In March of 2019, the ILCMA Board established an ad hoc task force on Diversity Equity and Inclusion with the goal of identifying and reducing barriers to the participation of minorities, women and other underrepresented groups in the profession of local government management and the ILCMA. ILCMA’s Diversity and Inclusion standing committee was formally created in early 2021.
The Committee’s goals include:
- Educate association members on DEI through implicit/explicit/microaggression training using several different platforms.
- Impress the need of the association to build relationships with affinity groups established in the work of DEI.
- Develop tools, programs and techniques for member organizations to use to help them reach their DEI goals, including but not limited to a recruitment tool kit of best practices for hiring for diversity, and DEI training as a part of organizational objectives and strategic planning initiatives.
Committee Co-Chair – Kimberly Richardson, Deputy City Manager, Evanston
Committee Co-Chair – Napoleon Haney, Assistant Village Manager, Homewood
Committee Members:
Sam Barghi, Management Analyst, Lincolnshire
Heather Kuykendall, Comptroller, Charleston
Sharon Schallhorn, Administrator, Bureau County
Allison Matson, Village Administrator, Wauconda
Nancy Hill, Community Development Director, South Elgin
Rebecca Ahlvin, City Manager, Mascoutah
Elijah Bebora, Management Analyst, River Forest
Ghida Neukirch, City Manager, Highland Park
Daisy Chavez, Assistant to the Village Manager, Western Springs
Joan Walls, Deputy City Manager, Champaign
Ex Officio
Casey Biernacki, Deputy Village Manager, Western Springs
Sharon Tanner, Assistant Village Manager, Glencoe
Roy Witherow, Assistant Village Manager, Lake Zurich
Erin Baynes, Management Analyst, Libertyville
Cristina White, Assistant City Administrator, Warrenville
Jennifer Swahlstedt, IRMA
Tasheik Kerr, Management Analyst, Evanston
Jason Miller, Assistant to the Village Manager, Park Forest