2024 Slate of Board Members
This report is submitted by 2023-24 Nominating Committee members Patti Paone (Chair), Victoria Cordero, Shauna Edgar, Catherine Mardikes, and Lali Watt.
The proposed slate of LWV Chicago Board officers and directors appears below. The Board members serving new terms will be elected at LWV Chicago’s Annual Meeting on June 8. Elected Board members will serve two-year terms (2024-2026). Each director will be responsible for the portfolio identified herein. The officers comprise the Executive Committee.
President
Jane Ruby
Jane Ruby has been involved in the League of Women Voters (LWV) since 2016 and has had leadership-level roles since 2018. Jane leads a variety of critical projects, including Chicago’s voter registration efforts and candidate forum moderation. She currently serves as chair of the Chicago League’s ranked-choice voting (RCV) committee and was co-chair of its Bring Chicago Home study group. She is also a member of the state’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force, established by the League of Women Voters of Illinois. Jane’s work has focused on protecting and expanding voting rights, civic education, and women’s empowerment issues. She also served as a League delegate to the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March. In addition to her work with LWV, Jane serves as treasurer of Good Government Illinois and served in private sector communications positions ranging from design, tech, and clean energy.
Vice President – Operations
John Engle
John is a consulting principal of the Cannabis Capital Group, where he works with clients in newly legal markets to secure operating licenses in all categories. He also serves as chief investment officer, leading due diligence and cap intro, and leads CCG’s ongoing efforts to establish a first-of-its-kind equity crowdfunding platform for cannabis startups in partnership with Arcview Capital. John is also Chief Strategist at Purpose Brand, an award-winning public relations, brand, marketing, and full-service communications agency that is deeply rooted in Chicago. In this role, John helps organizations, brands and companies put purpose into practice—making brands more relevant and stakeholder communities stronger.
John has served as acting Vice President of Operation since November 2023. John has been heavily involved with the League in recent years. He has served on the budget committee for the past four years, twice as its chair, and on the current Bylaws Committee. He was also a delegate to the LWV National Convention in Denver.
Treasurer
Patricia Michel
Pat was introduced to the League in 2018 while attending Great Decisions at Sulzer Library. She began volunteering with the membership committee, writing data extractions, and providing reports from the electronic database used for maintaining membership data.
Professionally, Pat retired in 2017 from Northeastern Illinois University as the Director of Human Resources for Records, Reporting and Payroll.
Towards the end of her career, she began taking classes at NEIU in Linguistics in order to volunteer teaching and tutoring English as a Second Language to adults. She's not done any ESL work since January of 2020 but hopes to be able to return to it at some point in the future.
Pat and her husband recently downsized from their Chicago bungalow to a condominium. They are very happy and feel fortunate to have found something in Chicago only few miles away from where they lived for 38 years. They have two sons and daughters-in-law who also live in the city. One great joy is continuing to travel with all of them and experience life with these amazing adults who love to explore and so appreciate good food and drink.
Director – Collaborations & Partnerships
Julia Kline
Julia Kline is a community organizer and voting rights activist. She's one of the many Americans who had been politically asleep until the events of 2016-2017 woke her out of her stupor—she's been mad as hell ever since!
Since moving to Hyde Park in 2019, Julia has made it her business to get to know the people and organizations who have been organizing in the community for decades. This in turn inspired her to found Neighbors Who Vote in 2020, together with Woodlawn resident Morrow Cleveland. The group soon grew to a membership of 50+.
In 2023 Julia was elected District Councilor for the 2nd Police District. Julia has been an active member of LWV Chicago’s South Side Unit and served on the Board for the last two years as Collaborations & Partnerships Director
Director – Events
Pamela Howard
Pamela Howard joined the League of Women Voters of Chicago in January 2024. She is currently a member of the Far South Side Unit and has served on the By-Laws Committee.
Pamela has maintained memberships and/or volunteered with the National Council of Negro Women – Chicago Central Section; The Chicago Public Schools as a Community Representative with the Local School Council; and the JMD Angels Foundation. and professionally, she currently works for Cook County.
Pamela Was born and raised in the Morgan Park community in Chicago and has earned her B.A. in Hospitality Management from Roosevelt University and her M.S. in Public Administration from Governors State University.
Director – Neighborhood Units
Diane Atkinson
Diane began attending LWV Chicago meetings in 2011 and then joined the League in 2012. In 2017, Diane became co-leader of the Far Southwest Side Unit. She has been on the Board as Neighborhood Units Coordinator for the last two years.
