Jim Dower, Co-Founder & Executive Director, President

Jim graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Political Science. He started his professional career as a substitute teacher at Cabrini-Green’s Byrd Academy, where the inspiration for Urban Initiatives began. Jim serves on the Governor’s Council on Health and Physical Fitness and is a member of Leadership Greater Chicago’s 2014 class. He is in his eleventh year as a professional soccer coach for the Wilmette Wings Soccer Club. Jim oversees the day-to-day external operations of Urban Initiatives.

Julie Chelovich, Managing Director, Vice President

Julie graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Political Science and has a Kellogg Executive Scholar Certificate in Nonprofit Management. She played many sports growing up and has always had an interest in youth development and health education. Previously Julie worked at Black River Farm and Ranch where she served as the Program Director. After volunteering at Urban Initiatives as an Assistant Coach, she knew she had found a great organization for which to put her professional skills to work. Julie oversees day-to-day internal operations of Urban Initiatives.

Joy Nelson, Chief People Officer

A Chicago native, Joy graduated from UIC with a Master’s in Education, focusing on Youth Development. After working as a Program Manager at Urban Initiatives for 2 years, she was promoted into the role of Play with Potential Program Director, overseeing recess at 24 local schools. In 2017, she took an opportunity to work with the National YMCA and spent a year and half traveling the Midwest and West Coast, supporting out of school time programming in underserved communities. She returned to Urban Initiatives in 2019 as the Culture and Climate Director and oversaw the day to day operations of our Play with Potential and Community School’s Initiative programs. She will begin her doctorate in Educational Leadership at DePaul in the fall of 2019. Joy is fun-loving supermom with a knack for connecting to people, children, and all things under the sun.

Paul Boye, Chief Innovation Officer

As Chief Innovation Officer, Paul Boye provides strategic leadership and planning in collaboration with senior leaders, staff, board members, and advisors to oversee UI’s fulfillment of its vision, mission, and strategic plan, fostering of values, and management of internal and external operations. Since earning his B.A. from Northwestern University, Paul has dedicated his professional career to improving outcomes for young people, including as a teacher, nonprofit professional and executive leader, and school district administrator. Beyond UI, Paul enjoys time with his amazing wife, Christine, and their three daughters on the South Side.

Kimberly Townsend, Chief Program Officer

Kim Townsend is a Chicago native who has lived all over the US and the world. Kim’s educational background is in political Science, Peace and Justice, International Relations and Human Development. Kim has spent 22 years working in the Youth Development and Education field and is passionate about improving the human experience and ensuring equal access to resources for everyone. As Chief Program Officer Kim provides strategic leadership and planning for UI’s programs, day-to-day oversight and coordination of the Program Departments as well as assist in planning and implementation of special events and programs.

Dajuan King, Program Director, Continuum of Programming

Dajuan was born and raised on Chicago’s West Side. He is an Alum of Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy, and received his B.A in Social Work from Wartburg College in Iowa. For the past 6 years, Dajuan has dedicated his time to working with Chicago’s under served and under privileged youth. He is excited about having the opportunity to give back to his community and positively influence youth who may be experiencing the same dilemmas he experienced while growing up.

Arianna Bell, Program Director, OST

Arianna earned a B.S in Community Leadership & Civic Engagement from the Northern Illinois University. She attended Howe Elementary one of the many CPS schools we serve throughout the Chicagoland area. She owes many of her successes to her ability to access extracurricular activities at a young age.

