Teresa Pennix-Gill
Co-Founder, Board President and Executive Director of Parenting for Non-Violence. She has an MA in Family Ministry and Faith Formation from Dominican University and coordinates various types of violence prevention initiatives throughout Chicago. She directs the P4NV program plans and budgets, collaborates with diverse sites to offer our programs, and organizes professional training for facilitators and mentors. She has worked to build community capacity for holistic education the Archdiocese of Chicago, engaging families and communities from diverse backgrounds. She has 20+ years of experience as a senior-level manager with the Federal Aviation Administration & Lockheed Martin in program management and planning.
Charles Dahm, O.P.
Co-Founder and Vice President, is a Dominican priest and the Chicago Archdiocesan Director of Domestic Violence Outreach, and the Co-coordinator of Peace and Justice for Dominicans in North America. He is the associate pastor of St. Pius V parish in Chicago, a large Hispanic parish in the Pilsen neighborhood, where he was pastor for 21 years. Among many other initiatives, Fr. Dahm was instrumental in promoting parenting education at St. Pius V. He is a frequent lecturer and preacher on domestic violence as well as a promoter of parish ministry to victims of domestic violence.
Rosemary O’Connor White
Co-Founder, Secretary and the Director of Donor Relations. BA Mundelein College and MPS in Learning Disabilities, Manhattanville, has pursued a career in a variety of teaching situations, most recently in private practice where she specializes in teaching students challenged with dyslexia. She is a past president of the Illinois Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and has continued to serve on their Advisory Board. Her knowledge of parenting skills are a result of raising 4 children, being a facilitator of discussion for the STEP (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) program, and being a certified instructor for Common Sense Parenting.
Sheila M. Mickus
Treasurer, directs the fiscal responsibilities for P4NV. MBA University of Chicago, was first employed by Armour and Co. in the Operations Research Dept., subsequently as an independent contractor in computer programming for Kraft Foods. After raising two children, Mrs. Mickus returned to the work force where she designed and implemented a Billing and Accounts Receivable System for Modern Management Methods. When her husband founded a Labor Relations Consulting Firm, Raymond F. Mickus Associates in 1980, Mrs. Mickus did all the Accounting, Systems Design and Billing for the firm until the firm was sold in 2004. Currently, she volunteers as income tax preparer for low income individuals in Chicago and suburbs and serves on the Board of Advisors of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Dr. Ruth Hillard Brown, PH.D. |
Is a retired Director of Special Education in Illinois. She began her career path in the United States Women’s Army Corps where she was required to assist physicians and nursing staff to care for traumatized, severely burned, and injured soldiers – an unforgettable experience that fed her desire to help people cope with mental health challenges and improve their well-being. Dr. Brown has provided over eighteen years of professional leadership and consultation in school psychological services, pupil personnel services, and school-based improvement efforts. As the Principal Special Education Consultant at the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in Springfield, IL she was the primary contact with local school district administrators, university school psychology professors, and the Illinois School Psychology Association leadership regarding best practices, keeping them apprised of all new state and federal regulations affecting the education of students with disabilities, and planning and implementing effective student support systems. In the Chicago ISBE office, her responsibilities included compliance monitoring activities in the Chicago Public Schools regarding services to students with disabilities. Dr. Brown was appointed to the Governor’s Review Board on Head and Spinal Cord Injuries (1995-2006) and co-chaired the Task Force on Students with Traumatic Brain Injury, facilitated the publishing of the Traumatic Brain Injury Resource Manual for Education in Illinois (1998), and chaired the committee of University Directors of School Psychology Programs that wrote the 1997 edition of the Manual for School Psychology Internship Programs.
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Deacon Alfred Coleman II OFS
Has been serving the poor and needy in Chicago for thirty years. Deacon Coleman was manager at Port Ministries where he ministered to the poor and was Ministry Coordinator with Emmaus Ministries an outreach to men involved in prostitution. Today, he is Director of Zacchaeus House a ministry for homeless men who need a second chance. He entered the Archdiocese of Chicago Diaconate Formation Program, at University of St. Mary of the Lake, where he graduated and was ordained a permanent deacon in 2003. He has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for 33 years and Advisory board member with Catholic Men of Chicago Southland. Deacon Coleman is the Parish Deacon at St. James Catholic Church on Wabash as well as a member. He and his wife Avis have three children and five grandchildren.
