IC City Partner Award

Selection criteria | Nomination form | Recipients

2009 Recipients

Dedicated to improving the lives of Chicago’s underserved communities, Donald J. Dew ’80 MSW heads Habilitative Systems Inc., a behavioral health and human service organization that operates more than 30 programs for thousands of children and families in need. A leader in providing disabled and child welfare services, the organization’s budget has increased by nearly $3 million under his stewardship. Dew has devoted his career to social services, working in such organizations as the Juvenile Court of Cook County, the West Side Veterans Administration Hospital and the Community Mental Health Council. He is also a Fellow in the Leadership Greater Chicago Program presented by the Chicago Community Trust and has taught classes as an adjunct faculty member of the Jane Addams College of Social Work.

A tireless advocate for the disadvantaged and newcomers to the United States, Ricardo Estrada, MBA ’97, serves as executive director of Erie Neighborhood House, a refuge for children and adults who need to learn language and job skills. He oversees a 170-member staff that provides services such as adult education, youth programs and emergency assistance. Under his tenure, the organization established the Erie Elementary Charter School, giving many first-generation students the opportunity to receive a quality education. His other accomplishments as executive director include increasing the budget from $5.8 million to more than $8 million. Estrada has served on many community boards and committees, including the City of Chicago Mayor’s Hemispheric Forum. In 2005, he received the City Club of Chicago’s John A. McDermott Award for Distinguished Social Leadership.

Mari K. Gallagher, MUPP ’00, has earned a national reputation for diverse, high-impact housing and community development projects in Chicago and across the nation. She is the founder of the Chicago-based National Center for Public Research, which provides data and information to improve the quality of life, health and financial well-being for all people and communities. She is currently working collaboratively with the Urban Institute’s National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, an effort to improve and democratize neighborhood-level data and data systems. Gallagher has authored or co-authored more than 100 studies on food access, community health, commercial revitalization and neighborhood safety. Her publication “Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago” has influenced public policies, locally and nationally.

Previous Recipients

2008
Lauri Alpern, MUPP ’86
Carol Estwing Ferrans, MS ’82 NURS, PHD ’85 NURS
Robert “Bob” Howard ’69 CBA   

2007
Cynthia “Cee” Boyd ’75 BSN, MSN ’79, PHD ’90 NURS
Billy Branch ’74 LAS

2006
John DeNardo, ’71 PHARM, MS ’74 PHARM
CEO, Health Care System, University of Illinois Hospital

Patrick Magoon, MUPP ’79
President and CEO, Children’s Memorial Medical Center

Barry Maram ’67 LAS
Director, Department of Illinois Healthcare and Family Services

Margaret Small MS ’85 LAS, PHD ’01 ED
Director, Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago

2005
Kenneth Schroeder, '61 Navy Pier, '67 UIUC
Principal of Schroeder Murchie Laya Associates, Ltd., Chicago

Peter J. Skosey, MUPP '93
Program Director for Friends of the Parks, Chicago

2004
Patrick F. Daly '72 AA
Founder, chairman and CEO, Daly Group, Chicago

James Lemonides MUPP '77
CEO, Greater North-Pulaski Development Corporation, Chicago

Lenin Pellegrino MD '53

2003
Miller Anderson MSW '84
President and CEO, Chicago Youth Centers, Chicago

Robert J. Hildebranski '89 ENG
Vice President, Harbour Contractors, Inc.

Carlos Tortolero '78 ED
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum

2002
Rich King '70 LAS
Sports Anchor/Reporter WGN-TV News

Frank McMenamin, DDS '79, Dentistry
Retired Director, Dental Program for the Chicago Department of Health

Ed Uhlir '69 AA
Director, Lakefront Millennium Park project
Director of Land Acquisition, Corlands

2001
Cynthia T. Henderson '75 AHS, MS '79 COM, MD '79
Director and Chief Operating Officer, Oak Forest Hospital of Cook County

Christopher Hill '79 AA
Retired Commissioner, Chicago Department of Planning and Development

Gayle Gamauf McCoy, MSW '83
Executive Director, Genesis House, Chicago

2000
Jimmy Lago, MSW '75
Chancellor, Archdiocese of Chicago

Jim Plunkard, MARCH '83
Partner and Co-founder, Hartshorne-Plunkard Ltd., Chicago

1998-99
James Jones, MSW '83
President and CEO, ChildServ, Chicago

Andy Shaw '71 LAS
Political Reporter, ABC-7 News

Gloria Jackson Bacon, MD '62, MPH '84
Director, The Clinic in Altgeld, Inc.
First African-American Woman to receive MD Degree from UIC College of Medicine

1997
Aurie Pennick '71 LAS, MA '81 LAS
President and CEO, Leadership Council for Open Metropolitan Communities, Chicago

Bruce Wolff, '62 DENT, DDS '63
Organizer, Eleanor Wester Dental Clinic (a volunteer dental clinic)
President, Lake Bluff Dental Association, Ltd.

Erma Tranter, MUPP '78
Executive Director, Friends of the Park, Chicago

1996
Helen Arnold Massey, MS '93 AHS
Special Projects Coordinator, Nicholson Specialty School for Mathematics
Office of Professional Development, Chicago Public Schools

Salvador Godinez '73 LAS
Deputy Director, Michigan Department of Corrections

Vikki Pryor, MBA '89
President and CEO, SBU Mutual Life

Mark Dalton, MSW '87
Administrator, Chicago Health Circle programs

1995
Raymond Funderburk '74 LAS
Judge, Cook County Circuit Court

Uriel Schlair '76 AA
Nationally recognized restoration expert
Vice-President, Harry Weese and Associates

Wendy Young, PhD '83 LAS
Founder, Midwest Community Council

Richard Powell, MS '90 CBA
Senior Project Executive, IBM Corporation

Deborah Lynch, PhD '84 LAS
President, Chicago Teachers Union

1994
Crendalyn McMath '86 LAS, MBA '88

AnnMarie Onesti '89 LAS
Teacher, Providence St. Mel School, Chicago

Mildred Lynk-Long '86 LAS
Organized German program at Spencer Elementary

Rudy Randall '75 LAS
IT Executive Director, Pactiv

1993
Deidra White '79 LAS
Planning Editor, WBBM-TV

James H. Foster '74 ENG
Department Head, Toll Digital Switching Systems Development, Motorola

Maria Teresa Ayala, MUPP '86
Position Director, Association House of Chicago

Richard Risk '68 CBA
President and CEO, Advocate Health Care

Sharon Fiffer '73 FAA (UIUC), MA '83 LAS
Award-winning nonfiction writer