Class of 2022
Amy Secretan
Amy Secretan is originally from Tucson, Arizona but grew up in Washington, Illinois. She attended Illinois State University for her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Amy liked ISU so much that she decided she couldn’t leave and has worked there since graduating in 2010. She is currently an academic advisor in the Honors Program and truly cherishes the opportunity to give back to the university and community that gave her a home. The best parts of her job are her outstanding colleagues, the enthusiastic students she gets to work with, and the opportunity to continually learn new things and find new passions. Amy loves reading and devours books far too quickly for her own good. She has coached and judged speech and debate with University High School for over 11 years. She also enjoys cooking alongside her husband, snuggling with their two cats, eating copious amounts of chocolate, movie nights, coffee dates, and learning new things every day.
Angie Hanson
Angie Hanson has lived in Bloomington, IL almost all her life. She is happily married and is blessed with three children and two fur babies. She has a sense of humor and enjoys seeing others laugh and have a good time. Angie is a positive person and is known to others as a giver and problem solver. She gets things done by collaborating with others but is also not afraid to roll up her sleeves if the situation calls for it. Her philosophy on life is ‘To build longer tables not higher walls’. Currently, Angie is employed by State Farm Insurance writing a leadership curriculum. In her spare time, Angie enjoys family, volunteering, and mentoring at a local safe house which provides healing to victims of sex and human trafficking. In her spare time, she loves to go antiquing and spending time with family and friends.
Anthony Smith
Anthony Smith is a second-generation biracial Filipino and Black American. He grew up in Glendale Heights, Illinois. Anthony attended Bradley University and graduated in 2008, with a dual focus Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology. He is thankful to have been raised by his Filipino grandparents who instilled a strong value system based on family and lending a helping hand whenever possible. In 2014, Anthony entered the insurance industry and has held leadership positions in various states including Illinois, Georgia, and Oregon. He is currently pursuing his Master’s degree through the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Business Administration, with a focus in IT Management and a certificate in Project Management. Anthony is excited to join the Multicultural Leadership Program to exhibit the values of his fraternity, Theta Chi, and “Lend a Helping Hand.”
Askar Choudhury
Askar Choudhury is a Professor of Quantitative Methods at the College of Business at Illinois State University. He maintains an active research agenda that includes prediction modeling (forecasting), development of statistical methodology for assessing effects of interventions and environmental exposures, service demand for technology operations, and agricultural index insurance. He has published fifty plus (50) articles in refereed academic journals including the Journal of Insurance Issues, Journal of Econometrics, The American Statistician, Communications in Statistics, Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation, and the Archives of Environmental Health. He has made many scholarly presentations at both national and international conferences. Askar has developed a distance-minimizing “Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP)” algorithm for the Next Generation Logistics (NGL) in Chicago and developed a ‘Predictive Model’ to estimate resource demand for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) in Alaska for efficient resource planning. He holds his Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in business analytics from Arizona State University. Askar teaches in the areas of business statistics, forecasting, operations management, operations analytics (simulation), and graduate quantitative methods courses. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago and received the “College of Business’s Distinguished Research Award”. Askar also loves to go fly fishing in remote Alaskan rivers.
Braden Delk
Branden Delk hails from Bolingbrook, IL, and has been working in higher education for almost 15 years. He discovered his passion for working with students during his graduate program in Communication Studies. After various roles at other institutions, he made his way to the Illinois State University Admissions Office in 2015 along with his Redbird wife Melissa and their dog pack. In his free time, Branden enjoys spending time with his wife and three dogs, Rocky, Lolita, and Louise. He also enjoys being the best uncle to his nieces and nephews, grilling, watching movies(huge film buff), reading higher education news, and taking drives to explore new places. Branden is excited to be a part of MCLP and learn more about he can support the Bloomington Normal community and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Brandon Green
Originating from the heart of Chicago, Brandon, along with his childhood sweetheart and his now wife, moved to the Bloomington-Normal area, to become the first in their families to complete college. After spending a few years here they fell in love with the communities that existed in Twin Cities. While in school, Brandon took part in many community service projects and volunteer opportunities. This reawakened his yarning for change and his fight for diversity and inclusion. Today he leads the community service efforts of his team at State Farm.
Brigette Gary
Everything Brigette does and everything she is tied to the people that are important to her. She grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and watched some amazing women come through some amazing situations. Her strength comes from being raised by her mom and being taught the value of hard work, manners, and education. Her greatest accomplishment is raising her three sons, including a 19-year old that sees the world through the eyes of Autism and a millennial that does whatever he wants whenever he wants and is a role model to his friends. Her oldest son is my hero. He is unapologetically living his dream of being an actor and relishes the hard work involved. She has led teams and inspired others in all of her roles and she thrives in this atmosphere. She is a lifelong learner with a passion for her family, her community, and her Harley. She loves to travel and visit historical sites and she hopes her brand is that she always tries to be her authentic self. She is excited about being a part of the 2022 class of the Multicultural leadership program and cannot wait to inspire her team, her peers, and her organization with what I have learned.
Brooke McGuire
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Brooke first came down to Central Illinois to pursue an Architectural degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. After a few years away getting her Masters at the University of Michigan and working in the Chicago suburbs, she realized that she needed to make the move back. Returning to Central Illinois, Brooke decided to take an exciting opportunity at Farnsworth Group and settle down with her husband in the Bloomington-Normal area. Four years later and stepping into a new role professionally and a new role as a mom, Brooke is excited to take on this opportunity and get involved in the Bloomington-Normal community. When she’s not chasing after her almost 2-year-old son, you can find her enjoying family time, exploring outside, and baking new treats. Bringing a positive and optimistic mentality, she feels that MCLP will be the perfect platform to learn and grow as a leader.
