George M. Bradshaw Chairperson

George Bradshaw is an attorney with the law firm of Huck Bouma PC. Mr. Bradshaw serves as Outside General Counsel for a number of corporations with an emphasis in the areas of General Corporate, Banking and Commercial Law including Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business and Estate Successor Planning for Family business owners and Commercial Real Estate Transactions and Loan Documentation. He is a member of the ABA, the Illinois State Bar Association, the DuPage County Bar Association and DuPage County Estate Planning Council. He is a member of the Glen Ellyn Rotary Club. Mr. Bradshaw has been a seminar speaker on different topics relating to his practice area of concentration at various forums. He also serves on the Board of Directors for a number of the firm’s corporate clients.

 

Mark Essenfeld Treasurer

Mark is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional at Trusted Capital Group. He has over 20 years of experience helping individuals and families understand the impact of their current financial situation on their future aspirations, resulting in the development of creative, customized strategies designed specifically to address their unique priorities.

Mark has earned Bachelors and Masters Degrees from DePaul University in Chicago, and Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He is SEC registered and has been State Insurance Board licensed for Life and Health in Illinois and Michigan. Mark was certified as a financial planner by the Board of Standards on January 4, 2006 and he maintains that certification currently.

Aside from his practice, Mark is interested in American history, politics, and music, having played the Trumpet professionally; and he has endured being a Cubs fan his whole life. He is a product of the Midwest, born and raised in Aurora, Illinois, now living in Oswego, Illinois with his wife Donna after having raised seven children. Mark has been very involved in the community through his wife and children, as among the seven there have been two Eagle Scouts, six high school band members, and four high school athletes.

 

Kim Zoeller Secretary

Kim Zoeller is the President and CEO for Ray Graham Association for People with Disabilities. Kim began her career at Ray Graham Association in 1994 and held several positions including the Director of Community and Family Supports where she led the agency’s employment services, Community Learning Center programs, and Family Support Services including Respite, Early Intervention, and Home Based Services Facilitation.

Over the past several years Kim has led efforts that include the design of the first Community Learning Center Model to replace the archaic, costly, and non-progressive “sheltered workshop” program. As a result, people now volunteer throughout their community, access community resources, and have opportunities for real work options, including supports for individual micro- business development. Kim developed creative initiatives, and authored grants to private foundations and state entities to secure more than $300,000 for the organization. This includes securing funds from Boeing Corporation to launch autism specific services, and securing funds through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to advance employment for people with disabilities. Also, her leadership has revitalized Family Support Services by actively promoting Ray Graham Association services in the community of DuPage and surrounding area.

In 2000, Kim was invited to join the international Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL) that provides customized consultation and quality enhancement services to providers of services to people with disabilities internationally. Kim is actively engaged in many local organizations and advisory committees, including the College of DuPage, the DuPage County Transition Planning Council, and several local Chambers of Commerce.

 

 

Matt Koupal

Matt Koupal graduated with distinction from Iowa State University’s School of Engineering in May, 1978, and married his bride, JoAnne, 10 days later. Matt’s career includes various positions of increasing responsibility at Procter and Gamble, Frito Lay, KA Steel Chemicals, Rowell Chemical Corporation and GEA Farm Technologies.

Matt and JoAnne have two happily married daughters, Amy and Sarah, and six grandchildren, in addition to their special son, Luke who lives in a group home attached to Matt and JoAnne’s home.

Since retiring in May, 2019, Matt has been active at his church’s Caring Ministry, serving as a Student Leader for Bible Study Fellowship, building his son Luke’s confidential document destruction business, Shredigator, speaking to various groups of parents with special needs children and thoroughly enjoying the freedom of retirement.

 

