Board & Staff
The ABCD Institute currently has a 13 person board and is supported by a part-time staff member through our partnership with the Steans Center at DePaul University.
Allison Lourash, Co-President
Wausau, Wisconsin USA
allison@lourash.com
As a woman with multiple disabilities, Allison has spent her career working in community advancing community integration. She has a Master’s in Public Administration with a focus on non-profit management and has stewarded multiple grants and projects in her home state of Illinois and for the last 15 years in Wisconsin. Allison has worked with communities on housing, employment, and education issues and has served on multiple national and international boards advancing disability-led practices. Her work evaluating ABCD frameworks within human services systems was the focus of her PhD dissertation which was completed in 2022.
Jess Wyatt, Co-President
Baltimore, Maryland USA
jhwyatt@gmail.com
Jess (she/her) is the Associate Director of Alumni Engagement at UMBC in addition to serving as faculty in UMBC’s Community Leadership program. Jess joined the ABCD Institute in the summer of 2017 as a steward. Since joining, she has been active on workgroups working to build structure for the Institute to become more accessible by creating clear avenues for new leadership, new efforts and to allow anyone who would like to have a clear relationship to the ABCD Institute and the ABCD Community. She now serves as the co-president of the Institute’s Board of Directors.
Indigo Bishop, Board Secretary
Cleveland, Ohio USA
indigo.bishop@gmail.com
Indigo is a Clevelander, facilitator, and strategist specializing in sustainable development. She has worked in philanthropy and affordable housing. Today she is a Program Officer at the Saint Luke’s Foundation. Indigo has dedicated her career to building wealth and health in BIPOC communities & leveraging existing assets to strengthen her city.
Dee Brooks, International Liaison
St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia
dee@jeder.com.au
Based in Australia, Dee’s down-to-earth style builds on what’s strong, not what’s wrong, by bringing people together in dynamic ways to realise and engage the full potential of their networks and communities. For more than 20 years, her community engagement and development work has inspired thousands of people worldwide in community, organisational and governmental settings. Dee is a passionate grassroots practitioner, facilitator and trainer who believes in tapping into the collective wisdom of communities. Dee was an Intentional Nomad for 5 years who traveled and worked in over 20 countries, until COVID had other ideas, and continues her global work from a new base near Melbourne, Australia.
Ruthie Yow, Board Secretary
Atlanta, Georgia, Unites States
ruth.yow@gatech.edu
Ruthie's background is in higher education - both as a faculty member, teaching courses on social movements, civil rights history, and student activism, and as a community engagement and sustainability professional. She loves facilitation and is trained in Technology of Participation methods and loves writing and research- especially when the task is documenting, sharing, and celebrating ABCD stories.
Ben Wheeler, Board Treasurer
Seattle, WA USA
Ben.Wheeler@seattlehousing.org
Ben Wheeler is a seasoned Community Developer who has worked for various housing organizations and served on different boards that collaborate with neighbors on their passions and gifts while amplifying equitable policy changes. He serves as the Seattle Housing Authority's Yesler Terrace Community Builder and Interim Supervisor for the Housing Authority's Community Builders. Yesler is one of the U.S. oldest integrated publicly funded housing neighborhoods and will be the nation's largest mixed-income neighborhood. Ben has earned a Master of Science in Community Development from Kansas State University. He is an active member of the housing authority's Race and Social Justice Initiative.
Rishia Burke, Board Member
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
rburke@cdhalton.ca
Rishia is a strategic nonprofit leader, committed collaborator, proven project manager, and team developer; always generating results. Asset based community development is where my passion is. Enthusiastic story teller of community change, compelling others to join in.
Richard Holmes, Board Member
Great Witcombe, England, UK
rich.holmes@gotogether.org.uk
Based in the UK, Rich has a widely respected reputation internationally and has established a strong foothold in the social sector, community engagement, and business development in Britain. He brings over 25 years of extensive experience to the table. Throughout his career, he has committed to catalysing positive community led change, nurturing innovative cultures, and fostering transformative leadership. His approach revolves around adopting a relational approach, cultivating enduring relationships and strength based partnerships, thereby fostering a sense of collaboration and belonging.
Ruben Medina, Board Member
Aurora, Colorado USA
rmedina@fsucommunities.org
Ruben is a City Council member in Aurora and Project Manager for the Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities. He has worked on a variety of roles in recreation, government, and Health and Wellness working with a diverse population of community members.
