Introducing the 2024 Executive Fellows
Erikson Institute’s Executive Fellows Program provides Illinois leaders in the legislative, legal, educational, governmental sectors, as well as other sectors connected to early childhood, with a comprehensive understanding of the long-term benefits of quality early childhood experiences.
Building this knowledge informs decision-making in their respective fields and illuminates policy opportunities to improve programs and service for children and families.
Executive Fellow Biographies
Dr. Alexander is the superintendent of schools for Calumet Public School District #132. He is a product of the Chicago Public Schools system, having graduated high school at the top of his class from the Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville. While in high school, he joined the United States Army and served for six years. Upon retirement from the Army, Dr. Alexander made a career change into the field of public education.
Previously, he served as the Superintendent of Pembroke Community Consolidated School District #259 in Hopkins Park, Illinois. In addition to a robust career in public school administration, he is active in his community and supports many nonprofit organizations. He previously served as the Chicago Defender Charities/Bud Billiken Parade president and board member of BEYOND Afterschool Club for Kids.
Dr. Alexander earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Viterbo University, a Master of Business Administration from American University, and a Doctor of Education in education administration from Argosy University-Chicago. He completed the Harvard University Urban Superintendent Program and later completed the Chief Academic Officer training program through Atlantic Research Partners, Inc.
In 2020, Representative Avelar was elected to serve the 85th House District in the Illinois State House of Representatives. For over a decade, she has dedicated her life advocating for working families, focusing on projects that address the barriers faced by residents with limited access to financial resources and limited English proficiency.
She is a former undocumented DREAMer who became a U.S. Citizen in 2016. Before becoming a state legislator, she led the biggest naturalization effort in the state: The New Americans Initiative. A community organizer at heart and engaged at a young age, she worked to increase voter turnout among southwest suburban residents who have been historically marginalized.
She introduced legislation to combat the opioid crisis, implement consumer protections after a tornado hit in 2021, increase access and transparency in healthcare, protect drinking water, and secure over $100 million in funding for education, infrastructure, social services, and small businesses, among other areas. She is a member for the Restore, Reinvest, Renew (R3) board and member of the Task Force on Foster Youth Transitioning Out of Care.
A proud graduate of our public school system, Avelar went to Bolingbrook High School, Northeastern Illinois University and is currently working on her master’s in urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Barone, centering equity, diversity, and inclusion principles, leads a team of professionals to advance maternal and child health topics, increase family and youth engagement, and support the pediatric workforce (primary care and subspecialty).
She has developed, directed, and conducted maternal and child health programs including those funded by federal agencies and private foundations. She also has expertise in medical/dental integration and breastfeeding support and promotion and has created educational materials for primary care providers and others, consumer-facing materials, and other health communications.
Barone has managed topics and committees at the American Academy of Pediatrics for the past 22 years on immunizations, early education and child care, SIDS risk reduction, breastfeeding, oral health, telehealth, primary care pediatrics (including the AAP/Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule) and practice management, family and youth partnerships, gender equity in pediatrics, and pediatric workforce.
She participated in advisory groups for federal projects including the Center for Oral Health Systems Innovation and Improvement Quality Indicator Advisory Team, and the National Center for Early Childhood Health and Wellness Oral Health Steering Committee.
She has bachelor’s degree in ecology, evolutionary and behavioral sciences from Beloit College and a Master in Public Health from Northern Illinois University.
Barreto joined the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as its first-ever chief equity and engagement officer in July 2023. She is responsible for evaluating, shaping, creating and implementing CTA’s policies and initiatives to drive a more equitable, safe and accessible transit system and will lead in establishing the Office of Equity and Engagement. She will initially oversee the government and community relations department including legislative affairs and the diversity programs department responsible for connecting economic growth opportunities for businesses with a focus on those led by people with historically excluded identities.
Prior to the CTA, she was the inaugural director of equity and inclusion for Cook County Government Offices where she led policy development and the creation of program initiatives to address racial inequities. Before Cook County, she was an entrepreneur and corporate strategist, having served as the founder and managing partner of a strategic business consulting firm working with businesses, non-profits, and government agencies across North America for 12 years. For 19 years, she worked in progressive marketing and branding in the private sector. In 2019, she founded Serqet Productions where she builds and/produces relevant TV and film designed to leverage her policy and justice lens in storytelling.
Barreto was elected to the Village Board of Trustees of Lake in the Hills, Ill., and served two terms before moving to Evanston where she served on the Parks and Recreation Board for six years, finishing her service as board chair in 2021. She also serves on a number of nonprofit boards.
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Mayor Booker has served as village president and mayor of the Village of Maywood since 2021. Prior to serving as mayor, he served Maywood as economic development commissioner and was elected trustee to village council in 2019. In 2022 he launched Healthy Maywood I Cook (HMWC), an initiative that focuses on factors affecting health from early childhood education to quality housing, job opportunities and more.