She has been a member of the GFWC Beverly Hills Junior Woman's Club since 1991, serving as president from 1996-2000, currently Corresponding Secretary. She also has been a member of the Garden Club of Morgan Park—Beverly since 2012.
Professionally, Diane developed and maintained financial systems for the University of Illinois; set up and maintained computer labs and networks for two CPS schools; and taught mostly junior high students to use technology. She also wrote grants for the school to get technology funding.
Education: Taft H.S. (part of CPS), 1975 (class salutatorian); B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science, UIC, 1978, (Phi Beta Kappa); M.S. in Mathematics Education, UIC, 1992.
Director – Operations
Marjy Gilbert
Marjy Gilbert is a long time League member. She joined the Chicago League in 1976 after the League spoke to the law schools’ women’s group, becoming a member of the LWVCHI Education Committee. Marjy was so impressed by the knowledge of Olive Greenspan and Helene Gabelnick, and their willingness to share knowledge, that she has been a League member ever since.
When Marjy moved to Flossmoor (south suburb) she simultaneously joined the Homewood-Flossmoor League, thereafter, leading a committee of that League to research and publish a guide to the new Illinois divorce law. When she then moved to Glenview, she joined the Glenview League and eventually became a board member. Marjy then moved to Palos Park and simultaneously joined the Palos-Orland League that she absolutely loved for almost two decades - and still misses. Marjy was the Palos-Orland representative on the Cook County Board, led a Cook County Committee to improve county government transparency, worked with Pris Mims to further improve Cook County government and more. For the Palos League, Marjy led the pension study group and served on the Board.
Before retiring from the practice of law in 2018, Marjy moved back to Chicago and re-joined the Chicago League. Marjy immediately joined the City Government Committee (CGC) and the Loop Unit. Marjy continues both activities, leading the Loop Unit for about 2 years until 2023 when she joined the Loop Quad that now leads the Loop Unit as a group. In the summer of 2023 Marjy lead a subcommittee of the CGC to develop protocols for advocacy that was presented to the CGC in late 2023, approved by the CGC in January, and submitted to the Board for its consideration. Marjy also led the LWVCHI 2024 Bylaws Committee.
Director – Voter Services
Helene Gabelnick
Helene Gabelnick is the Chair of the Voter Services Committee. She also coordinates LWV Chicago office business and is active in the Loop Unit.
Helene has previously completed two terms as a Director on LWV Chicago’s Board, having served as Vice President for four terms. She now serves as an ex officio member of the Board because of her role as Voter Services Chair.
Helene lives in the South Loop, is active with a retiree group from Harold Washington College, where she taught chemistry and physical science for 25 years. She enjoys travel to learn about elections in many other countries and visit her grandchildren.
Officers and Directors continuing through June 2025
Executive Vice President: Betty Magness
Vice President - Membership: Catherine Mardikes
Secretary: Inanna Khansa
Director – Diversity and Inclusion: Wytress Richardson
Director – Communications: Carol “Carrie” Eisner
Director – Community Oversight of Public Safety: Sharon Welch
Director – Environmental Action: Claudia Jackson
Director – Issues & Advocacy: Tina Brady Pettis
Director – Membership: Lali Watt
Nominating Committee 2024-2025
Patti Paone, Chair
Patti Paone is a retired nurse practitioner and student nurse educator who practiced in a variety of clinical areas over a span of four plus decades. Throughout her career, she worked tirelessly to be the most caring and competent nurse possible for her patients and their loved ones.
Since her retirement in 2019, Patti has volunteered within a variety of organizations. Within the Chicago League, Patti is a member of the Loop Quad that now leads the Loop Unit, and she served on the 2022/23 Nominating Committee and as chair for 2023/24.
Romelle Walton
Romelle Walton is a high school guidance counselor. She joined the League in 2021 and had been an active member of the South Side Unit.
Ariel Trejo
Ariel Trejo is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago, pursuing a major in Public Policy with a minor in Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity. Ariel won an Institute of Politics internship and chose the LWV Chicago as her employer. She played a major role in the League’s efforts to offer 2024 Candidate Forums and Debates. In addition, she has represented the League at student engagement events as well as voter registration drives. The Institute of Politics has extended her internship through the summer when she plans to take an active part in registering new citizens at the naturalization ceremonies.