Alexandra Berkman

Education Intern

Alexandra Berkman is current student at Aurora University pursuing her Master of Social Work degree with a forensic concentration. Even though Alexandra’s concentration is forensic, she is interested in different concentrations and specialties in social work. She recognizes that a forensic concertation can be beneficial in numerous situations. Alexandra likes working with children, adolescents, and adults and hopes to work with our incarcerated population. A main goal of Alexandra’s is to reduce our recidivism rates. In her free time she likes to spend time with her friends and family, read, and go on walks. She is very excited to begin this chapter at CCWF!

Marnie Bruemmer

Administrative Intern

Marnie Bruemmer is a Junior at Wheaton College majoring in choral Music Education. She hopes to one day be a classroom teacher. Through CCWF, she hopes to make a difference in an area that will deeply affect many of the students she interacts with over the course of her career. As a person with both chronic health conditions as well as a learning disability, she understands on a personal level the difference that a helping hand can make. Her personal interests include reading and spending time with friends and family.

Ariel Lee

Education Intern

Ariel Lee is a graduate student at Adler University receiving her Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership and Development. Her mission is to advance social justice development and to become socially responsible practitioners, and she feels Changing Children’s Worlds can help guide her to become that person. Our mission inspires her passion for giving back to the community by focusing on the healthy positive development of all children, regardless of race/ethnicity/economic background, etc., and requires action by the whole community. It combines community engagement with social justice to strengthen and empower all. She received her Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies from Illinois State University and just recently graduated from Pepperdine University with a Master in Legal Studies. In her free time, she loves to travel, and hopes to do more soon and really explore the beauty of the world; She also loves wine and hope to get more invested in the process of it later in life; and enjoys fitness, health and wellness, which is necessary for the two-year-old Rottweiler she has, who’s a huge cuddle bug and loves attention and loves to play.

Torin Quinlivan

SPSS / Statistics Intern

Torin Quinlivan has been pursuing a PhD in Mathematical Sciences with a specialization in Statistics at Northern Illinois University since 2017. He received his undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Northwestern University. He has lived in Northern Illinois since middle school and is looking forward to applying his developing skills to help families in his community. In his free time, he enjoys reading, watching movies and spending time with his two dogs.

Tapan Rajguru

SPSS

Tapan is currently enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi pursuing master’s in public health (Epidemiology and Biostatistics). He is Joining CCWF as an SPSS intern. He has extensively studied healthcare data management. Tapan believes in improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles and research for disease and injury prevention. He hopes that all his academic experience proves to be beneficial for CCWF.

Will Shore

Graphic Design Intern

Will Shore is a current Freshman at Boston University studying Psychology and Marketing. Will also has a lengthy background in graphic design. He first worked with Photoshop in 5th grade, and ever since he has gone on to create logos, merchandise, social media content, and more! Having family members who are teachers, Will understands the importance of education, and he can’t wait to use his skills to expand the image of the CCWF through physical and digital media. Will also loves comic books, movies, rap music, and playing basketball with friends!

Derek Sire

Evaluation / Research Intern

Derek H. Sire is pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at Aurora University with a focus in social policy and providing direct services to diverse, vulnerable, and marginalized families, children, and communities. Derek is passionate about serving those with unresolved trauma, mental illness, and lack of basic human needs. Derek seeks to contribute to such work by connecting at-risk individuals and families to and improving and expanding direct services through research, evaluation, policy analysis, and policy advocacy. Derek is excited to serve and learn in new ways at CCWF!
Derek has a strong nonprofit administrative background and currently serves as the Administrative Assistant at Resolution Systems Institute. A native of Missouri, Derek has lived in Illinois since 2005 and holds a BA in Religious and Intercultural Studies from Elmhurst University. Derek volunteers as a NAMI Peer Counselor and enjoys walks in the woods and along the beach, table games, lap swimming, listening to Christina Aguilera, and camping.

Amy Eccher

SPSS

Amy Eccher came to CCWF as a volunteer looking to match her analytical skills and business background with her desire to add value to a great cause. Amy brings passion for analysis, and an enthusiasm to be involved with CCWF. She enjoys providing data insights and new learning that demonstrate the positive impact that CCWF is having in the community.

Amy is the founder of StatCAT Consulting, a company specializing in advanced analytics and market research. She provides insights on many household brands such as Harley Davidson, Callaway and McDonalds. She designs surveys, conducts analyses, and interprets complex statistical and data issues. Her consulting and insights provide strong, analytically founded solutions in many areas of research. Amy has taught in the area of quantitative psychology and conducted numerous statistical training courses.