He serves on the National League of Cities board of directors, representing more than 23,000 villages, cities, and towns across the nation. He is also first vice president for the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials. Within the State of Illinois, he is the president of the Illinois Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials along with being on the Illinois Municipal League Revenue & Taxation and Public Works & Transportation committees. Applying a focus on Metropolitan Chicago, Mayor Booker is a council member with the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus for the Aging Friendly Communities as well as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committees and the West Central Municipal Conference – Illinois Legislative Committee.
His education includes Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Tennessee State University (Psychology), along with certifications from American Hotel & Lodging Education Institute (Hospitality Executive Trainer), Franklin Covey (Ultimate Competitive Advantage Facilitator), Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (Illinois Economic Development), and University of San Francisco (Public Leadership).
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Canady is the program and partnerships manager at The Hunter Family Foundation. She co-leads the foundation’s early childhood, social-emotional learning and literacy, environmental stewardship, and food security investments. Additionally, she is responsible for ensuring the foundation engages in strategic partnerships to drive long-term change.
Before her time at Hunter, Canady served as a systems advocate for a national early childhood organization and as chief of staff at a local education non-profit. She started her career as a Teach for America ’13 corps member in New York City, where she taught for four years.
Committed to public service, Canady is a 2020 New Leaders Council fellow, a 2024 Civic Leadership Academy Fellow, has served as the chair for the Greater Chicago Food Depository associate board, and sits on the Illinois Collaboration on Youth board. She graduated from Occidental College with a Bachelor of Arts in urban and environmental policy. Additionally, she received her master’s in teaching at Fordham University and her Master of Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.
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Dr. Carr is the CEO of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Cook County, where she has been at the forefront of historic gains, reshaping the foster care landscape in Chicago and Cook County since assuming leadership in 2018. Her work centers on addressing issues of inequity for historically disenfranchised communities, particularly within the child welfare system. With over 17 years of leadership experience in mission-driven organizations, she brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep understanding of the challenges and barriers encountered by populations with little to no access to resources.
Her dedication to social justice is evident in her previous roles, including serving as the executive director for Light House Youth Center in Chicago’s Bronzeville community. She also made significant contributions as the national director of education with the renowned civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Dr. Carr holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a Master of Arts in labor relations from the same institution, and a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications from the University of Illinois in Champaign, Urbana.
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Candis Castillo
Political Director
Service Employees International Union, Healthcare Illinois Indiana Missouri Kansas (SEIU HCIIMK)
Castillo is the political director of SEIU HCIIMK. While serving in this position, she was on loan to the “Brandon for Chicago” campaign as the political director. In that role, she led her team to secure 72 endorsements from labor unions and elected officials, contributing to the election victory for Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson.
She started her career as a union organizer in post-Katrina New Orleans, organizing teachers and paraprofessionals in traditional and charter schools. Castillo then took a role as the organizing director of United Working Families (UWF). At UWF, she led the electoral campaigns of now Congresswoman Delia Ramirez and Alderwoman Jeanette B. Taylor. She then became the Chief of Staff for Alderwoman Taylor’s first two years in office. During that time, Alderwoman Taylor passed the Woodlawn Housing Ordinance and built sustainable relationships with community groups, organized labor, businesses, and other government offices.
Castillo serves on the executive board of Sweet Water Foundation, an urban farm in Chicago. She also sits on the advisory board of Black Bench Chicago and is a party committee member of UWF. She is a proud graduate of Seton Academy and continued her education at Alabama A&M University.
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Cullum serves as vice president of strategic initiatives for Schreiber Philanthropy. Since 2019, she has supported the organization’s growth in terms of both strategy and grantmaking. She also maintains Schreiber Philanthropy’s health and early childhood portfolios. In this capacity, she works in deep collaboration with grantees and partners to enhance the impact of the organization’s investments.
Prior to her career in philanthropy, Cullum spent nearly a decade in the strategic communications and crisis management industry. Most recently, she helped build an agency’s global corporate healthcare practice with a specialty in issues preparedness and crisis response. She has worked on various public health initiatives surrounding neglected tropical diseases, infectious diseases, and mosquito-borne illnesses, including meaningful work on chikungunya, dengue, Ebola, flu, norovirus and Zika.
Cullum graduated magna cum laude from Villanova University with a bachelor’s degree in English literature.
Foley brings a blend of corporate and nonprofit experience to her role as president and CEO of the Juvenile Protective Association (JPA). The organization’s mission is to bring compassionate mental health and social-emotional best practices to children and the adults who care for them.
