Who We Are
Our staff
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dani Brazee
Gabriel Chavez
NorthStar Wealth Group
Matt Clark
Helios Consulting
Thomas Duffy
Village of Lisle Trustee
Amit Philip
Treehouse Foods
Sherry Sabic
GreenState Credit Union
Greg Stientjes
IRI
Nicole Szydlowski
RR Donnelley
Hon. Gina Cunningham-Picek
Kevin Delano
Delano Professional Services
Nick Economos
Dr. Robert Girgis
Judy Pokorny
Barbara A Schmith
Paula Gleason
Steve Szpytek
Jeff Seitz
Retired
Robert Wheeler
Terra Costa Howard
Dianne O’Donnell
Mary Jo Mullen
Kevin Delano
Rasmussen University
Mr. Kevin Delano is a financial and operational executive enabling organizations to improve results and grow their business. At Ramussen University, Mr. Delano was in charge of finance, accounting, tax, treasury, insurance, human capital, real estate, and payroll for a $260M+ private education company. Prior to his tenure at Rasmussen University, Mr. Delano served as Director of Finance at Nokia, leading international teams in North America, the Netherlands, and India, to drive improvements in people, process, and technology across departments. He is a licensed CPA in the state of Illinois, has a MBA from Washington University in St Louis, and a BS in Accounting from the University of Southern California.
Mr. Delano has been involved in local organizations to assist homelessness and food insecurity for the last 15 years. He feels strongly that food is a basic human need that must be met in order to address other obstacles that an individual might be dealing with. A child cannot effectively study on an empty stomach and an adult cannot concentrate on work if they do not know where their next meal is coming from. He has been a member of the WSCP board for the last two years and is committed to the success of the organization and its clients.
Sharon Brauer
Board Member & Advocate
Sharon Brauer is an experienced and well-rounded professional with a deep commitment to both her work and community. Her expertise in healthcare management, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation, along with her passion for language access and emotional intelligence, showcases her dedication to making a positive impact. Sharon’s extensive leadership experience and her commitment to continuous learning reflect her versatility and resourcefulness.
Her dual Master’s degrees—one in Counseling Psychology (Alfred Adler Institute) and the other in Business Administration (Keller Graduate School of Management)-show a strong foundation in both the human and strategic aspects of healthcare, allowing her to approach challenges with a balanced, thoughtful perspective. Her work in language access, particularly in implementing video remote services and supporting diverse healthcare communication needs, underscores her advocacy for inclusivity and effective care for all people.
Committed to continuous learning, as evidenced by her certifications in healthcare quality (CPHQ) and healthcare compliance (CHC), Sharon is talented and a life-long learner. These traits have been exemplified as Sharon was a Scout Leader for over 5 years, served on the board of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care and most recently achieved the ServSafe Food Protection Manager and Allergens Certifications.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Sharon enthusiastically volunteer’s and participates as a Board Member with the West Suburban Community Pantry. This work highlights her community-oriented mindset and desire to give back in meaningful ways. With her wide-ranging skills, Sharon is someone who truly excels in both leadership and service.
Sharon currently resides in Lisle, IL with her husband, a Brittany and a fish. She is learning to play the violin which keeps her motivated and humble.
Ashkan Afshari
Empowered IT Consulting
With over 20 years of expertise in Information Technology Management, scaling from start-ups to large enterprises, Ashkan founded Empowered IT Consulting to help organizations maximize their technology investments and enhance their application landscapes. Ashkan is dedicated to empowering organizations through innovative solutions that integrate people, processes, and technology, always prioritizing stakeholder experience.
Ashkan’s extensive background in Portfolio, Program, Project, and Product Management, along with Customer Success, Process Improvement, and IT Operations, enables him to deliver transformative value to organizations. By leveraging this experience, Ashkan helps nonprofits streamline their operations, improve efficiency, and achieve their strategic goals.
Ashkan is passionate about creating value-driven solutions that align with the mission and objectives of nonprofit organizations, ensuring they can make a greater impact in their communities.
Amit earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Illinois – Chicago. He has been a long time DuPage County resident and is excited to be able to support the community he grew up in.
Jeff Seitz
West Suburban Community Pantry Volunteer
Jeff recently retired after working 31 years for Accenture, one of the world’s largest consulting firms. Currently, he is working on improving his golf game while determining the next phase of his life.
Jeff has also helped preserve and protect our country’s freedom through military service. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, having been stationed in Japan and South Korea.
Additionally, Jeff helps promote artistic enrichment in his community by playing trombone for the Center Cass Community Band. His family has lived in the Woodridge/Downers Grove area since 1992.
Kristine Noren
john greene Real Estate
Kristine Noren joined with West Suburban Community Pantry Board of Directors because she is passionate about making an impact on the lives of those who experience food insecurity and strengthening the well-being of our local communities.
Kristine is the Vice President of Operations and Strategic Initiatives for john greene Enterprises, serving as a member of the leadership team to set strategic direction for the company. She is responsible for leading and implementing key strategic initiatives and operational processes for the residential (john greene Realtor), commercial/land (john greene Real Estate), and title (john greene Title) divisions. Her strong skillset in operational strategy and management makes her well positioned to help carry out the mission of West Suburban Community Pantry.
Prior to working in real estate, she had a twelve-year career in city planning and development with the City of Minneapolis, MN, the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program, and the City of Naperville, IL.
Kristine earned a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Economic Development at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Land Use from the Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. She lives in Naperville with her husband, three children in high school and college, and three dogs.
Mary Hutchinson
Consultant
Prior to becoming a consultant, Mary served as deputy development officer and vice president of philanthropy operations for Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. She has a distinguished track record in managing multi-million dollar corporate and foundation relationships, grant-making, and development department leadership.
