As we settle into 2025, it is not too late to look back and reflect on the progress and achievements of the past year. The year of 2024 was a dynamic and productive year for our organization, marked by growth, collaboration, celebration, and innovation.
Not only did Disability Lead’s membership grow to 250+ Members, but our staff and our Board of Directors grew in size as well. Additionally, we forged valuable partnerships that strengthened our mission and expanded our impact.
Commitment To Building Connections
Over the entire year of 2024, Disability Lead facilitated nearly 220 connection opportunities for our Members, resulting in 89 successful connections with 41 connections still in progress.
For the latter half of 2024 (July-December), we facilitated 68 connection opportunities. This underscores our ongoing efforts to increase civic engagement and diverse leadership in the Chicago region — consistent with the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
July – December Connection Updates
Here are some achievements and milestones from our Members from July-December 2024. To see our civic connections updates from January through June 2024, take a look at this blog post.
Leadership and Recognition:
- The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) recognized Judge Azeema Akram at the 2023-24 ISBA awards program with the Diversity Leadership Award. Plus, she was promoted to Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge.
- Vanessa Harris, Keidra Chaney, and Sydney Holman were honored by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of 2024’s Most Notable Black Leaders.
Board Appointments:
- Linda Mastandrea was appointed to the Board of Trustees of United Cerebral Palsy and The Advocacy Committee of the National Recreation and Parks Association.
- Hugo Trevino joined the Illini Service Dogs Board of Directors.
- Twi Members secured to Board positions through our partnership with BoardLead: Christina McGleam was appointed the Blind Service Association Board of Directors. Dr. Lisa Elliott joined the World Chicago’s Board as a member.
Advisory Board Appointments:
- Bernardo Gomez joined the Lohengrin Foundation as member of the Advisory Board.
- The following Members were appointed to the Disabilities Fund Grantmaking Advisory Board: Sadaf Ajani, Bri Beck, Gizelle Clemens, Joyce Ozeh, Jae Jin Pak, Elon Sloan, Katherine Vakil, and Adam Ballard (Interim Co – Chair).
- Katherine Vakil and Joyce Ozeh joined the Advisory Board of the Disabilities Fund.
Speaking Engagements and Advocacy:
- Ana Monga and Laura Issacs were speakers at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
- Michele Lee spoke at the Social Innovation Summit panel.
- Dr. Lisa Elliott served as a panelist on “DEI: Race and Disability” at Pepperdine University.
- Rebecca "Becky" Brasfield was a keynote speaker at the ISPS USA conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her address focused on the politics of mental health and how our mental health is co-created by our environments.