Who Are We?
Board of Directors
Elisabeth Davis
Elisabeth joined the Chicago Freedom School in January 2009 as a volunteer and became a board member in January 2011. Her experience ranges from managing a small business to most recently serving as an analyst for a bilingual college. She is a critical thinker, who finds hope in social movement building, popular education, and economic and community development. Elisabeth holds a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts and currently resides in Miami, FL.
Karen DuVall
Karen began volunteering with the Chicago Freedom School in 2010. She has been committed to conflict mediation, violence prevention, and youth development in Indianapolis and Chicago. She currently works as a grant manager for CeaseFire. Karen studied Social Cultural Anthropology at Indiana University and received a Masters of Nonprofit Administration from North Park University in 2011.
Kimberlee Guenther
Kimberlee Guenther is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Loyola University Chicago and a Graduate Fellow at the Center for Urban Research and Learning, where she works with public and affordable housing tenants on resident-led research projects. Through this work, and a community building position at The Field Museum, she has become passionate about helping people amplify their voices to bring about positive social change. Kimberlee was introduced to the incredible work that CFS does by a former Board member in 2009, and is inspired by the organization’s commitment to supporting youth as they explore new ways to fight oppression and inequality.
Mariame Kaba
Mariame Kaba is an organizer, educator, and writer who lives in Chicago. Her work focuses on ending violence, dismantling the prison industrial complex, and supporting youth leadership development. She is the founder and director of Project NIA, a grassroots organization with a mission to end youth incarceration. Mariame is a published author, a teacher, and has served on numerous nonprofit boards. She is and has always been a rabble-rouser.
Naomi Milstein
Naomi began volunteering with the Chicago Freedom School as a librarian in 2008. Prior to that, she worked in Indianapolis, Detroit, and the Mississippi Delta to support youth-led research and action for equitable education and racial justice. Naomi currently works with the Restorative Justice Program at Alternatives Inc. where she helps high schools implement restorative approaches to suspension and detention. Naomi attended the University of Michigan where she studied cultural anthropology and earned a Masters in Social Work with a focus on community organization.
Christian Totty
Christian moved to Chicago in August 2008 to work with youth who are wards of the state of Illinois. In the fall of 2008 she was introduced to the work of the Chicago Freedom School (CFS) by attending, and eventually, facilitating Theatre of the Oppressed workshops. From that day forward, she has been blessed with the opportunity to become more involved. Christian views CFS as a mindful, passionate, and multigenerational education and leadership development center where youth and adults can learn about how to collectively empower and engage each other, as well as their respective communities, and she has sincere respect for the hard work and commitment of the youth, staff, volunteers, and board members. Christian was invited to join the CFS Board of Directors in the summer of 2010, and is so excited for the awesome adventures ahead! It is her goal to utilize her knowledge and experience in popular education, theatre, and healing to support the growth of this dynamic organization.
Ilana Zafran, Treasurer
Ilana Zafran grew up in a Jewish community that valued and was committed to social justice, and chose to pursue these ideas after graduating college by participating in Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps. After completing Avodah in 2007, Ilana began working for Umoja Student Development Corporation, where she currently serves as the Program Director. Through her work, Ilana has developed an immense passion for working with schools, communities, and young people. Ilana heard about the Chicago Freedom School over an email, and was immediately attracted to their commitments to justice, capacity building, popular education, and their focus on uniting and training individuals and communities to address oppression. Ilana believes that the work of CFS fulfills a critical niche, not just in Chicago, but nationally, serving as a catalyst for individuals of all ages to become powerful agents of change and profoundly impact our world.
Founders and Previous Board Members
Kristen Atkinson – January 2008 – June 2010
Kevin Brown – Founding – December 2009
Lamont Boswell – Founding – December 2009
Quinton Davis – June 2009 – June 2010
Demond Drummer – July 2010 – June 2011
Keisha Farmer-Smith – Founding – December 2010
Wendy Harvell-Vendel – June 2006 – December 2007
Ansheera “Ace” Hillard – January 2008 – December 2009
Nicole Jurek – January 2010 – June 2011
Mariame Kaba – Chair of the Board of Directors – Founding – December 2010
Carrie Kaufman – January 2009 – December 2010
Lesley Kennedy – Founding – June 2007
Micaiah Kline – Founding – December 2009
Kevin Kumashiro – January – December 2009
Francie McGowan – January 2008 – December 2010
Eva Nagao – January 2010 – December 2011
Jobi Petersen – Founding – June 2006
Alex Poeter – Founding – December 2007
Chez Rumpf – January 2009 – December 2011
Yunuen Rodriguez – January 2007 – June 2008
Mauricio Pineda – January 2010 – December 2011
Mary Scott-Boria – January 2010 – December 2011
Shamone Shelton – June 2009 – June 2010
Melissa Spatz – Founding – December 2007
Nadeja Wesley – Founding – December 2009
Mariana Williams – January 2009 – December 2011
Daisy Zamora – Founding – December 2008
Kristiana Zerom – June 2006 – December 2008