Mary earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, specializing in nonprofit management.
Mary is an active volunteer in her children’s schools. From 2012-2018, she served as a board member of Amate House, a leadership development program that serves Chicago’s under-resourced communities. She currently lives in Naperville, IL with her husband and three young children.
Kelly Jeschke
Jones Lang LaSalle
Kelly is currently a client finance director of transformation, training and product support at Jones Lang LaSalle, the world’s second-largest public brokerage firm. She draws on her strong work ethic to lead a large accounting, finance, and project development department; oversee a training and product support team across the United States, Canada, and Latin America; and manage a shared services center in Argentina.
Previously, she served as a client financial services senior director of global financial controls at R.R. Donnelley, Inc., the world’s premier integrated communication services provider. Prior to that, she held several prominent accounting and finance roles at top companies.
Kelly received a bachelor’s degree from Webster University. She currently lives in Bloomingdale, IL.
Kelly Jeschke
Jones Lang LaSalle
Kelly is currently a client finance director of transformation, training and product support at Jones Lang LaSalle, the world’s second-largest public brokerage firm. She draws on her strong work ethic to lead a large accounting, finance, and project development department; oversee a training and product support team across the United States, Canada, and Latin America; and manage a shared services center in Argentina.
Previously, she served as a client financial services senior director of global financial controls at R.R. Donnelley, Inc., the world’s premier integrated communication services provider. Prior to that, she held several prominent accounting and finance roles at top companies.
Kelly received a bachelor’s degree from Webster University. She currently lives in Bloomingdale, IL.
Leah Marqulies
Communication Consultant
Leah is passionate about non-profit work and has spent time serving on several local boards including the DuPage Children’s Museum, Ronald McDonald Family Room (at Edward Hospital) and Naperville Community Television. In the last seven years, she has worked to raise more than $350,000 for Naperville non-profits. Leah lives in Naperville, IL with her husband and three children.
Why are you passionate about the fight against hunger and WSCP’s work? “Starting in the pandemic I began to look more closely at the needs within my own community. The statistics were staggering and also felt surprising to me. How could I not realize this kind of need existed so close to home? My children also wanted to support our neighbors so we organized a school project to create birthday bags for students in need. We delivered those to WSCP and I was blown away by the level of organization and thoughtfulness that poured out of the Pantry. I wanted to become involved at a higher level so I could continue to contribute to the fight against hunger in ways both big and small.”
Michael Olson
CIBC
Mike Olson is a seasoned commercial real estate professional with experience in asset management and finance of all types of commercial real estate. In his role as a managing director at CIBC Bank USA, a leading North American financial institution, Mike finances national public and private home builders.
Previously, Mike managed commercial real estate relationships through holding key roles at BMO Harris Bank, Associated Bank, U.S. Trust, Bank of America, and LaSalle Bank.
Mike earned an undergraduate degree from DePaul University. He currently resides in Lisle, IL with his wife and two children.
Amit Philip
Treehouse Foods
As senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Treehouse Foods, Amit is tasked with improving business performance through developing growth strategies, conducting strategic planning, and driving strategy execution.
Previously, he held positions in corporate strategy and analytics at The Hershey Company. Prior to that, he worked as a management consultant with A.T. Kearney. He began his career at Schlumberger, Ltd., the world’s largest oilfield services company.
Amit and his family recently moved to Greater Chicago from Texas, where they volunteered with Frisco FastPacs, an organization that delivers meals for children. He has also supported the Milton Hershey School, an institution that mentors disadvantaged kids. Additionally, he served as a board member at Creative Visions Social Services, a nonprofit that helps struggling children.
Amit received a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University. He lives in Naperville, IL with his wife and two children.
Ripujit Singh
Microsoft
Ripujit is a technology leader and entrepreneur with over 25 years of global experience developing software applications and enabling digital transformation across a wide variety of industries. He works currently at Microsoft.
Previously, Ripujit has served as the CEO of Quantera, an information security and application services company, as well as in leadership roles at Fujitsu America, Syntel, and MFX Services.
Ripujit earned his undergraduate degree in Physics from Panjab University and a Masters degree in Computer Applications from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology.
He actively participates with charitable organizations in his community due to his strong belief in paying it forward. In addition to serving as a board member at WSCP, Ripujit also volunteers with Loaves & Fishes Community Services and Feed My Starving Children.
Greg Stientjes
IRI
He is the senior vice president of client insights at IRi, a market research company that partners with leading food, retail, and health and beauty companies to help them grow. In his role, Greg leads IRi’s engagement with Conagra Brands, one of America’s top food companies, and The Hatchery, a food and beverage incubator and production facility in Chicago.
He has also held various other roles within the food industry during his career, including serving as director of strategic insights at Sara Lee and director of marketing at Hillshire Brands.
Greg earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in business administration from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. He currently resides in Naperville, IL with his family.
Gayle Szpytek
White Oak Library District
Gayle is an adult services librarian at the Romeoville Branch of the White Oak Library District. She plans and implements library programs, provides research assistance to library patrons, and teaches computer literacy classes, among other responsibilities, in an economically disadvantaged community. Additionally, she is U.S. Department of State certified passport acceptance agent and Joliet Junior College certified ESL class facilitator.
Gayle earned an undergraduate degree from Cornell College and a master’s degree in library and information science from Rosary College (now Benedictine University). She has been an active member of the Darien Woman’s Club for more than two decades, including serving as president. She has also held various leadership roles within her church and actively participated in the Partner Teacher Organizations (PTOs) at her children’s schools. Gayle currently resides in Downers Grove, IL with her husband.