OUR TEAM

Stephanie Lieber (she/her) serves as the Executive Director of Imerman Angels bringing with her a wealth of experience and acumen. With over 20 years working in the non profit world, she has a proven track record of leading large-scale development efforts and has worked extensively with executive Boards to form innovative strategic plans that have significantly advanced the missions of several prominent organizations in the Chicagoland area.

Before her time at Imerman Angels, Stephanie served as Vice President of Development at Chicago Children’s Museum where she provided ​leadership and management of fundraising operations for Chicago’s only museum focused exclusively on children and families. Working with the museum’s Board of Directors and senior leadership, Stephanie has a proven track record of successful campaigns, annual funds, major gift efforts, developing fundraising talent and initiating and executing innovative strategic plans. Prior to her role as Vice President of Development, Stephanie was Associate Vice President and Vice President of Individual Giving at CCM. Her fundraising career began at the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School where Stephanie served as Associate Director and Director of Development.

In addition to her professional fundraising work, Stephanie has been an active volunteer and leader at both the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation (LSCRF) and Francis W. Parker School. Stephanie began her volunteer involvement with LSCRF in 2006 and has since served as Vice Chair, Chair of the Board, Chair of the Nominating Committee, and Co-Chair of LSCRF’s 30th anniversary celebration. Stephanie has also been a Board of Trustees member of Francis W. Parker School since 2009. In her role at Parker, Stephanie has served as a Secretary of the Board and Chair of the Trustee Committee.

Stephanie holds a BA from University of Michigan.

Josh Kaufmann (he/him) serves as Senior Operations Director and brings nearly 20 years of nonprofit experience to the team. As the son of a breast cancer survivor and a colon cancer survivor, he was drawn to the organization’s mission and the opportunity to support those affected by the disease.

Jackie Herigodt (she/her) has been a caregiver to several loved ones with cancer including her mother, who lost her battle with lung cancer in 2004. These experiences fuel her passion for the Imerman Angels’ mission. Jackie has been with Imerman Angels since 2012. In her current role as Director of Programs and Outreach, she oversees the Mentor Angel training process, the matches made between Mentor Angels and support seekers and the organization’s outreach efforts. Jackie was responsible for the creation of the outreach initiative at Imerman Angels. This program has helped strengthen partnerships with other cancer organizations and cancer centers to better serve more people who have been impacted by cancer. Additionally, she established the global Ambassador initiative, made up of volunteers who dedicate their time to spreading awareness about the Imerman Angels mission and pursuing partnership opportunities to ensure that no one faces cancer alone.

Jackie graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She has worked in the fields of animal training, customer service and education. Her diverse background has proven to be beneficial for her role with Imerman Angels.

Dave Louthan (he/him) comes to Imerman Angels after heading the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Charity Program where he worked with the over 150 not-for-profit organizations that fielded teams for this event raising over $15 million dollars for these charities each year.   He has been involved in the event planning arena through his work at the Chicago Marathon as well as through consulting on other Chicago area events including numerous 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons as well as stair climbs and golf tournaments.  As an endurance athlete himself and a proud “middle of the packer”, Dave will be managing Team Imerman Angels. Dave is excited to be working with the many Team Imerman Angels athletes as they look to reach their goals and help Imerman Angels in connecting more and more individuals.

Dave graduated from Marquette University with a B.A. in History and Political Science and is an avid college basketball fan cheering on his Golden Eagles each winter (and, hopefully, into the spring). Dave also received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and an LL.M. in healthcare law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.  Dave and his family live in Chicago’s Smith Park neighborhood.

Stacia Whitmore (she/her) joined Imerman Angels in 2022 as the Director of Development. What drew her to this organization was the free one-on-one cancer support that Imerman Angels provides – someone who truly understands what you are going through and is there to listen and support you.

Prior to joining Imerman Angels, Stacia worked at Chicago Children’s Museum for 20 years, most recently as the Vice President of Institutional Giving and Development Operations. In that role, she raised funds from foundations, corporations and government agencies for the museum’s operations, programs, capital and endowment needs. Before Chicago Children’s Museum, Stacia worked in fundraising at Advocate Health Care.

She has a Certificate of Professional Achievement in Nonprofit Management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Indiana University. In her free time, she enjoys walking by the lake, listening to podcasts, cooking, and traveling.

Elisabet (Eli) Reyes Chea (she/her) joined Imerman Angels in 2021 as a Bilingual Cancer Support Specialist. As a biracial, bilingual veteran, diversity, inclusion and equal access to services has been the core of her professional career.   

Eli comes from a social services background with an emphasis on youth with high levels of trauma, immigrant communities and low income families.  Eli’s  passion is focused on addressing the importance of cultural competence, cultural humbleness and cultural diversification within social services and mental health service providers.  

Her role will be to add a comprehensive perspective on the impact of race, culture and life experiences and the role that cultural values and socioeconomic status plays in the access to cancer support as well as seeking and receiving services. 

Eli received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. She also served in the US Army for 10 years. A Puerto Rican native, Eli enjoys traveling, powerlifting and playing the violin.

Vanessa Broadway (she/her) joined Imerman Angels as volunteer coordinator in April 2018 with 16 years in Retail and Customer Service.

Christine Jonel is a two-time cancer survivor, her first diagnosis was in 1995 when she
was diagnosed with stage 3 rhabdomyosarcoma at the age of 2 and as a result she lost
her right leg. She spent her childhood and youth understanding the challenges of a
cancer diagnosis. In 2015, she was then diagnosed with stage 2 triple negative IDC
breast cancer, as well as the Li-Fraumeni gene mutation at the age of 23, which
explained her multiple diagnosis.

She quickly joined Imerman Angels as a Volunteer and Mentor in 2016 after learning
about the mission. Since this time, Christine has represented Imerman Angels at
numerous community events and has been a captain for multiple IA
social events; sharing the mission to help ensure no one faces cancer alone.

The Imerman Angels team welcomed Christine as an official staff member in the fall of
2022 after spending the previous years working on a CDC grant dedicated to
supporting young women diagnosed with breast cancer. She is dedicated to the work
and mission that Imerman Angels provides, and truly understands the importance of this
resource. She is also the team’s first International staff member, working from
Ghana, West Africa, helping the mission reach further across the
globe!