Join us for INSPIRE on Thursday, March 20!
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Inspire will mark its eighth year in 2025! Join us on Thursday, March 20th at The Woman’s Club of Evanston (1702 Chicago Ave, Evanston) for an afternoon in support of Connections for the Homeless. While serving as a fundraiser for the organization, the event also promotes learning and advocacy around the topics of homelessness, affordable housing, and poverty.
As a contribution to the community dialogue about zoning, this year's Inspire luncheon will feature a keynote address by affordable housing expert Angela D. Brooks about how communities can work together to meet the housing needs of all residents. |
Registration Opens: 11:30am
Luncheon and Speakers: 12-1:30pm
Optional Panel Discussion: 1:45-2:30pm
Luncheon and Speakers: 12-1:30pm
Optional Panel Discussion: 1:45-2:30pm
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Keynote Speaker: Angela D. BrooksAngela Brooks is the Chief Housing and Urban Development Officer for the City of Philadelphia and the Immediate Past President of the American Planning Association. She has served on the Chicago Board of Zoning Appeals, the Illinois Affordable Housing Advisory Commission, and is co-chair of the Housing Supply Accelerator, a national organization helping communities to meet the housing needs of residents. Brooks is a native of Seattle and a graduate of Jackson State University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies, and the University of New Orleans, where she received a Master of Urban and Regional Planning. She has dedicated her career to ensuring every human has a safe, decent, affordable place to call home. Angela is also a kidney donor and passionate advocate working to increase minority organ donors.
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Suzanne B. Calder
Community Stakeholders Panel Discussion
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Panelist: Angela D. BrooksAngela Brooks is the Chief Housing and Urban Development Officer for the City of Philadelphia and the Immediate Past President of the American Planning Association. She has served on the Chicago Board of Zoning Appeals, the Illinois Affordable Housing Advisory Commission, and is co-chair of the Housing Supply Accelerator, a national organization helping communities to meet the housing needs of residents. Brooks is a native of Seattle and a graduate of Jackson State University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies, and the University of New Orleans, where she received a Master of Urban and Regional Planning. She has dedicated her career to ensuring every human has a safe, decent, affordable place to call home. Angela is also a kidney donor and passionate advocate working to increase minority organ donors.
Panelist: Brenda O'ConnellBrenda O’Connell is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) working closely with the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness on statewide strategies to house every Illinois resident. O’Connell has 25 years of experience working in nonprofits and the government, where she has focused on homelessness, affordable housing, and other anti-poverty work. O’Connell served on the Illinois Community Advisory Council on Homelessness and has consulted with communities across the country on their housing goals.
Panelist: Sue LoellbachSue Loellbach is the Director of Advocacy for Connections for the Homeless. The advocacy program she leads, Joining Forces for Affordable Housing, focuses on changing policy at the municipal and state levels, community education, and community organizing. Joining Forces has conducted an Equitable Zoning Study of Evanston, supports grassroots housing advocacy in multiple municipalities, and has collaborated with other groups to address common advocacy goals. Sue has also served as the Director of Development at Connections and has worked in poverty-related non-profit organizations for over 20 years.
Panel Moderator: Donna PughDonna Pugh is a partner with the law firm of Foley & Lardner in Chicago. Her practice focuses on obtaining land use and zoning entitlements for retail, office, residential, health care, and corporate clients. Donna also has extensive experience obtaining zoning approvals for homeless service providers, domestic violence prevention agencies, and other social service entities. As a consensus builder, Donna works to unite property owners, elected officials, and community groups to achieve approvals that maximize flexibility of future land use and benefit all involved stakeholders.
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Sponsors
Presenting
Harris Family Foundation
Gold
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Kent & Liz Dauten
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Silver
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Jill & David Greer |
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Pamela & Rod Levy |
Jennifer & Danny O’Shaughnessy |
VIP
Suzanne & Bobby Calder |
Candance & Dan Chow |
Nancy & Nicholas Giampietro |
Eric Haab & Kim Yee |
Brian Hanson & Karen Alter-Hanson |
Rebecca & Craig Lewandowski |
Margaret & Peter Morris
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