Prior to joining JPA, she was president and CEO of The Hope Institute, which serves children with autism and developmental delays across Illinois in school-based and residential settings. She also was president of Chicago Scholars, helping high school students throughout Chicago attend and graduate from college. While executive vice president and chief marketing officer at CNA Insurance, Foley oversaw a global rebranding initiative and expanded the work of the CNA Foundation that invested in building playgrounds around the U.S. What ties her work together is a belief in providing and promoting equitable opportunities for people – especially for youth.
A graduate of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and Hamilton College, she has served on the boards of national and local nonprofits including the Psychotherapy Action Network and the University Club of Chicago, as well as on numerous state-wide task forces including the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Behavioral Health Workforce Center.
Gold serves as chief of staff for the Division of Early Childhood (Division) at the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). He spent the past 20 years in public education as a French teacher, after-school and summer STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) coordinator, middle school associate principal, and high school principal. He is now fulfilling his professional and personal aspiration of making a broad impact in the lives of families and children.
As the inaugural chief of staff for IDHS’s Division of Early Childhood, he extended the leadership team and an administrative support cohort to ensure the Division has a reliable knowledge base and support infrastructure. He is also collaborating with a colleague on a leadership catalog to leverage core leadership competencies.
He graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor’s degree in French. He pursued his master’s degree in administrative leadership at DePaul University and holds several professional certificates from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Senator Johnson is the first Black state Senator from Lake County to represent the 30th District. As chair of the Senate Education Committee, she is committed to ensuring Illinois has the best interest of the children in mind.
She demonstrated her dedication to the Buffalo Grove community through her previous work as a commissioner and president of the Buffalo Grove Park District Board and president of the Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce. She received countless business and service awards that include the Board Member and Member of the Year award from the Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, the Rising Star award from the Illinois Association of Park Districts, and the Leadership and Service Award from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, to name a few.
Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from Columbia College and a Master of Jurisprudence in Business Law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Dr. Lathan is a co-owner and president of the Route History Museum (Route History) in Springfield, Illinois. This museum highlights the experiences, tragedies, resilience, and excellence of Black residents along Historic Route 66. For Route History, she leads multiple virtual reality initiatives that promote electric cars and clean energy, women in technology, and United Nations simulations.
She is also the founder and chief executive officer of LathanHarris, Inc. (LHI). Established in 2007, LHI is a Black and woman-owned project management, evaluation, and training firm. Under her leadership, Dr. Lathan has managed and evaluated multi-year and multi-site projects for the federal Offices of Women’s Health and Minority Health and several State of Illinois agencies.
She is the former chief of the Immunization Section at the Illinois Department of Public Health and the former assistant chief of the Illinois Department of Public Health’s HIV/AIDS Section.
Dr. Lathan is a Sangamon County board member for District 22, a commissioner for the Springfield International Visitors Commission, and a committeeman for Sangamon County Precinct 48. She graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Ph.D. in Community Health and a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois-Springfield.
As the vice-chancellor for Legislative and Community Affairs at City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), Mason plays a pivotal role in fostering positive relationships with government offices and collaborating with community groups. Her efforts are directed toward enhancing the educational experience of CCC students.
Her career in public service began in 1998 as district director for Illinois State Senator Barack Obama. When Barack Obama was elected as U.S. Senator in 2005, she served as director of constituent services and acting state director during his presidential campaign. Mason then relocated to Washington D.C., where the Obama White House appointed her deputy chief of staff for the Office of Personnel Management. During that time, she worked with the White House, federal agencies, and outside parties to create government-wide guidance to address domestic violence and sexual assault in the federal workplace. After relocating back to Chicago, Mason served as the Midwest regional representative for the Department of Labor. For two years, she built coalitions and rallied stakeholders at the local level to ensure the public’s understanding of the President’s and the agency’s priorities.
Mason serves on the board of directors for Women Employed and is the incoming co-chair of America’s Urban Campus. She also serves on the Mayor’s Interagency Reentry Council and the Civic Advisory Council of the City of Chicago.
Ojeda-Jimenez is a third-grade English language teacher and serves as president of the Berwyn South School District 100 Board of Education.
She started in education at South Berwyn District 100 as an education support professional and held other roles, including teaching assistant, district office receptionist, substitute caller, and administrative assistant. During this time, she returned to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Ojeda-Jimenez became a second-grade bilingual teacher at Pershing School in Berwyn and later earned a master’s degree in school leadership.
As a school board member, she has been a strong advocate for educational excellence and inclusivity. She led efforts for a safe school resolution and anti-racist resolution and has supported LGBTQ policy. She also served on the school board’s communications, policy, budget and legislation committees. She was also vice-president for two terms and has been delegate to the IASB- Illinois Association of School Board conference. She is the co-founder of Berwyn Comunidad en Accion and a founding member of South Berwyn District Advisory Committee for Educational Excellence. She also volunteers as a PTA treasurer at Heritage Middle School and Piper School and is a teacher liaison at Pershing school.
