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STAFF & BOARD

There are approximately 70 staff who support the agency’s mission.

Friedman Place is governed by a
VOLUNTEER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mary Haley, President

Mary has over 25 years experience in banking, including as a former Assistant Vice-President at Associated Bank. She has served as an officer of several not-for-profit organizations and was a long-time volunteer in Friedman Place’s Activity Department. Mary is also a survivor of polio and joined our Board in 2015.

Ian Kay, Vice-President

Ian has extensive experience in the banking industry and is currently a Vice-President at Customers Bank Private and Commercial Banking.

Richard Goldberg, Treasurer

Rich is a Certified Public Accountant and partner in the accounting firm Wippman, Gozum & Goldberg, Ltd. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Illinois CPA Society, and has been the Treasurer for the Wheeling Prospect Heights Chamber of Commerce and Congregation Beth Am and has served on several other nonprofit boards.

Beverly Shapiro, Secretary

Bev is a social worker with a long history of working in a community-based nonprofit organization where for many years provided direct services to individuals, couples, and families and later served as a supervisor, administrator, and assistant executive director. She currently serves as a board member of a nonprofit that leverages the unique abilities of people with Asperger’s Syndrome to offer software testing services and on an Advisory Committee for adoption services at an inner-city pre-school. Bev received her Master’s degree from the School of Social Services Administration at the University of Chicago. She has served on our board since 2008.

Jeff Flodin, MSW, Director

Jeff served as a social worker at Friedman Place for over 10 years until retiring and moving to Colorado in the late summer of 2020. He continues to actively blog at “Jalapenos in the Oatmeal”. Jeff was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age 35 and has teamed with three guide dogs over the years. Jeff’s mission is to tell his story of life with vision loss honestly, to share its inherent tragedy and comedy and to shed light in dark places.

Michael Glickman, JD, CPA, Director

Michael is an attorney and CPA and runs a home-healthcare agency in Highland Park. He has a long association with Friedman Place, including through his sister-in-law, the sister of former board member Arnie Miller.

Bill Green, Director

Bill (he/his) is the Hart Prins Fund Accessibility & Inclusion Manager at Lincoln Park Zoo. He uses his experience from working in the disability community to foster accessibility and inclusion in all environments where people engage with the zoo. Personal experience also informs Bill’s work. Since birth, he has been low vision. He has also been a lifelong enthusiast of zoos and museums and the diverse ways people interact with these spaces. Bill has consulted with many cultural institutions in Chicago, including serving as an inaugural member on The Second City’s Accessibility Board. He has also served as the Youth and Senior Program Manager at the Blind Service Association and as an instructor of English at several universities..

Lily Diego-Johnson, LSW, Director

Lily is a Program Coordinator at the Disability Cultural Center at the University of Illinois Chicago, where she has also served in other roles for the past five years. She is a social worker and as part of her training had internships at hospital and community-based nonprofits, including the Chicago Lighthouse. Lily self-identifies as a disabled professional and artist dedicated to social justice and social change

Christophe Quancard, Director

Christophe is a manager with Deloitte’s tax practice and is part of the Global Employer Services group, assisting clients with their global mobility policies and practices for employees on international assignments. His areas of interest are community inclusion, disability, and healthcare.

Paul Rink, JD, Director

Paul is an attorney who retired in 2010 as a Commissioner of the the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission following a twenty year career with the organization. Previously, he worked for many years as a Senior Attorney with Continental Bank. He currently serves as a pro-bono attorney for people with a wide range of disabilities, most of whom have visual impairments and he also serves on the boards of several other nonprofit organizations that serve people who are blind. A lifelong Chicagoan, Paul has been blind since birth and received his law degree from Northwestern University. Paul has served on our board since 2004.

Jill Strong, Director

Jill Strong has worked at Associated Bank for 25 years and is currently in Commercial Senior Support. Before joining the board she volunteered at Friedman Place for many years in roles as varied as the yearly boat rides sponsored by Associated Bank, Saturday Bingo, tagging and selling items at Friedman Fest, and Music Trivia.

Aaron Thompson, Director

Aaron Thompson is currently President at ACT Consulting Inc., Regional Director of Medicare Services at Mydayda, and Regional Developer at Strong Family Financial. He has extensive senior-level experience in banking and has served Liberty Bank, Associated Bank and JP Morgan Chase in the areas of recruitment, training, and development of sales teams and sales managers. He lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.