Board of Directors

Our housing services and advocacy programs are backed by the energy and vision of our board of directors and officers.

President: Susan Connor
Vice President: Ann Airey
Secretary: Corrie Wallace 
Treasurer: Arif Choudhury
Other Directors:

• Sharon Staine
 

Ann Airey was born in Ohio, has a BS in Computer Science from Duke University and an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.  She lives in Winnetka and is currently working at home as the mother of three children.  She volunteers on a variety of issues. 

Arif Choudhury, CPA, is a professional storyteller, filmmaker, theater artist, and stand-up comic.  He is currently working as the Post Production Supervisor on a documentary film about folk storytellers in a remote village in China.  He is the co-founder of Bard & Fool Theater Company, a non-profit theater company formed to make theater accessible to non-traditional theatergoers.  Arif performs "More in Common Than You Think" his one-person program of stories for schools, libraries, conferences, and festivals around the country and abroad.  He tells humorous stories of growing up in one of the few Bangladeshi-Muslim immigrant families in Chicago.  Focusing on issues of ethnic and religious identity, assimilation, multiculturalism, and diversity, his stories poke fun at how we think of one another.  Arif also tours the country in “More Alike Than Not: Stories from Three Americans—Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim.”  He recently recorded a CD of stories entitled, “Where Are You From? And Other Difficult Questions” and has written his first children’s book “The Only Brown-Skinned Boy in the Neighborhood.”  When Arif isn’t working on film or theater he works as a manager of Endeavor Financial Services, an accounting firm that specializes in accounting, income tax return preparation, tax planning and small business consulting.  Arif has a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He is currently completing an MFA in film and video at Columbia College Chicago.  He lives in Northbrook, Illinois.

Passionate about both civil rights and teaching, Susan Connor has been a Professor at the John Marshall Law School for 30+ years. She began her legal career in Honolulu, Hawaii, focusing on civil rights and land use law and thereafter served as an assistant state's attorney in Lake County (Illinois), where she was responsible for the county's land use litigation. Since then, she has practiced extensively in the areas of land use, civil rights, condominium management and legal ethics.  Currently, in addition to teaching and writing, she continues to do pro bono litigation, mostly involving employment discrimination and fair housing cases that implicate zoning restrictions.  Professor Connor also is an urban planner and active with the American Planning Association, serving for many years as chair of its Amicus Curiae Committee. She has authored many books and articles on zoning and land development as well as civil rights, particularly housing discrimination, and employment discrimination.  She has served on various municipal task forces concerning fair housing and zoning and served for several years as Chair of Winnetka’s Police and Fire Commission. Twice annually she teaches in cooperation with the University of Illinois Police Training Institute to instruct police commissioners and fire officials regarding due process in hiring and disciplinary matters.  Since 2006 she has been actively involved in Oaxaca, Mexico developing and teaching in an educational and career development program for very talented very poor young men and women.  She received a B.A. from Albertus Magnus College, an M.A. in political science, a Master’s degree in urban and regional planning and a J.D. from The University of Hawaii.

Sharon E. Staine holds a Master of Science degree in Human Services Administration and has over 20 years experience as an administrative and project coordinator.  She shares a passion for culture and is an avid advocate for community service.  She is the Founder and President of the Belize Culture and Heritage Association (BCHA) and has been affiliated with many committee programs and organizations.  She is a notary public and Justice of the Peace (Belize).  Sharon resides in Evanston with her husband of 13 years.

  Corrie Wallace is a bilingual educator dedicated to enriching the lives of marginalized people through local and international community outreach. She taught  Spanish at ETHS (Evanston Township High School) where she also Co-chaired their School Improvement Team. Additionally she taught Spanish at UWCSEA (United World College of South East Asia) and English at Kogai Shogako, a local Japanese public school in Tokyo.  She is currently the Director of the Niles Township Schools' ELL (English Language Learner) Parent Center which serves the largest growing population of immigrants and refugees outside of Chicago.  She has a B.A. from University of Michigan and an M.A. from Western Michigan University.