Sean Park
Program Director, Value-Added Sustainable Development Center
Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University
Park serves as the program director for the Value-Added Sustainable Development Center housed under the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. He works with rural communities to develop sustainable business models that address community needs.
He has been an adjunct professor, teaching business development micro and macro economics and leadership for community and economic development at Spoon River College and Lincoln Land Community College. He worked as the economic development director for the City of Rushville, served as a small business development center advisor, and is the owner of Park Foods Inc., a small grocery store in rural Illinois. He is a certified exit planning advisor with the Exit Planning Institute and a certified business advisor with the State of Illinois Small Business Development Centers.
He holds a Master of Arts in Economics and is a doctoral candidate in public administration at the University of Illinois – Springfield.
Stein is the chief of the Child Protection Division at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and has dedicated her career to ensuring the safety and well-being of children and families who intersect with the child welfare system. Her career in the Child Protection Division has spanned 21 years and, in that time, in addition to leading the unit, she has tried many child protection cases involving child homicide, physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.
Before joining the Child Protection Division, Stein was assigned to the Criminal Appeals Division where she handled criminal and child protection cases on appeal. Prior to joining the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, she was in private practice. Stein was also an adjunct lecturer at the Institute for Paralegal Studies at Loyola University of Chicago where she taught legal research and writing and legal ethics.
Statewide, she serves as vice chair of the Executive Counsel of the Illinois Child Death Review and is a member of the Illinois Children’s Justice Taskforce. More locally, she is a member of the Cook County Child Advocacy Center Advisory Board, the Multidisciplinary Leadership Team at the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, and Chicago Bar Association Legislative Committee. She is also a 2020 fellow of the Civic Leadership Academy through the University of Chicago. Stein received her law degree from DePaul University in 2001.
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Judge Taylor was elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County in November 2022. She currently presides over cases in the Child Protection Division involving child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, and guardianship issues.
Prior to being elected, she worked for more than 20 years in private practice as a trial attorney in both state and federal courts in Illinois. In addition to her legal experience, Judge Taylor dedicated a large portion of her private life to volunteering for various organizations that focus on protecting the interests of children and providing children with the best possible opportunities in life. Such organizations included service as a Court Appointed Special Advocate in Cook County for cases involving minors removed from their homes, participating in the Cook County Bar Association’s “Know Your Rights” seminars, teaching young people about their rights, and interacting with police during traffic stops, and volunteering for Lawyers in the Classroom, which provides students with the opportunity to learn civics from lawyers in active, developmentally appropriate classes.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and her law degree from John Marshall Law School (now known as UIC) in Chicago, Illinois.
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Tocci is the deputy bureau chief for the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development. He oversees programs funded through the American Rescue Plan Act and the Cook County Equity Fund, including the Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot, Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt, and LeadCare Cook County. He joined the Bureau of Economic Development in 2012 to manage its community development efforts.
Earlier in his career with Cook County, Tocci led the team that administered the Community Development Block Grant and Emergency Solutions Grant programs. Before joining Cook County, he worked at the Metropolitan Planning Council and Deloitte Consulting.
He is a fellow of the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy. He received a master’s degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.
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Shreepada Tripathy, MD MBA MS-SA FAAP FHM
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
School of Medicine at Southern Illinois University
Tripathy is an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the School of Medicine at Southern Illinois University. Originally from Texas, he completed his pediatrics residency at the University of Louisville in 2014 after earning his medical degree from Marshall University in 2011. He has also earned his master’s in business administration and his Master of Science in strategic analytics, both from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale.
Tripathy is a pediatric hospitalist, data scientist, and health equity strategist. He is double board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Hospital Medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Academic Pediatric Association, and the Society of Pediatric Hospital Medicine. He also serves as the president of the Sangamon County Medical Society.
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Vickery has been a leader in Illinois’ juvenile justice reform efforts throughout his 20-year career. At the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), he has managed all programming and services for youth in the department’s custody for the past seven years and, under his guidance, DJJ has achieved and sustained substantial compliance with all of the behavioral health and programming requirements of the federal RJ consent decree.
He leads implementation of the 21st Century Transformation Plan to ensure secure care facilities are more trauma-informed and enhance the services and supports provided to young people and families throughout their involvement with DJJ. Vickery recognizes that racial disparity, poverty, and trauma are primary factors determining a young person’s level of involvement in the legal system and addressing these needs are paramount for youth and family heal.
Vickery started his career as a juvenile detention officer and probation officer with the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in DuPage County. He also served as Executive Director of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission from 2014 to 2016, focusing on juvenile justice policy and practice reforms for the state.
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