Our Board

Linda Thisted

Linda Thisted has an MBA from the University of Chicago and was a Vice President with the Boston Consulting Group. She has been involved in social justice issues for many years, including leadership with the Metropolitan Alliance of Congregations and SOUL (Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation). She is currently advocating for affordable housing as the president of the Coalition for Equitable Community Development and is the Co-Chair of the Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric.

Andrea D. Reed

Andrea D. Reed, founder and Executive Director of the Greater Roseland Chamber since April 2009. After decades of disinvestment, the Greater Roseland community is experiencing great growth potential with an estimate of $2 billion in investment due to the Red Line Extension project. Along with other projects slated for development, the community is positioned on an upward trajectory that will have a tremendous impact in and around the community for years to come.

Pastor Fanya Burford-Berry

Pastor Fanya (fon-ya) Burford-Berry, is a person in recovery and lives on the West Side of Chicago in Austin. She is the Director of the West Side Heroin/Opiod Task Force. The Task Force is committed to ending fatal overdoses on the West Side through Hamm Reduction philosophy. She is an ordained Pastor and a Womanist theologian with the Metro Chicago Synod in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Pamela Jones

Pamela Jones grew up on Chicago’s westside in the Lawndale community. She is an early childhood educator who retired after 34 years from the Chicago Public Schools.

Meagan Jones

Meagan Jones is the Neighborhood and Land Use Planner for the City of Evanston and previously worked as its Economic Development Coordinator. She has a passion for community and economic development, with over 18 years of municipal planning experience in rural, suburban, and urban areas. She’s also an enthusiastic supporter of small businesses, the arts, and creatives.

Erika R. Knierim

Erika R. Knierim is an Attorney and Senior Associate at Founders Law. She has been involved in social justice advocacy for many years, including almost a decade as a Cook County Public Defender. She has spent many years in leadership roles at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s young professionals organization, the Overture Council, is an avid supporter of the arts, and has a 12 year-old Pomeranian named Mr. Darcy.