additionally, we are still learning about the long-term effects of our  current pandemic situation, and its impact on mental health and youth.  I do not  expect that the township revenue from property taxes is likely to increase and  certainly not at the same rate of these age-group demands. We need to work  smarter and ways to increase our partnerships with like-minded agencies and  taxing bodies in the community. Another priority is making residents more aware of  township programs and services, sometimes those most in need are the last to  search for or ask for help, I’m hopeful we can expand our presence to those in need  and so that residents better understand our function. Lastly, I would expect that the  threat of consolidation from state legislators will continue, perpetuating false  narratives around property tax savings. We will need to continue to address it head  on by working with legislators and voters so that each better understands the value added services we ensure reach some of our most vulnerable.  

7. What do you believe has been the most significant action taken by the Township in recent years, and why? Do you believe the Township acted appropriately?

I am newer to the township, so I cannot stipulate if this was the most significant  action, but certainly in recent years there has been a movement to eliminate and/or  takeover townships jeopardizing many of the human services that communities like  ours relies on. River Forest Township fought back and demonstrated that the  township added value to the community at a comparatively low cost. Ultimately, this  helped strengthen River Forest Township as it sought more collaboration with  numerous agencies and taxing bodies to launch initiatives, projects, and programs. 

8. What relationship do you believe the Township should have with the other local taxing bodies? How can the Township and other government bodies work best together?

The River Forest Township has several partnerships with area governmental bodies  including Village of River Forest, RF Public Library, District 90, District 200 and Oak  Park Township.  The River Forest Township works off a one-percent levy, so it is  imperative that we seek collaborations to further the township’s impact.  To Carla  Sloan’s credit (the current RF Township supervisor), the use of best practices to  seek out collaborations has been fundamental to the success of River Forest  Township program services. With the upcoming elections and potential changes in  personnel, it will be incumbent upon us to continue and in some cases, re-establish  those core collaborations.  

9. How do you define racial equity? Have recent events and discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking?

To me, racial equity means attempting to understand and provide people what they  need to enjoy full, healthy lives, realizing we don’t all start from the same place.  I  grew up in a city and attended racially diverse public schools; far more diverse than  schools within our community. Being both raised and taught within that  environment certainly influenced my thinking; which is very much in-line with some  of current discussions and events.  With that said, I am humble enough to know we  can all learn more and do more to make racial equity a reality for all. 

10. How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing this community in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

Soliciting broad feedback can be challenging partially due to the inherent  predispositions, such as technology, etc. Likewise, the township operates on a very  finite budget limiting what can be done efficiently.  Our most effective means is to  leverage our networks through local churches, community organizations and the  social workers with the day-to-day contact within the programs we support. 

11. What is your position on the extent to which the Township includes or should include accessibility features? Please address both physical structures and virtual/information processes.

The River Forest Township is located within the RF Civic Center Authority Building,  which some refer to as the RF Community Center. This building, along with the  other locations that host our program services such as the Oak Park Senior Service  Center, RF Public Library are all ADA compliant.  Virtual/Information accessibility  can be a challenge; I have some first-hand experience with this in my current role at  the Hemingway Foundation and working with our volunteer staff. I know the  township has collaborated with the RF Library on programming to help seniors get  more comfortable with technology. Hopefully we can continue this kind of  programming, as well as look at some inter-generational learning opportunities as  well.

12. What are your plans for collaborating with our neighboring communities?

The River Forest Township works extensively with Oak Park. We currently work with Arbor West Neighbors, in leading a new senior collaborative that includes the  surrounding communities of Forest Park and Maywood. We also positively impact  surrounding communities through our funding of agencies involved in mental  health and senior programs. The township is looking at possible projects with  Proviso Township neighbors and/or the Austin neighborhood within this next fiscal  year.