GUILD BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John Erickson
John is a First Vice President in LaSalle Bank's Wealth Management Department.
John is the Fixed Income Strategist for the Department, and a Portfolio
Manager for many client bond accounts. John received his MBA from J.L.
Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and his Bachelors of Business Administration
from the University of Notre Dame. John has been legally blind since age
12, and he has been involved in other organizations serving the visually
impaired for 20 years.
Anthony M. Fiore
Anthony is a CPA and a Director at RSM McGladrey, Inc. He has been with RSM for over twelve years and his specialties include audits of and tax preparation services for various nonprofit organizations.
Edwin Hill
Ed was a long-time teacher of the visually impaired with the Chicago Public
Schools. He has served on several Boards and committees dealing with enriching
and expanding the lives of people with visual impairments. He started
his affiliation with the Guild as a consumer. It did not take long for
Ed to get more involved as a volunteer and ultimately as a Board member.
Ed explains, "being on the Guild's Board seemed like the best way
to help visually impaired people develop their abilities at the same time
as letting the rest of the world know that we are more like everyone else
than we are different."
Lois J. Hobart
As owner of "reflective beings" - a life coaching practice - Lois Hobart has spent many years in the field of communications: corporately as a writer/producer/director of industrial shows, meetings, audio-visual presentations and speechwriter; independently as a published/produced playwright, award-winning children's and short story writer and also as a student and practitioner of small group facilitation. As a performer (vocally and theatrically), Hobart brings astute listening and intuitive skills to coaching and, as a board member, has provided the Guild with its "alternative" voice since 1996.
Patricia Kilgore
Arthur H. Krause
Arthur, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign is a retired business man who has been a volunteer business counselor for SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business Community and a resource partner of the SBA. In 2002 Arthur developed AMD that lead to legal blindness. Since that time, he has become involved in several organizations dealing with the visually impaired. He hopes that his business experience and marketing skills will benefit
Tina M. Kuska
Diane Laux
Diane Laux is an independent communications consultant specializing in internal communication research and corporate writing. She established a consulting practice after 18 years in corporate communications for the healthcare and technology industries. Diane graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Philosophy in Communication degree and a Master of Science in Communication degree. She joined the Guild for the Blind board in 2005.
Sylvia Lynch
Leonard V. Messner, OD, FAAO
Leonard V. Messner, OD, FAAO, is the Vice President for Patient Care Services of the Illinois College of Optometry and serves as the Executive Director of the Illinois Eye Institute of the Illinois College of Optometry. Dr. Messner is an Associate Professor at the Illinois College of Optometry, and holds clinical privileges in the areas of retina-vitreous and neuro-ophthalmic disorders. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and currently serves as the chair of the Diplomate Section for Neuro-Ophthalmic Disorders of the American Academy of Optometry. He is the author and co-author of numerous professional articles and textbook chapters on retina-vitreous and neuro-ophthalmic disorders, and a frequent guest lecturer in the United States and abroad.
Suzanne Miller
Suzanne is currently a Clinical Hospital/School Liaison for Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital working with children, adolescents, and their families with emotional disorders. She is a certified school psychologist and special education teacher who has worked with children with learning disabilities, emotional disorders, traumatic brain injuries, and visual, hearing, and physical impairments in the Baltimore and Chicago areas. Suzanne received her undergraduate and masters degrees in Special Education from the University of Maryland and the University of Illinois. She also holds a masters degree in Educational Psychology and a Doctorate of Philosophy in School Psychology from Loyola University of Chicago. Suzanne has a close family member who has struggled with Glaucoma, and hopes to help further The Guild’s efforts to develop self-esteem and independence in those with visual impairments.
Maribeth Nesbitt
Maribeth is in private practice with her husband, she as an accountant,
and he as an attorney. Their fluency in Spanish allows them to assist
a vast and largely Hispanic clientele. Maribeth has been a recording volunteer
since the early 1980's and on the Board since 1994. She is committed to
the mission of the Board and sees a parallel between helping recently-arrived
immigrants understand the American tax system so as to be more self-sufficient
and seniors with aged related macular degeneration like her mother to
maintain their independence.
Carolyn Quinn
Sharon Seidler
Sharon is Senior Vice-President of C&R Research, a custom market research company located in Chicago. Clients include packaged goods companies, B2B companies, advertising agencies, cable television companies and companies dedicated to providing goods and services to children. Sharon holds a B.S. in psychology and a J.D. She is married and she and her husband have four children, the second of whom was diagnosed in 2001 with a condition that damaged his optic nerve and left him blind. Son, Paul, is a graduate of the Guild's Computer Training Center program and is employed as a market research analyst. Sharon's hope is to create more awareness that blind people, with the right assistive technology, are very capable, and to get them hired and recognized as valued members of the workforce.
Dennis Wieczorek
Dennis Wieczorek is a partner with the law firm of DLA Piper and is chair of its Franchise and Distribution practice group. He also is Chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising. With family members living with macular degeneration, Dennis hopes to educate himself and others on ways to alleviate and overcome visual impairment.
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