Good Advice

Kareeshma is committed to equitable community development and the design of human-centered tools, programs, services, and experiences. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kareeshma was the Director of Design Strategy at Greater Good Studio, and worked exclusively with non-profits, foundations, and public agencies on human-centered design projects. Kareeshma holds a Masters in Architecture and Urban & Regional Planning, and a Post-Professional Certificate in Social and Environmental Design from Archeworks. When she is not working or spending time with her husband and two young girls, she is an avid student of decolonial healing philosophies. You can often find her eagerly learning about sustainability, health and wellness, and in movement through dance and yoga.

As the ED of Black Chicago Tomorrow, Danielle is responsible for leading the organization’s vision of creating a vibrant African American Community that benefits from and contributes to the region’s economy and society. Most recently, Harbison was an associate principal with Civic Consulting Alliance; prior to this, she served as the Chicago executive director for Peer Health Exchange, a non-profit focused on advancing health equity for young people. Harbison is a graduate of The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Ahmad Jitan is a Palestinian educator, organizer, and writer. Currently based in Chicago and raised in the U.S. South, he has been shaped by the resilience and resistance of communities across the globe: from Turkey to Lebanon and Sierra Leone, from Senegal to Palestine and Brooklyn.

Ahmad’s work has spanned efforts and campaigns ranging from Palestinian liberation, food sovereignty, police and prison abolition, health equity, immigrant and refugee rights, and youth leadership development. He has worked in settings as diverse as public schools, grassroots organizations, early childhood education centers, international non-profits, as well as higher-education.

Regardless of geography or setting, he has found that the true experts are those who are most directly impacted by the question at hand. Ahmad centers his work on cultivating self-discovery, cross-cultural understanding, collective decision-making, and strategic action in order to transform ourselves and our environments.

Ahmad embraces creativity and spirituality as powerful tools for envisioning liberation as a unified struggle across many fronts, transcending any single issue or narrow ideology. You can often find Ahmad with a cup of café Touba in his hand and a book of poetry at his side.

Lesley is part of a team that is building Chicago’s first Black midwife-led, free standing birth center on the south side. Lesley is a student midwife and a doula and has dedicated 20+ years to strengthening Chicago’s non-profit sector. Prior to dedicating the second half of her professional journey to birth justice, Lesley served as Chief Equity Officer for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana and was previously Director of Strategy and Organization Development at Cabrini Green Legal Aid. Lesley served five years as a Senior Program Officer at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, where she managed the Foundation’s Child and Youth Education and Health and Wellness Portfolios. Lesley has a master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in English and Women’s Studies from Stephens College.

Era is a seasoned legal executive with over 15 years of experience driving systemic reform across Illinois’ criminal and juvenile justice systems. She most recently served as Chief of Staff for the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, where she oversaw major organizational transformations and led policy efforts to reduce pretrial incarceration and racial disparities. Her previous roles include Deputy Director of the Illinois Justice Project, Chief of Staff for the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, and Associate General Counsel to the Governor of Illinois. Era is a licensed attorney and former adjunct law professor, with a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law and a B.A. from Miami University.

Eugene Robinson, Jr. serves as Director of Student Engagement, with a focus on strategically managing all student engagement activities across 500+ CPS schools impacting over 100k+ students. Before this role, Eugene served as the Sr. Program Manager for Mentoring and Out of School Time. As manager, he oversaw a portfolio of over 365+ CPS schools engaging over 75k+ students annually in out-of-school time programming and an OST catalog of 170+ Community Partners. Prior to returning to CPS, he served as the Interim School Director of The University of Chicago Charter School High School, Woodlawn Campus. Eugene earned his undergraduate degree from Chicago State University and a Masters in Social Work from the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at The University of Chicago. He also completed Culinary Arts education at Washburne Culinary Institute and is an alumnus of City Year Chicago (an AmeriCorps program).

Sejal Shah-Myers is the executive director of Springboard Foundation Fund, which improves the lives of students by supporting grassroots educational afterschool programs and their intrepid leaders. She also consults with family foundations and corporations on creating nonprofit-centered philanthropy. Sejal has a unique 360-degree view of philanthropy as fundraiser, grantmaker, and consultant and has taught at several universities. She has a history as a strong relationship builder and creative problem solver.