Amanda Onochie, Board Member
San Antonio, Texas, United States
abcsc.info@gmail.com
Amanda is a community activator and Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) with over a decade of experience in community development, as well as nonprofit project management. Specializing in Asset-Based Community Development, she has worked both domestically and internationally to advance her research on intentional community engagement and organic transformation, particularly within the Public Health sector. As the founder of AB Community Development Solutions, Amanda is committed to enhancing the operational efficiency of community systems and nonprofits. She also supports profit-for-purpose organizations in achieving sustainable change through hands-on consulting. Beyond her professional endeavors, Amanda is dedicated to service-learning and actively promotes its mutual benefits through initiatives like AmeriCorps. She also facilitates Google’s #IamRemarkable campaign, empowering individuals to advocate for themselves in professional settings. Amanda serves on several other boards including Emerge & Rise, Democracy Prep Public Schools, and the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance’s Executive Committee.
Ray Thompson, Board Member
Chicago, IL USA
raypthompson75@gmail.com
Ray has worked in a range of professional capacities for respected Chicago-area social service agencies and educational institutions including Uhlich Children’s Home (UCAN), Lawrence Hall Youth Services, University of Illinois at Chicago, Perspectives Charter Schools, Chicago Public Schools and Greater Auburn Gresham Community Development Organization. He earned a BA in sociology (w/distinction) from University of Illinois at Chicago and MA from University of Chicago’s School of Service Administration (Crown School) with specializations in community development, education policy and youth development. Though institutionally prepared and accomplished, he learned early that sustainable solutions to marginalized community challenges exist within the people, associations and organizations in those communities.
Vanessa Westley, Board Member
Chicago, IL
v.westley@gmail.com
Vanessa Westley is a now retired 30-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department. After a decade of street experience in Patrol and Tactical units, Officer Westley has served as project manager for the CPD’s 1st Office of Restorative Justice Strategies to further implement the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) Ms. Westley is Asset Based Community (Development)Engagement practitioner and law enforcement instructor in collaboration with DePaul University’s Steans Center Egan Office of Urban Education and Community Partnerships. Ms. Westley is a public participatory dialogue facilitator and Restorative Justice advocate and educator. Specializing in World Café, Pro Action Café and Open Space Technology processes. Currently Ms. Westley serves on the International World Café Stewardship Council At the Chicago Police Department. Ms. Westley coordinated “Bridging the Divide” a restorative policing strategy to authentically engage the community of youth and emerging adults while assigned to the Office of Restorative Justice Strategies.
Byron White, Board Member
Charlotte, NC USA
bpwhite84@outlook.com
Dr. Byron P. White is Associate Provost for Urban Research and Community Engagement at the University of North Carolina Charlotte where he oversees urbanCORE (Community-Oriented Research and Engagement), an office that connects university research to community assets. He began his career as a newspaper journalist, including as editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune and editor of the Tribune’s Urban Affairs Team. Between newspaper stints, he worked with community-based organizations in Cincinnati and Chicago’s West Side. He has a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in social science from the University of Chicago.
Jennifer Kouba
Assistant Director of ABCD Partnerships
Steans Center, DePaul University
admin@abcdinstitute.org
Jen Kouba is a Double Demon with both their undergraduate and graduate degrees from DePaul’s College of Communication with additional coursework in Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies to become a certified Peace Circle Facilitator. Jen has held leadership roles at DePaul University, Lincoln Park Community Services, Connections for the Homeless, and Care for Real. In addition to teaching college courses, Jen currently serves as a job coach and job developer through Project Access at Wright College and is the Assistant Director of ABCD Partnerships in DePaul’s Steans Center. Jen is an alumna of the Vincentian Lay Missionaries and currently volunteer with EZRA Multi Social Services and Best Buddies Illinois. You can find their work in Speak Up Magazine, Advancing Philanthropy, Better Magazine, Harness Magazine, and see appearances on CANTV’s Change Agents, Fox 32 Chicago, and Comcast Newsmakers.
Chicago, IL
Past Board Members
Alison Mathie (2022-2024)
Ivis Garcia (2019-2024)
Seva Gandhi (2019 - 2023)
Darryl Answer (2019 - 2023)
George Terrell (2015 - 2022)
Robert Francis (2019- 2023)
Xavier Russell (2019 - 2022)
Melissa Browning (2019 - 2021)
Michael Bennett (2016 - 2022)
Terry Bergdall (2016 - 2022)
Dan Duncan (2016 - 2020)
Ron Dwyer Voss (2016 - 2020)
Deb Wisniewski (2016 - 2018)
April Doner (2016 - 2018)
Rob Donahue (2015)
Anne Hallett (2015)
Kim Zalent (2015)
Allyson Small (2021)