Amy and her husband live in Geneva with their 3 shih tzu puppies. She has 2 adult daughters and appreciates when they are home and the house is full. In her spare time, Amy loves going to plays and concerts. She enjoys cooking, and therefore also running.

Sudha Ganapathy

Salesforce

Hi I am Sudha Ganapathy, certified Salesforce Administrator with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from India. I would take this opportunity to work on NonProfit Success Pack from Salesforce so CCWF can benefit from it. I am excited to be part of the Changing Children’s World Foundation through which I can contribute to the community. I love travel, photography and painting.

Antonita King

Education

As a mother of two wonderful sons, Antonita finds joy in motherhood and in her volunteer role despite living with multiple disabilities.

Heather Lengyel, M.A.

Marketing

Heather is a publishing professional who specializes in intellectual property, contracts, subsidiary rights, and content licensing and sales for the U.S. and international markets. Having spent her career with university presses and academic and professional book publishers, she currently manages international content partnerships and licensing opportunities for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s educational business.
After growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and earning her B.A. at the University of Michigan, Heather made stops in Colorado, Massachusetts, and Maryland, to earn her master’s degree and further her publishing career. Heather has lived in Geneva for over 10 years, where she is the steward of a Little Free Library, the proud recipient of the 2019 CCWF Champion of Empathy Award, and involved with the Chicago Women in Publishing organization. She is passionate about her rescue dachshunds, as well as Michigan Wolverines sports, yoga, volunteering, California wine country, advocating for people with disabilities, good food and great wine, and traveling with her husband.

Christina Padilla

Event Planning / Fundraiser

Christina Padilla is a senior at National Louis University studying psychology. She wants to continue her education through the Master’s level with a focus on clinical mental health counseling. She loves watching movies, drinking coffee and creative writing. She’s very excited to join the CCWF family to reach her educational and career goals.

Jigisha Patel

Salesforce

My name is Jigisha Patel and I am 3x certified Salesforce Professional who is passionate about giving back to society. Being a mother of two kids, I was inspired by your values and mission. I hope my education and previous experience will be helpful and I will make a difference to your organization. I am grateful for this opportunity to work with changing children’s worlds foundation. In my free time, I like to spend time with my kids and family.

Patricia Reardon

Volunteer Coordinator

Patricia Reardon is a retired teacher from the Dominican Republic. She moved to the United States to attend college, where she received her PhD in chemistry and later her elementary teaching degree. She worked as a research chemist and then moved on to teaching. She taught middle school science and more recently Spanish bilingual kindergarten before retiring in 2019. As an educator, she’s an advocate for children and their families. She is excited for the opportunity to work with CCWF. She raised three children and now has three grandchildren. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, read, sew, attend theater performances, and go for walks.

Chirag Shah

Videographer

Chirag Shah is the President of his own IT Consulting Firm CSAS Enterprises Inc and has 20+ years of experience working in the Fintech Industry. Chirag has a double Masters Degree in Computer Science & Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL. Chirag is also a professional photographer and loves to capture memories through his camera lens. Chirag is a believer giving back to the Community and working with Changing Children’s World gives the perfect opportunity to fulfill that desire. Chirag would like to use his passion for photography and volunteer his time at Changing Children’s World. In his free time Chirag likes to play football, travel and experience different cultures.

Fasi Siddiqui

Salesforce

Hi my name is Fasi Siddiqui and I am a Certified Salesforce Administrator, with a BS Degree from California State Polytechnic University. I have a passion to serve and appreciate my opportunity to help community through my commitment to the Changing Children’s worlds Foundation. My experience in successfully building teams will prove to be a great asset as I look forward to helping make a difference.

Mallory Woods

Spanish Translator

Mallory Woods is an undergraduate student at Kent State University, where she studies Spanish translation, economics, and teaching English as a foreign language. She has studied abroad in Costa Rica, Spain, and the Czech Republic and has experience interning with an Ecuador-based non-profit. Upon graduation, Mallory aspires to teach English abroad before attending a graduate program for interpreting. At CCWF, she is excited to grow as a translator and learn more about language services in the non-profit sector. Mallory is grateful for the opportunity to be involved with CCWF and looks forward to learning more about its goal of promoting empathy and creating peaceful communities.