Lauren Gaynor, Director of Development

Lauren is the Director of Development at Urban Initiatives and oversees the fundraising strategy for the organization. Prior to Urban Initiatives, Lauren worked as a Development Associate at the DuSable Museum of African American History. Lauren was a double major in English & Professional Writing at Michigan State University, a member of the 2021 Loyola Baumhart Center’s Fundraising for Good Cohort and is currently working on her Nonprofit Management Certificate from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Tiffany Wilson-Washington, Program Director- Community Schools Initiative

Tiffany Washington is an experienced people leader who’s passionate about growth and development. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois @ Champaign, and spent the last decade of her career building and leading high performance teams at Kaplan University. Tiffany is from the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago and is proud to be contributing to the community through her work as the Director of 21st Century Learning 

Meaghan Stanford, Director of Learning & Instruction

Meaghan graduated from the University of Michigan with a double major in Developmental Psychology and Gender & Health with a focus in Health Education. Meaghan has always had a passion for education and youth development — from coaching with the organization Girls on the Run to serving as the Program Director for summer camps at the Ann Arbor YMCA. Prior to joining Urban Initiatives, Meaghan spent the last 5 years working at a Detroit Public School both as an English Language Arts teacher for grades 6-8 and instructional coach for first and second year teachers. Here at UI, Meaghan leads the charge in all things learning and instruction: designing curriculum, facilitating workshops & training, and supporting staff development!

Sara Shanley, Director of Innovative Partnerships

Sara is from Arlington, Virginia and earned a M.A. in International Studies with a focus in African Studies and sports-based youth development. Following her graduate studies, Sara joined the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club where she directed the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s sports-based childhood obesity prevention program. Prior to joining Urban Initiatives, Sara spent a year in Rwanda as the Program Manager for Kids Play International where she managed their sports-based gender equality education program. Sara spearheads program development for WTP, TTL and CFS.

Samantha Suh, Special Projects Director

Sammy earned her B.A in Elementary Education at the University of Michigan and taught 2nd grade at a CPS school on the northwest side of Chicago. She wanted to continue growing her passion for education and youth in Chicago so she joined the Urban Initiatives team as a Special Projects Manager. In her free time, Sammy frequents many cafes throughout Chicago and believes coffee is an essential part of any day.

Linda Galib, Research & Evaluation Director

Originally from Rhode Island, Linda holds a B.S. in Exercise Science from Ithaca College, and an M.P.P and M.P.H. with a focus in health behavior and health education from the University of Michigan. Prior to UI, she conducted federal health program and policy evaluation, volunteered for a child and family services agency in Chicago, and interned in Quito, Ecuador, where she worked to empower youth using PhotoVoice. Her love of sport AND data stem from her childhood, as she played soccer through high school and softball into college, and grew up eagerly programming her grandfather’s computer in Basic (for example, to make the screen color change)! Linda manages program evaluation for Urban Initiatives.

April Lillstrom, Program Administration Director

April earned a B.A. in English from the University of Illinois and a M.Ed. from UIC, where she specialized in Elementary Education. April worked with AmeriCorps at educational non-profit groups including First Place School in Seattle and Jumpstart for Young Children in Chicago. April believes that sport and play should be part of every school day!

Adrians Cleveland, Individual Giving & Campaign Manager

Adrians is an Indianapolis, IN native. She graduated from Butler University with a B.A. in Journalism. Prior to joining the UI team, she worked for Sigma Nursing. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with her pup, Monte.

Jasmine Lardizabal, Development Manager – Corporate Partnerships

Jasmine’s experiences as a military kid have shed light on the significant impact socio-emotional learning and a supportive community have on healthy youth development. She is a DePaul graduate with a Bachelor’s in Psychology (Human Dev.), has interned for three years at The Cities Project—a program that teaches stress management tools to Chicago youth, and has also fundraised for the Lurie Children’s Hospital as a Phi Mu. She is thrilled and eager to build positive, impactful connections in her role!

Rebecca Daaleman, Lead Data Manager

Rebecca grew up in New Jersey and graduated from University of Michigan with a B.A. in Psychology. Prior to her time at Urban Initiatives, she served as an AmeriCorps Member and a Team Leader at City Year Chicago.

