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Leader Council

Born: Evanston, IL

College and major: Iowa State University, journalism and mass communications, minor in political science

Position: News Director at WGN-TV

“I oversee WGN-TV and WGNTV.com.”

Passions outside of work:

“I’m a big family person, so I guess my family would be my biggest hobby. I like to downhill ski, and run, and exercise; so those are my other things. But for the most part I go to and from work and do a lot of news producing and then I spend time with my family; I have six kids.”

Favorite activities during high school:

“I was a downhill ski-racer – I spent every weekend traveling to a different ski resort in the Midwest, and I was on the cross-country running team. But I was a skier – my freshmen year of college I went to the University of New Hampshire and skied on their downhill ski team.”

Finding Mercy Home:

“Like many people, I’ve known about Mercy Home for years and every once in a while, I’d read about it or see information about it, so I was very familiar with Mercy Home. I was looking for a new outlet to give back and be part of the greater community. I was involved with my church, and my kids’ schools, and volunteering at food pantries – but I wanted to do something on a larger role. So I reached out to a friend and she said, ‘what are your passions and what do you want to do?’ And I said, ‘well, my passions are children and my faith.’ And then we decided that Mercy Home would be a great fit. So I reached out to Rita and toured the Home and really appreciated the Leader Council.”

Favorite part about Mercy Home’s mission:

“I believe that every person has a purpose and every life should be valued. Mercy Home does not give up on people; they help people and bring them out to be the best that they can be from whatever circumstances they might be in. And just that relentless love and gift of lining their horizons – I absolutely love that.”

Mercy Home legacy:

“I want to be the person that has informed, and shared, and told the most people about Mercy Home. I think that getting the word out is so important for Mercy Home’s success and I would like to be the storyteller behind it – they’re valuable stories of the strength and the power of Mercy Home.”