Our People

Leadership Team

Kirstin Chernawsky

Kirstin Chernawsky

Executive Director

Kirstin Chernawsky is the executive director of Erie Neighborhood House and is the ninth individualto serve in this capacity since the agency's incorporation in 1915. She came to Erie House in 2013 and served as senior director of development and communications before entering her current role in 2016.

Kirstin has served as a tireless advocate for the mission of Erie House and brings with her a strong background in nonprofit administration and strategic fundraising. She also has extensive experience working with the agency's strategic partners both across the city of Chicago and at the national level.

Crain's Chicago Business named Kirstin to its 40 Under 40 list in 2018 and she was a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, Class of 2019. She also serves on the board of directors for numerous organizations, including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR; board treasurer), Susan G. Komen Chicago, Chicago Women in Philanthropy (CWIP), and the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force. She is additionally a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

Kirstin served on Mayor Lori Lightfoot's health & human services transition team in 2019. She was previously appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve on the 2017-2019 Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC).

Education
MS: Public Service Management, DePaul University
BA: Sociology, DePaul University
Certified Nonprofit Accounting professional designation

Kirstin Chernawsky

Kirstin Chernawsky

Executive Director

Cristina De La Rosa

Senior Director of Programs

Cristina oversees the direction and scope of all Erie House programming, provides stewardship of the agency’s mission through program excellence, and identifies new funding sources and opportunities to increase agency revenue. Before coming to Erie House in 2011, she worked for 7 years at the Chicago Federation of Labor as a program coordinator and case manager.

Education
BA: Public Policy, DePaul University

Contact Cristina: cdelarosa@eriehouse.org

Cristina De La Rosa

Senior Director of Programs

Melissa Flores

Senior Director of Strategy & Operations

As the Senior Director of Strategy and Operations, Melissa Flores leads the strategy and quality assurance at Erie House in an effort to bring efficient and effective systems to increase the productivity of the organization. In addition, she oversees both the Facilities and IT departments and is focused on delivering measurable, cost-effective results. Melissa recently served as the Senior Director of Programs at Erie House and is energized by the opportunity to take her expertise to Operations in order to strengthen the infrastructure of the agency.

Education
MA: Chicana/o Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
EdM: Arts in Education, Harvard University
BA: English Professional Writing, Mount Mary College
Latino Non-Profit Leadership Program Certificate, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Contact Melissa: mflores@eriehouse.org

Melissa Flores

Senior Director of Strategy & Operations

Leslie Okamura

Leslie Okamura

Senior Director of Finance

Leslie Okamura directs a finance department that manages a $9 million annual budget comprised of private and public revenue streams. She came to Erie House in 2013, having worked previously at Casa Central Social Services in the world of corporate finance. 

Education
BS: Accountancy, Northeastern Illinois University
Registered Certified Public Accountant (Illinois)

Contact Leslie: lokamura@eriehouse.org

Leslie Okamura

Leslie Okamura

Senior Director of Finance

Cheryl Philip

Senior Director of Development & Communications

Cheryl Philip oversees development and communications and is responsible for sustaining and increasing private, institutional and public funding to support the agency's objectives. Her background is in individual giving, specifically mid-level and major gifts. Before joining Erie House in 2019, she worked as mission funding director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s $198 Million comprehensive campaign.

Education
BA: Sociology/Anthropology and Race & Ethnic Studies, St. Olaf College

Contact Cheryl: cphilip@eriehouse.org

Cheryl Philip

Senior Director of Development & Communications

Susan Winterson

Senior Director of Human Resources

Susan “Susie” Winterson is a passionate Human Resources Professional that believes in collaboration, continuous learning, diversity, inclusion and the fundamental ideology that a happy and healthy workforce is the backbone of any organization.
As Senior Director of Human Resources, Susie oversees the strategic direction of Erie House's HR department.
Before joining Erie House in 2020, Susie was Human Resources Manager for HEI Hotels and Resorts.

Education

Post-Baccalaureate: Human Resources, Northwestern University

BA: Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University

Susie is a Society of Human Resources Certified Professional.

Contact Susie: swinterson@eriehouse.org

Susan Winterson

Senior Director of Human Resources

Megan Davis

Director of Legal Services

Megan Davis joined Erie House in August 2017 as an immigration attorney with our Citizenship and Immigration (now Legal Services) department. As Director of Legal Services, Megan provides legal representation to immigrant clients, as well as oversees and supervises our legal staff. Our program focuses on providing access to justice for immigrants and their families, to help them obtain lawful status, family reunification, or protection from deportation.

Prior to coming to Erie House, Megan was a staff attorney at Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors (NIJFON).

Education
DePaul College of Law, cum laude

BA: International Studies and Spanish, Missouri Southern State University

Contact Megan: mdavis@eriehouse.org

Megan Davis

Director of Legal Services

Ann Grecek

Director of Child Care

Ann Grecek directs a NAEYC-accredited child care program that provides care and instruction to 175 children and their families. She came to Erie House in 2019, having invested two decades working within Early Head Start and Head Start programs throughout Chicagoland. She also spent 14 years teaching in the Early Childhood Education department at Morton College.

Education
MA: Early Childhood Education with a specialization in Infant and Toddler Studies, Governors State University
BA: Spanish, University of Illinois-Chicago

Contact Ann: agrecek@eriehouse.org

Ann Grecek

Director of Early Childhood Education

 

Josh Johnson

Director of Expanded Learning Programs

As Director of Expanded Learning Programs at Erie House, Josh directs our programs for children and youth, including after-school and summer programs for school-age children, and mentoring and apprenticeship programs for youth. Josh joined the Erie House team in 2020, bringing experience as Youth Development Director for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago and as a teacher for the Children's Defense Fund's Freedom Schools program in Detroit.