Andrea Serna, Lead Data Manager

Andrea received her B.A. in Psychology from Concordia University Chicago, and for the past 6 years has worked with south and west side communities to support families experiencing homelessness. As a sports and wellness enthusiast, she looks forward to using her data and nonprofit skills with Urban Initiatives.

KyJuan Hardin, Vendor Manager- Community Schools Initiative

Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, KyJuan attended Kenwood Academy and immediately began working with youth sports programs after graduating. He believes that sports play an essential role in both physical and emotional development- sport has been a safe haven in his own life. He started with Urban Initiatives in 2016 and has continued his growth and development by taking on new roles. He is now excited for his new role as a leader for the CSI team.

Chanelle McFarland, Lead Program Manager – Continuum

Chanelle has a B.A. in Sports Administration from Southern Illinois University. Next to her love for coaching basketball, she has always had a passion for working with children and being a positive role model. Going into her 4th school year with UI, she loves being apart of the school community and all the opportunities they provide for students.

Mia Jackson, Program Manager- Continuum

Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, Mia spent her first two years at Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga and later returned home to complete her B.A. in Sociology at Roosevelt University. There she was able to continue developing a strong passion for art, social justice, educational reform and activism. Being a first generation graduate only fueled Mia’s passion to become more involved in her community.  She understands how important it is to bridge fun, equitable and quality opportunities for marginalized youth, and is a strong believer in community pride and support. More so, Mia believes the biggest opportunity as leaders is the need to work on giving one another, especially our youth, spaces to develop personal autonomies in a safe and non- judgmental environment. 

Daniel Serna Geitz, Program Manager- Continuum

Daniel played soccer and water polo while studying Sociology at Carnegie Mellon University. After college he worked in Family and Community Engagement for Denver Public Schools, where his passion for school support and community outreach flourished. He is excited to bring his interests together to serve Chicago students and families!

Jackson Boleky, Program Manager- Continuum

Jackson first attended Loyola and then graduated from Tulane with a degree in International nonprofit management and Economics. Prior to his time at Urban Initiatives, he worked in Argentina and worked with the Catholic Charities of Chicago. Jackson is now excited for his new role as take the lead program manager.

Christina Valencia, Program Manager – Continuum

Christina was born and raised in the Southwest side of Chicago. She was a very active participant in many after school programs throughout her childhood which led to the importance of being an advocate for youth programming in the Chicago-land area. Throughout the past 8 years she has been in leadership positions for communities, schools, and non-profit organizations ranging from youth sports, empowerment, leadership, and workforce development. She is now a Manager for the CFS program at UI leading 11-12th graders throughout their high school and college pathways.

Ebony Stallworth, Program Manager – OST

Lakita Chandler, Program Manager- OST

Hi, my name is Lakita Chandler. I am a mom of 3 intelligent, beautiful young ladies. My passion and joy for working with youth goes back to my childhood when I was always the teacher or mom. I’ve been a volunteer and cheer coach with CPS for 6 years. I am so excited to be apart of the UI team and continue to fulfill my passion of empowering our youth.

Adrianna Barnett, Program Manager – OST

Adrianna grew up in Jacksonville, FL and moved to Chicago in 2016 to study sociology. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, riding her bike, and hiking, so she knows the importance of spreading healthy habits to Chicago’s young people.

Annie Waldoch, Program Manager – OST

Annie grew up in a soccer-mad house with her five brothers in the west suburbs. After graduating from Michigan State, she worked with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic for over two years teaching Spanish literacy and building a community basketball court. Now, she loves biking to schools all around the city to see the coaches she manages in action. The best part of her work day is hearing the kids yell “GOOOAAAALLLL” at practice.

Olivia Ravenscroft, Operations Coordinator

Born and raised in Madison, WI, Olivia came to Chicago in 2016 to attend DePaul University. She started at Urban Initiatives in October of 2020 as an AmeriCorps VISTA HR Associate. After completing her service term, she stayed on the team and is now Operations Coordinator.