Brian N. Rubin

Attorney Brian Rubin, the founder of Rubin Law, a former IRS Agent, and former IRS Attorney, has been a practicing attorney since 1976, is the parent of three children one of whom, Mitch-ell, has Autism. Brian’s law practice, for four decades, since 1982, when Mitchell was one year old, has been dedicated to serving the legal and future planning needs of his fellow Illinois families of children and adults with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and/or mental illness. Brian is a Past President (2017-2018) of the Special Needs Alliance, the national, non-profit, association of experienced special needs planning attorneys (membership is by invitation only), served on the Special Needs Law Section Steering Committee of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, was a Charter Member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners, and is a Faculty Member and Text Book Author for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) on the topic of special needs legal and future planning, as well as a Speaker for the American Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association on those topics. Brian has been elected as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and has received the highest attorney rating from Martindale-Hubbell, AV® Preeminent™, and AVVO’s highest attorney rating of Top Attorney. Brian is a Past President of The Arc of Illinois (2007-2011), served on The Arc of Illinois Board for 15 years (2004-2019), is a Past Chairman of the State of Illinois Statewide Advisory Council on Developmental Disabilities (2002-2004), is the Immediate Past Chairman of the State of Illinois Autism Task Force (Chairman 2005-2015) established by the Illinois Legislature in 2005, serves as a member of the State of Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission since 2013, served on the State of Illinois Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General Quality Care Board for 6 years, among many other State of Illinois Committees and Commissions. Brian has been a member of the Board of Directors of Clearbrook (an organization serving more than 8,000 individuals with intellectual and/or developmen-tal disabilities, including his son, Mitchell) since 1989, is a member of the Board of Trustees of Life’s Plan, Inc. which serves as Trustee of both Pooled Special Needs Trust and individual Special Needs Trusts, served as a member (Past Chairman) of the Board of Directors of the Special Leisure Services Foundation, the foundation supporting the Northwest Suburban Special Rec-reation Association (NWSRA), served as the founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation of The Special Edu-cation District of Lake County (SEDOL Foundation), served on the Board of Directors of KESHET (Jewish Parents of Children with Special Needs), serves on the Advisory Council of Encompass (Encompass in partnership with Jewish Child & Family Ser-vices, Jewish United Fund, JVS Chicago, JCC Chicago, Keshet, and The Center for Enriched Living and Center for Independent Futures), served for 7 years on the Board of Directors of Pact, Inc., now known as DayOne Pact, Inc. which serves as Trustee of Special Needs Trusts as well as Guardian for individuals with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities and/or mental illness, and served on the Board of Directors of Northpointe Resources, also an agency serving individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

 

Consuelo Puente

Consuelo Puente is a retired attorney and is currently working as a consultant with several agencies and organizations that support individuals with disabilities and their families. As a consultant Ms. Puente has a real talent in developing and presenting training sessions which engage and inform families on various disability related topics.

Ms. Puente has used her legal skills in helping to form two not for profits, Grupo Salto and Lo Que Puede Venir. Ms. Puente continues to contribute her energy to enable both organizations to serve Spanish speaking families that have family members with disabilities in the Chicago area. Working collaboratively, Grupo Salto and Lo Que Puede Venir have offered disability related conferences that provided all sessions in Spanish.

Ms. Puente’s passion for her work comes from her two sons that have been identified to be on the Autism Spectrum Disorder. Her sons are truly gifted in enriching the lives they touch.

 

Jane Nesbit

Jane Nesbit is currently the Associate Director of the St. Clair County Community Mental Health Board located in Belleville, IL. There she assists in the management, planning, distribution, and monitoring of local tax dollars to agencies supporting individuals with disabilities. She has over 40 years of experience in the not-for-profit I/DD field. Thirty-three of those years were earned within the Independent Service Coordination (ISC) system in Illinois and prior to that she worked in community residential supports in St. Louis Missouri.

Jane recently retired her volunteer board memberships with the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission/Human Rights Authority (IGAC/HRA) and the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (IARF). Both entities have strong and recognized advocacy traits that support all individuals with disabilities across Illinois. She also held leadership roles throughout the years in her children’s school system’s; assisting with Capital Campaigns, Annual Fund Drives, and Parent Teacher Associations.

In addition to her lifelong career in the I/DD field, Jane and her husband Walter have raised three daughters. They have all completed their educations, are married, and currently live in the greater STL/Metro-East area. Living locally is fortunate for Jane as she recently was bestowed the role of “Gram” to two grandsons, Wally and Charlie. She enjoys following Cardinal Baseball, Blues Hockey, SLU Billiken Basketball, and golfing recreationally as often as her schedule and the weather permits.

 

John Dragstrem

John Dragstrem retired business executive has an older brother with cerebral palsy who inspired to write a workbook titled “Life Without Mom & Dad”. The purpose is to help parents and their children cast a vision and a care plan for the possibility of life without parents.

John ended his career as Wealth Advisor and Chief Operating Officer for Coyle Financial Counsel, LLC. Prior to his career as an advisor John spent 25 years as an Information Technology professional holding the senior executive position at Van Kampen Funds, Nuveen Investments and McDonnell Investments.

John in a 1979 graduate of Western Illinois University where he earned a degree in Business with an emphasis in Quantitative Information Science. His wife Julia and he have raised 4 boys and are enjoying spending time with their 9 grandchildren (and counting).

 

Hanny Pei Rodriguez

Hanny is a Director with BMO Harris Bank’s Estate Settlement Services team where she administers decedent’s estates and reversionary medical trusts.  Hanny began her career as an attorney for the Cook County Public Guardian working with abused and neglected children in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and disabled adults in need of estate and personal guardianship services.  Upon transitioning to the private sector with a well regarded elder law firm, Hanny continued her community engagement with the Adult Protective Services Multidisciplinary Teams with both Aging Care Connections and Catholic Charities, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, Chinatown Pro Bono Legal Clinic, Chinese American Legal Services, and Life Span Center for Legal Services and Advocacy.  Hanny has also presented on issues brought on by age, chronic illness, disability, and death with elder abuse agencies in the Chicagoland area, the Fiduciary Investment and Risk Management Association, and the Illinois Institute for Continuing Education.

Hanny earned her Bachelors degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her Juris doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center.