IC City Partner Award

Selection criteria | Nomination form | Recipients

2008 Recipients

Lauri Alpern, MUPP ‘86
Partner, ROI Ventures

Countless citizens in the Chicago area have benefitted from the efforts of Lauri Alpern, who has spent the past 20 years creating and implementing community and economic development programs and partnerships through government agencies, universities and non-profit groups. In her role as partner in ROI Ventures, Alpern develops results-oriented strategic plans for a variety of non-profit organizations and institutions. Most recently, she served as executive director of The Enterprising Kitchen, a non-profit social enterprise that manufactures natural soaps and soap products as a way to provide job training and support services to women. Alpern was instrumental in moving the organization from its early cottage-industry stage to a formidable workforce development operation, with an increased revenue base from product sales and support from philanthropic partners. Alpern’s accomplishments also include her work with UIC’s Great Cities Institute (GCI), where she served as associate director for 13 years. GCI establishes University/community partnerships in the areas of community development, education, health and public policy. Prior to that, she held positions with UIC’s Center for Urban Economic Development and served as assistant commissioner for the City of Chicago Department of Economic Development under Mayors Harold Washington and Eugene Sawyer. She currently serves on the board of Growing Home, an organization that provides job training and creates employment opportunities for homeless and low-income people in Chicago through a non-profit organic agriculture business.

Carol Estwing Ferrans, MS ’82 NURS, PHD ’85 NURS
Deputy Director, UIC Center for Population Health and Health Disparities

UIC College of Nursing Professor and Associate Dean for Research Carol Estwing Ferrans has conducted studies focusing on quality of life and minority issues in health care for more than 20 years. In her active research program, Dr. Ferrans studies the effects of illness and treatment on quality of life in cancer, cardiac disease and other chronic illnesses. An important part of her research has focused on cross-cultural issues, including approaches to increase validity of data and participation in research for minority populations in the United States. In 2007, Ferrans was featured in a Chicago Magazine article on health disparities that focused on the fact that black women are far likelier to die of breast cancer than white women. She was also featured on a CBS Channel 2 special about the same issue and now serves as chair for the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, which is charged with finding solutions to the racial divide in early detection and treatment. In addition to media attention, Ferrans’ work has earned her numerous awards and honors, including the Oncology Nursing Society 2008 Distinguished Researcher Award, the UIC College of Nursing 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award and the Midwest Nursing Research Society 2006 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research. She has presented her research at many professional conferences and has published articles in numerous journals. Ferrans currently serves as deputy director of the UIC Center for Population Health and Health Disparities.

Robert (Bob) Howard ’69 CBA
President and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago

In his role as president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago (BGCC), Robert (Bob) Howard dedicates himself to ensuring that the organization lives up to its mission to help boys and girls from disadvantaged circumstances realize their potential. Under his positive leadership, the organization has improved its financial performance and revitalized its volunteer leadership. Howard came out of retirement in 2004 when he was asked to lead the organization. He brought to the role a business acumen honed from more than 30 years of retail and general management experience, including positions as senior vice president of operations for Payless Shoe Source and vice president for Jewel Food/Osco Drug Stores. The values of teamwork and service that helped him succeed in business were a result of his own experiences with the BGCC as a child, which made a lifelong impression on him and inspired him to remain active in the organization. Prior to becoming president and CEO, he served as president of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors on Chicago’s West Side and was a member of the BGCC corporate board. An active member of the community, Howard also serves on the City of Chicago Capital Improvement Advisory Committee, the Harvard Business School Club of Chicago Board of Directors, the UIC Business Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Chicago State University Foundation Board of Directors. In 2003, he was inducted into the UIC College of Business Administration Alumni Leadership Academy.

Previous Recipients

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