Education
BA: Elementary Education and Teaching, Michigan State University

Contact Josh: jjohnson@eriehouse.org

Josh Johnson

Director of Expanded Learning Programs

Paul Kasper

Director of Facilities

Paul Kasper is responsible for directing the activities of facilities, management and engineering, strategic planning and energy management for all Erie House sites. Prior to joining Erie House in 2001 as executive assistant, he was manager of workforce development for economically disadvantaged adults at Association House of Chicago.

Contact Paul: pkasper@eriehouse.org

Paul Kasper

Director of Facilities

Mario Martinez

Director of IT

Contact Mario: mmartinez@eriehouse.org

Mario Martinez

Director of Information Technology

America Perez-Garcia

Director of Finance

America has been a part of the Erie House finance team since February 2006. In her role as Director of Finance, she oversees the daily functions of the accounting department.

Education

BS: Accounting, National-Louis University
Currently pursuing a master's degree in Business Administration

Contact America: aperez@eriehouse.org

America Perez-Garcia

Director of Finance

Rosa Sanchez Totochenko

Proyecto Cuídate Director

As the Proyecto Cuídate Director, Rosa oversees daily management and implementation of direct services for the program in addition to providing supervision for Social Work interns and therapy for participants at Erie House’s Little Village site.
Rosa joined Erie House in 2014 and in July 2015 transitioned to working with Proyecto Cuídate.
She also served in Peace Corps Ukraine between 2009 and 2012, teaching English and working with the local Non-Government Organization on community and youth development efforts in Sovietski, Crimea.

Education

MSW: University of Wisconsin-Madison

BS: Sociology and Spanish and minor in Social Work, Benedictine University

Contact Rosa: rsanchez@eriehouse.org

Rosa Sanchez Totochenko

Proyecto Cuídate Director



Soo-Lyon Yon, Ph.D.

Director of Community Resources & Education

Soo-Lyon previously worked as the Program Director of Behavioral Health, Center for Asian Health Equity at the University of Chicago, as the Strategy Consultant at Chicago Mental Health Institute, and as the Director of Community Education at HANA Center. In close collaboration with many organizations, Soo-Lyon developed collaborative strategic planning, various applied research projects, and many new programs pertaining to changing community needs. Soo-Lyon also served as a Mayor’s advisory council member for Commission on Human Relations on Asian Affairs, City of Chicago to be a liaison between the city government and the community to promote equity in our community. Moreover, Soo-Lyon has led research projects funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and served as a steering committee member of ‘Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC)’ at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
 
As the Director of Community Resources and Education, Soo-Lyon manages the operations of CRED programs and ensures the stability and growth of the programs by focusing on the accomplishment of the strategic objectives of the program. Soo-Lyon also works closely with community partner organizations to build a strong community infrastructure that will allow the organizations to create and develop culturally tailored programs for our community members.
 
Born in Seoul, Korea, Soo-Lyon was raised and received her undergraduate education there.
 

Education

Ph.D.: Political Science, University of Tennessee in Knoxville
BA: English

Contact Soo-Lyon: syon@eriehouse.org

Soo-Lyon Yon, Ph.D

Director of Community Resources & Education

Board of Directors

Nicolas Guzman

President

Faegre Drinker, LLP

Craig Castelli

Vice President

Caber Hill Advisors

Heather Mejia

Treasurer

Allstate

Carlos Ramirez

Secretary

Illinois Department of Transportation

Jose Paz

Associate Board President

Monroe Capital LLC

Executive Committee Members-at-Large

Dan Hartnett

Commscope, Inc. (Retired)

Patricia Perez

Kirkland & Ellis

Gail Taggart

L3 Hospitality Group

Committee Chairs

Frances Delgado

Resource Development

Teamsters Local 705

Kahlil Hogan

Operations

VistaNational

Stephanie Kanter

Programs

Candidate for Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, 2021

Chris Terzich

Government & Oversight

CIBC Bank USA

Beth Benjamin

CIBC Bank USA (Retired)

Elizabeth Binkley

PwC

Lory Carbajal Van Ness

The Coca-Cola Company

Adriana Cuellar

Erie House Parent Policy Committee President

Lavine Douglas

Motorola Solutions

Ashley Galston

K&L Gates LLP

Amanda Gomez

ComEd

Risa Josias

BMO Financial Group

Librada Killian

JP Morgan Chase & Co

Lou Leonardi

Wintrust

Monique Mervin

The University of Chicago Law School

Edgar Montalvo

Kirkuk Global, LLC

Nadine O'Malley

HOME

Oswaldo Ortega

Gensler

Sandy Pundmann

Deloitte & Touche, LLP

Asael Reyes

Youth Representative

Maria Rocha

Program Representative, YOU

Honorary Life Trustees

Charles W. Armstrong*

Phyllis Armstrong*

Elmera Brooks

Elizabeth S. Bryan

May R. Burns*

Ann S. Carton

R. Gerald Fox

Steve Fox

Robert A. Gielow*

Elizabeth S. Graham*

John R. Hall

Mark A. Jolicoeur

John D. Leslie

Marie Leslie

James J. McClure, Jr.*

Lynn McClure*

Victor "Sy" Nelson

Jack O'Kieffe

Bertha H. Pepe

Donald E. Quinn

Lois Quinn

Sarah Rios*

Rev. Paul Rutgers*

Rose Ann Savino

Marjorie G. Schuham

John Van Pelt

Harry Vincent*

Nancy Vincent

Carol Wiley

Robert Wiley*

Richard Wiley

Kathy Wiley

 

*deceased member