Cole Churchill

Web Design / Development Intern

Cole Churchill is a recent graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, where he completed a BA in Design Technology and Entrepreneurship and a minor in German. During his final semester of college, he worked as a Marketing Intern for the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of McLean County, where he updated the SBDC's desktop and mobile website and created a website for a small business owner. In the past he has also worked as a Graphic Design intern for Lemons of Love, Inc., a nonprofit which provides care packages to patients going through chemotherapy. In his free time, Cole loves to draw, sculpt, and write stories.

Tracie Coleman

Education Intern

My name is Tracie Coleman. I am in my fourth year at Aurora University getting my bachelor’s and master’s in social work. I would like to work with school children and their families, or I would like to work with military families. In my downtime spending time with my family is something I love to do. I enjoy reading and watching movies. I love to travel seeing new places and learning about new cultures.

David Espiñeira

Spanish Translation Intern

Born and raised in Spain, David Espiñeira is currently enrolled at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria pursuing a Bachelor of Translation and Interpreting. He has followed an exchange program at the University of Debrecen, Hungary and has studied French in the Université Populaire de Genève, Switzerland. David is looking to grow as a translator and has a great interest in the humanitarian causes after working for the Spanish Red Cross. ​He is very excited to be part of the CCWF and with the idea of changing and improving the future of children.

Sudha Ganapathy

Salesforce Intern

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.

Rafael Garibay

Graphic Design Intern

My name is Rafael Garibay, and I am currently attending Concordia University Chicago. I am working on completing my bachelor’s degree with a major in Graphic Arts. I have 10 years of experience in delivering exemplary performance over the operations of School District 21. I have a passion to further my career in the world of graphic design. My experience successfully fulfilling projects as assigned will help contribute to my success in this role. I look forward to aligning my experience in graphic arts to help meet the needs and goals of the company.

LuisRene Gonzalez

Psychology Intern

Luis is a senior at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign studying clinical psychology with a minor in Spanish. He is the founder of the Illinois Psychology transfer student mentorship program and is also a member of the Association of Latino Professionals as well. Luis enjoys going to coffee shops, watching sports, and working out. Luis is looking to kickstart his career as an adolescent psychologist and is very excited to be working with the CCWF. He believes that CCWF will give him the tools he needs to reach his goals.

Michael Gregg

Social Work Intern

Michael Gregg is a Senior at Aurora University working to get his bachelors and masters to sharpen his skills and expand his understanding of the social work world. Being a hard worker and someone with ADHD he understands the necessity of giving back to the community and helping those in need and hopes to contribute much to helping teens and young adults. He also writes fiction in his free time.

Peggy Hansen

Social Work Intern

Peggy Hansen is currently enrolled at Aurora University pursuing a Master of Social Work. She is interested in becoming a Licensed Social Worker with emphasis on working with children and their parents and assisting them in building a strong future for their lives. Peggy is working on transitioning from the business field to the social work field, as well she is an ESL teacher and teach children English online to children in China. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking and spending time with her adult children.

Xenia J Kozlov

Volunteer Youth Board Member

Xenia J Kozlov, ethnically Ukrainian, spent the most part of her life in Moscow, Russia. In 2002, earned Bachelors degree in Russian language and Russian literature at Moscow State Pedagogical University. In 2005, got Masters degree in Russian literature, thesis “Modern typologies of the artistic consciousness”. She has worked as a journalist, author and editor. In 2009, she attended Moscow Gestalt Institute but had to interrupt because of moving to the United States in 2011. In 2015, she entered New England College and in 2018, got BA in Psychology. Currently, the proud student of Adler University, Chicago, studying Psychology with focus on Gender and Sexuality. She is married and a happy mom of two sons. Orthodox Christian. Feminist. Her hobbies include: drawing, music, creating costumes, and photography.

Judy Martinez

Social Work Intern

Judy Martinez is enrolled in Aurora University working on her second Bachelor’s degree in Social work. Her first bachelors degree is in general studio art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She also attained an Associates degree in Graphic and web design from Waubonsee Community College. She is focusing on adoptions and fostering within the social work field, She is currently working in a Daycare center as a lead teacher in a toddler room, which inspired her to want to further her education and want to help her community. She enjoys being around children, watching them grow and learn with new experiences; as well as learn new skills herself. Her goal is to work in the field of adoptions and fostering to be able to help the children that need someone to help them out to get ahead in life. In her spare time, when she gets a chance, she likes to spend time with her friends and family, especially her nieces and nephews.

Ellie Mickley

Administration Intern

Ellie Mickley graduated from Bradley University with a degree in Management and Leadership / Human Resources and a minor in Sociology. At Bradley, she held multiple leadership positions with organizations that provided awareness for domestic violence abuse, foster care, and youth education. Ellie is looking forward to getting involved with CCWF and joining its mission of creating peaceful communities.

Kishea Mitchell

Public Health Intern

Kishea Mitchell is a Public Health Intern from Northern Illinois University. She is in her final semester of her undergraduate journey to complete her bachelors in Public Health Promotion and a minor in Family and Child Studies. She enjoys helping others and knowing that she made an impact on someone's life makes her feel complete. Kishea has a puppy named Kash and she enjoys bonding with him. She plans to go back to school for her Masters in Public Health and is interested in opening her own non-profit organization to help African American Women with mental health.

Katie O'Connell

Social Work Intern

Katie O'Connell is currently a student at Aurora University, pursuing her Master of Social Work. Her specialization is in school social work, but she enjoys working with individuals of all ages. Her goal is to eventually become an LCSW, with the hopes of being able to help people of all types improve their wellbeing. She has experience working at non-profits with vulnerable populations, including domestic violence support and mental health case management. She is inspired by CCWF's mission and all that they do for their community. She hopes to be able to contribute to positively impacting the future of children and parents at CCWF. Her personal interests include spending time with her friends and family, health and wellness, and babying her dog.

V Pascarella

Translation Intern

​V is a student at Drew University in Madison, NJ studying Spanish and Film Studies. V identifies as gender non-conforming and uses they/them pronouns. V hopes to eventually pursue a career in translating and is eager to gain some real-world experience doing so with CCWF. In their free time, V enjoys cooking, drawing, and making music. V has always been a very family-oriented person so they are excited to be taking part in CCWF's mission.

Tapan Rajguru

Public Health Intern

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.

Dahlia Roman

Facilitator / Volunteer

Dahlia has over 20 years’ experience in social services and with a variety of needs. Dahlia has worked with diverse populations, persons with intellectual disabilities, child welfare experience, mental health and substance abuse needs. Dahlia provides Spanish speaking and culturally responsive services for individuals and families. She works with and as a team, building upon personal strengths in your journey to a healthier self and family. She can also help parents better understand how normal child/adolescent development, coupled with any complex traumas and experiences can impact their sense of self and family functioning. With her experience working with substance related issues, in combination with her knowledge treating mental health needs, she is adept at understanding the ways in which each can impact the other. These skills further enhance her ability to create a plan for treatment that will assist with the greatest empowerment and life improvement.

Fasi Siddiqui

Salesforce Intern

​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.

Khulan Usukhbaatar

Social Media / Marketing Intern

​Born and raised in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Khulan is currently enrolled at Aurora University pursuing a Bachelor of Business Marketing. While at Aurora University, she worked on multiple projects on consumer behavior, social media marketing, and sales process plans. Khulan believes childhood is the most important stage, which shapes a person’s future. That is why she is excited about joining CCWF and be a part of a wonderful team while sharpening her skills. She is also interested in going back to her country where there is a lack of support from the government and makes a difference through the knowledge and skills that she gained from her CCWF internship program.