Susan E. Garner
Has a BA in business and a Master of Accountancy. She is a Certified Public Accountant and spent a decade in public accounting with Arthur Andersen & Co. which included work in financial statement auditing and international treasury consulting. After leaving the work world to raise her three sons she continued to volunteer as treasurer for several nonprofits. She currently serves on the National Board of Gift of Adoption Fund as well as the organization’s Investor Board and is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for a child in the foster care system.
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Dr. John G. Igwebuike, Ph.D., J.D.
Is the Director of School Culture—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, Illinois. He is a thought leader, focus-group facilitator, and consultant to schools, companies, and universities in the area of effective listening skills, particularly at the intersection of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. He is the founder of The Lead Listening Institute, which helps organizations, groups, and individuals tap the positive power of effective listening, and a focus-group consultant, restorative justice practitioner, circle leader, and founder of the Guanacaste: Transformational Listening Conference (TLC) hosted in Chicago, Illinois.
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Rita Kattner
Has an undergraduate education from DePaul University, emphasis in Pastoral Ministry, Masters of Divinity from Loyola University and a Doctor of Ministry from St. Mary of the Lake University. Rita has over 30 years of experience in the Chicago Archdiocese in varying capacities, former Director of the Office for Councils and Christ Renews His Parish. Rita is a member of the Board who clearly understands our event planning/fundraising goals and is an effective advocate and organizer as we expand our community outreach and public image.
Dr. Ursula Ricketts
Received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology, a Master of Business Administration and a Doctorate in Curriculum Development and Instructional Practices. She has conducted countless presentations at national and international conferences and has also conducted empirical research with many professional publications. Dr. Ricketts is the Senior Management Consultant with Ricketts Consulting LLC. This company provides professional services in education technology to a variety of education and business sectors. She is an educator with thirty years of experience and has been a catalyst for change in arenas from early childhood education through post-secondary education as a university professor. Dr. Ricketts' greatest joys are her faith, her family, and public service. Dr. Ricketts resides in Chicago with her husband and two of her three children.
Tiffany Swann-Covington
Holds an MBA in International Management from Baldwin Wallace University. In addition to serving as a business development consultant for entrepreneurs, small business owners and not-for-profit organizations, she serves her church community in several capacities with an emphasis in faith formation for adolescents and teenagers. She has served in the Archdiocese of Chicago as a youth ministry coordinator and currently on the board of directors for ACTS Evangelization and Worship, a non-profit promoting Christian youth talent. She is the former VP of Sales and Marketing for Northern Instruments Corp. and has served other major companies/organizations in lead management capacities. She enjoys participating in the formation and promotion of activities and initiatives benefitting under-privileged youth. She shares a loving home with her husband, Michael, in the suburbs of Chicago.
Dr. Earl Thomas
Earned his Bachelor of Arts in degree in Psychology and Sociology, Master of Arts degree in
Adult Education all from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Doctorate of Education degree in Adult Education from Kansas State University. Dr. Earl Thomas currently serves as a Professor of Human Development in the School of Leadership Studies at Fielding Graduate University Santa Barbara California. Dr. Thomas has spent the majority of his career in higher education teaching and advising graduate students as well as carrying out administrative roles such as program chair and associate dean. His areas of expertise include adult learning and development, early childhood education program leadership, and qualitative and action research design. Dr. Thomas has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, and 2 books and contributed book chapters to major research publications in the field of education.
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Mary Lou Wilhelm
B.A. Spanish, Immaculata U., PA, and Ed.M., Rutgers, N.J., taught in New Jersey for eight years before her husband’s corporate transfers landed her in Illinois. From 2002-2007, Mary Lou worked part time for U of IL Extension Service where she taught nutrition, food budgeting and safety. In 2007, she retired from the Extension Service when she accepted a staff position as Clinical Program Administrator at PHD, a counseling center in Palatine where she had been volunteering. One of her responsibilities in this position was teaching Common Sense Parenting, in English or in Spanish, to parents of children – ages 18 months to 5 years. Mary Lou also created power point presentations for the center’s clients with topics ranging from fetal alcohol syndrome, sibling rivalry, and prenatal nutrition. When that position was eliminated in 2016, Mary Lou became available to serve on the Board of P4NV. Ms. Wilhelm has two adult children.