Monique B. Jones, President & CEO

Monique B. Jones, LCSW is a visionary leader with an extensive background in mental health, violence prevention, philanthropy, and gender & racial equity. With over 20 years of experience in her career, her civic interests span the intersections where the lives of those most vulnerable fall victim to structural oppression and inequity. Monique most recently served as the President & CEO at the Evanston Community Foundation (ECF), making her the second CEO and first African American since its founding in 1986. During her tenure, she was successful in diversifying the board, staff, and community investments to reflect the voices of the community.

Previous to ECF Monique served as Director of Programs for the Chicago Foundation for Women, leading the establishment of the 100% Project for gender equity. She also served as the Director of Violence Prevention for the Cook County Department of Public Health and Clinical Director for the Jane Addams Hull House Association. Monique is a graduate of The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a B.A in Social Work and The University of Texas at Austin with a M.S. in Social Work. She completed the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management executive program at the Harvard School of Business. In her self-care moments, she enjoys running with her Peloton Tread family, golfing, sewing, and showing appreciation for life with her husband, daughter, and Yorkie in Chicago.

Lisa May Simpson, Chief of Staff

Lisa joined Forefront in 2012. Prior, she served as an independent coach, facilitator, and consultant for a variety of individuals and organizations and held a variety of roles at Arts Alliance Illinois. Lisa has trained as a facilitator and educator with Kansas Leadership Center, Interaction Institute for Social Change, and the Institute of Cultural Affairs in the U.S.A., and holds a BA in theater from Western Washington University. She currently serves on the board of Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center where she also trains in Seido karate.

Diane Sotiros, Chief Finance & Operations Officer

Diane Sotiros is a seasoned CPA with extensive expertise in finance, accounting, and operations management across nonprofit and corporate sectors. Most recently, she served as the Chief Administrative Officer and VP of Finance for Openlands, a conservation organization and accredited land trust operating across northeastern Illinois. Her experience includes work in the grantmaking part of the nonprofit sector, working as the controller for the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, a private foundation supporting efforts in Arts Education, Education, Employment, and Health. She founded and operated a financial consulting practice providing comprehensive financial management, reporting, and budgeting services for nonprofit organizations and small businesses.

In addition to her bachelor’s in accounting from Illinois State University, she earned a master’s in history with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She enjoys hiking in the forest preserves around the Chicagoland region, and spending time at home with her husband and two Collie Shepard dogs.

Holly Ambuehl, Director, Policy and Government Affairs

Holly is a seasoned public policy expert and advocate, with twenty years of experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and public sectors. Most recently, Holly worked for Illinois Partners for Human Service as the Central Illinois community organizer and statewide public policy manager, representing over 100 nonprofit organizations at every level of government. Holly achieved a master’s degree in social work from Boston College, with a concentration in community organizing, policy, planning, and administration. She is a Phoenix native and mountain lover but currently lives happily with her husband, son, and mountain dog in a 105-year-old house in the mostly flat Normal, IL.

Doris Bowens, Manager of Membership and Member Engagement

Doris Bowens is a tenured former Bank Manager Executive for 33 years. She has experience in bank acquisitions, finance, building client relationships, client retention and excellent customer service. Doris attended Jackson State University with studies in Management. She later became Membership Director of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis servicing multiple Doctoral accredited professionals around the world with membership and continuing education. Doris is passionate in making sure each and every member is rewarded with the benefits of their membership. She spends her off time with her husband and family cooking, listening to Jazz, decorating, and travel.

Christina Caputo, Knowledge Services Manager

Christina Giovannelli Caputo joins Forefront as the Knowledge Services Manager. She has over 20 years’ experience in education and librarianship. A graduate from Dominican University with advanced degrees in Studio Art and Education, she began her career as a teacher with experiences in private and public schools. After completion of her Master’s in Library and Information Sciences from Dominican University she transitioned into librarianship. Caputo quickly became noticed in the library arena for her dedication and advocacy for inclusive and equitable services while she was a Youth Services Librarian at Arlington Heights Memorial Library. Her work and teachings with American Library Association has united administration, libraries, and school districts to work cohesively across the nation to support schooling diversity. She is known for increasing the professions awareness on schooling diversity and library partnerships through, publications, presentations, and professional development groups. During the Covid-19 pandemic she was recruited by the Center for Educators and Schools, a division of the New York Public Library as an Outreach and Partnership Librarian to teach librarians across New York how to create pathways between library branches and schools. She has taught at the university level, most recently the University of Wisconsin Madison. She is a mom to 4, the founder of All Learners Welcome (ALL), author of Library Services to Homeschoolers, a Guide, and constant advocate for youth everywhere.

