Donors Forum, the Chicago-based nonprofit membership association of Illinois grantmakers, nonprofits, and their advisors, is pleased to announce five new Board Members and a new Vice President.

New to the FY16 (7/1/15 – 6/30/16) Donors Forum Board of Directors are Brian Bannon, Commissioner of the Chicago Public Library; Arturo V. Bendixen, Executive Director of the Center for Housing and Health/AIDS Foundation of Chicago; Joshua Gibb, Executive Director of the Galesburg Community Foundation; Alison Ranney, Principal at Koya Leadership Partners; and Nareman Taha, Co-Founder and Director of Arab American Family Services.

We are excited to welcome our new Board Members, and look forward to each of these leaders bringing their expertise and unique lens to Donors Forum, said Donald A. Cooke, Board Chair and Senior Vice President of Philanthropy at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Additionally, returning Board Member Mark Ishaug, CEO of Thresholds, is the new Board Secretary.

Returning Board Members are Chair Donald A. Cooke, Senior Vice President for Philanthropy, Robert R. McCormick Foundation; Vice Chair Evette Cardona, Vice President of Programs, Polk Bros. Foundation; Vice Chair Deborah Gillespie, Vice President of Finance and Administration, The Joyce Foundation; Treasurer Tammy Lemke, CEO, YMCA of Northwestern DuPage County; DeRondal Bevly, Partner, Chicago Venture Partners; Bruce Boyd, Senior Managing Director, Arabella Advisors; Sharon Bush, Director of Elgin Programs and Senior Program Officer, Grand Victoria Foundation; Greg Cameron, Executive Director, The Joffrey Ballet; Kate Coughlin, Vice President and COO, Crown Family Philanthropies; Evelyn Diaz, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Family and Support Services; Shelley Stern Grach, Director of Technology and Civic Engagement, Microsoft; Gregory S. Gross, President and CEO, Michael Reese Health Trust; Grace Hou, President, Woods Fund of Chicago; Bruce Karmazin, Executive Director, Lumpkin Family Foundation; Nicole Robinson, President, Mondelēz International Foundation; Louise “Wegi” Stewart, President, Community Foundation of Macon County; and K. Sujata, President and CEO, Chicago Foundation for Women.

Donors Forum also welcomes Bill Cosper as Vice President, Development and Communications. As part of Donors Forum’s Leadership Team, Bill is responsible for heading up fundraising and communications planning and activities to achieve the organization’s strategic goals. “We are thrilled to have Bill on our Leadership Team,” said Eric Weinheimer, Donors Forum’s President and CEO. “Donors Forum – and, in turn, our Members – will benefit from Bill’s deep background in fundraising, nonprofit capacity building, and developing effective partnerships.” Over his more than 20 year career, Bill has served with organizations as diverse as Strategic Learning Initiatives, the Society of Architectural Historians, and the Joffrey Ballet. He comes to Donors Forum after almost nine years as Vice President, Institutional Relations at Executive Service Corps, where he led managed relationships and developed collaborative programs with their foundation, corporate, and organizational. He has served on boards and as a volunteer for several local organizations.  Bill earned a B.A. in History and Political Science from Wabash College.

— Marilou Jones, Director of Communications