Anthony Gordon, Accounting & Administration Coordinator

Anthony grew up in Frankfort. Ill. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in management. While in college, he manage accounts payable and receivable for a bowling alley and ran track. In his free time, he enjoy reading, playing video games and catching up on any sports news.

James Hayakawa, Racial Equity & Network Coordinator

James Hayakawa (he/him) is a recent graduate of Ball State University in Muncie, IN. He is originally from Northern California and moved to Chicago in 2023. James is a theatre artist and is excited to use his background in advocating for racial justice within the arts in this new position at Forefront. In his spare time, James loves board games, history, and music.

Rita Kerrigan, Knowledge Services Coordinator

Rita joins the library team at Forefront. She has worked in the field of education for over twenty years in traditional classrooms, online learning environments, enrichment programs, and as a tutor and curriculum developer. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from St. Norbert College and later received a Master’s degree in Literacy Education from Northeastern Illinois University. Rita most recently received her certification as a Library Information Specialist and is excited to use her knowledge to provide useful services to Forefront members and help advance Forefront’s mission and goals.  In her free time, she loves to spend time with her husband and 5 sons, and also enjoys reading, traveling, and staying active.

Suzy Lee, Senior Director, Programs and Learning

As part of the Program Team, Suzy’s focus areas include Forefront’s flagship series and services for grantmakers, advisors, and nonprofits. Suzy previously served as the Senior Manager of Children’s Nutrition Policy at the Greater Chicago Food Depository and led the Illinois No Kid Hungry campaign. Prior to that, Suzy served as the Vice-Chair of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program Association and was responsible for policy research, program evaluation, and development. Suzy actively volunteers for many organizations and is a member of the Hanover College Alumni Recruitment Team. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Hanover College, and a Master’s of Public Administration from DePaul University School of Public Service. When she’s not working or volunteering, you can find her in her garden, trying a new ice-cream recipe, or playing with her English bulldog. Follow her on Twitter @ClassicLee_Suzy.

Emily Long, Program Services Manager

Emily assists in the development and execution of Forefront trainings, workshops, and other educational programs and manages the Peer Skill Share program. Previously, Emily worked on the communications team for the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and fine art from Loyola University Chicago and a Certificate in Historic Preservation from Northwestern University.

Dilane Mitchell, Director of Communications and Marketing

Dilane is a communications professional with 15 years of experience in writing, editing, and social media. She helps organizations craft messaging and use the right tools to spread that messaging. She strives to use language to highlight all of good work organizations have done in the social impact sector. Dilane is a voracious reader and can usually be found under a pile of half-read novels.

Kenneatha Montgomery, Director, Philanthropic Networks

Kenneatha (also known as Key) supports efforts in managing, organizing and promoting programs to engage Members in Peer Networking, Collective Action Groups, and educational opportunities. She has several years of experience in health promotion and program expansion to increase the accessibility of services for resource-limited populations. She earned a Bachelor of Science in applied health science and a Master’s of Public Health from Indiana University Bloomington. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing Bikram yoga, which allows her to embrace life one pose at a time.

Kate Piatt-Eckert, Mission Sustainability Initiative Director

Kate Piatt-Eckert has twenty years of experience in theatrical production and administration, most recently serving as Executive Director of Steep Theatre where she served on the boards of the League of Chicago Theatres and the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce. As the fifth generation involved in the operations of an historic house museum in central Ohio, Katesupports her family business as the Director of Communications at Piatt Castle. She is driven by a desire to explore the complex intersections of art, community development, public policy, data-driven decision-making, and human-centered non-profit governance. Kate has a B.A. from Reed College and a Master’s of Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Sharmin Shahjahan, Racial Equity Collective Director

Sharmin serves as our Racial Equity Collective Director. She brings with her experience in government, non-profit and corporate environments. After earning a degree in Finance at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Sharmin (pronounced shar-meen) worked as a Pricing Leader at GE Healthcare where she helped expand rural healthcare in Bangladesh. In 2016, she broke barriers by becoming the first Asian American, non-Christian, and also first immigrant to serve on Hanover Park’s City Council. There, she drafted the diversity, equity, and inclusion ordinance, championed language access, and focused on public-private partnerships to better serve the community. As vice chair of the National League of Cities Human Development Committee, she gave a Capitol Hill Briefing to emphasize local economic impact of immigrants. Sharmin continues to work as a community leader as part of School District U46’s United U-46 Campaign developing recommendations on equitable education. She serves as an advisor to suburban newspaper, Daily Herald’s Editorial Board and she is also an Associate Director at Volunteers Association for Bangladesh focusing on increasing access to quality rural education.