Camille Springer
Camille was born and raised about 30 minutes from Bloomington-Normal in the town of Hopedale, Illinois. After high school, she went to Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana where she earned her degree in Social Work. After moving back to live in Normal after graduation, she worked for a few years in the social work field before attending The University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana where she received her Master’s degree in Social Work. Camille has worked in the social work field for over 30 years, and cannot imagine doing anything else. She currently works at Heartland Community College, where she is the Associate Director of Student Counseling Services. She loves what she does at HCC, working with the students, faculty, and staff. In her free time, Camille enjoys hanging out with her friends and her awesome Dad. Her goal is to make at least one person laugh every day.
Carl Olson
Carl Olson is a native of Rockford, Illinois who came to Bloomington-Normal to study Communication and Political Science at Illinois State University. Carl spent the first part of his career in local media, working in sales and sales management for a cluster of radio stations. The best memories of Carl’s years in radio come from connecting with local businesses and supporting local causes and organizations. Carl returned to ISU, earning his MBA in 2012, and turned the next chapter in his career by joining Creative Services within State Farm in 2015. Carl’s professional experience is in relationship management, business development, communication, and leadership. Outside of work, Carl is creative at heart – enjoying time playing guitar, painting, reading, writing, and gardening. Carl and his husband live in Bloomington and enjoy travel and spending time with family.
Cathy Summerville
Born and raised in Central Illinois, Cathy had intended to live in a big city or another country after graduating from Millikin University. Life had different plans for her and she found herself applying to State Farm. Twenty-five years later, aside from short stints in Chicago and Atlanta, Georgia, she is still with the company and has called Bloomington home for the majority of that time. Cathy is a lifelong learner and has spent the pandemic brushing up on her German and re-learning how to play the piano. She is passionate about animal rescue and has fostered dogs for several years. Cathy also enjoys spending time with family, especially her niece and two nephews, and often spends any other free time with her nose in a book. She is happy to begin traveling again and has her trips planned out for the next two years. Cathy is excited to be involved in MCLP and hopes to give something meaningful back to her community.
Charice Crews
Born on the south side of Chicago, Charice always knew there was more to life than what her neighborhood offered. With courage and a great support system, she believes herself to be a lifelong learner. She’s studied language, economics, and law. She’s seen Italy, Spain, and France. By day she is a Claims Examiner for State Farm Life Insurance Company. Guiding customers through the most difficult cycles of life. Outside of work, she trains for triathlons, raises a compassionate son, and a thoughtful daughter. She loves God and cherishes her family. She is looking forward to growing and connecting with this program.
Claressa Kirkwood
Born in Bloomington, Illinois, and raised in Palm Springs, CA. Claressa relocated to Bloomington in 1995 from Palm Spring, CA. She was a single mother of three as well as a guardian to five of my sister’s children. Yes, a total of eight kids! She dropped out of high school so that she could work to provide for her children. She worked various jobs, sometimes two jobs at a time. As my children became older she always wanted to return to school and get her high school diploma and she completed it in the year 2000. She completed her general education courses at Heartland Community College as well. She is always looking for self-improvement. She has been working with her current employer for 16 years and a position was available in a heat plant department. She applied for it and got the position too. She is my biggest cheerleader. Her favorite pastimes are taking long walks with her dogs, taking long drives, and spending as much time with her kids, family, and friends. She is a Christian. She is passionate about self-improvement, self-awareness, and helping others.
Del Saam
Del was born in Peoria and attended High School in Barrington, Illinois. He attended college at Northern Illinois University for Jewelry and Metalworking and has a Masters Degree in Business Administration also from Northern Illinois University. Del has almost 30 years of US Army experience with a background in Infantry and Special Forces and three deployments to Afghanistan. He has a passion for security/safety while being a champion of diversity and the Constitution. Del currently works for the Veterans Treatment Court, a program for current or former Service Members to address criminal activities resulting from substance use, mental health, PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injuries, etc. where Veterans Affairs provides all the necessary treatment. Every Veteran that goes through this program frees up money from the state and county to treat a non-veteran. Veterans that graduate from the program after 12 to 24 months have their case dismissed completely. Del says you may check out the Facebook page at 11th Judicial Circuit Veterans Treatment Court to see more about what he does for work.
Denise Geske
Denise has lived most of her life in Central Illinois. With the exception of an “extended vacation” in Southern Illinois and then to Florida in the late 80’s and early 90’s before deciding to return home to begin her career at Fox & Hounds Salon and Spa. Certainly it was an interesting transition to have gone from managing an insurance agency in Florida to managing a salon and spa in Bloomington. Her God-given strengths are more analytical but she loves embracing and expanding her artistic side. She has a strong appreciation for the arts though no natural talent in the field. She is a self-proclaimed “education-junkie” in non-traditional settings. Seeking out motivational, spiritual, inspirational, leadership and self-improvement opportunities to grow. At one point, in her recent adult life, she was working 3 jobs at the same time. Fox & Hounds has always been her priority and number 1 position. In addition to moving to ownership of Fox & Hounds, she was given an opportunity to work as a Deputy with the Coroner’s office for 9 years and she also worked in retail sales at a well-respected local jewelry store. She is part of a beautiful blended family. She and her husband have 4 adult children and 4 grandchildren between us.
Jill Elofson
Jill considers herself a work in progress. While she has been a wife for 23 years and a mother for 16, she realizes her life is only beginning. She is a native Californian with conservation roots, but has been blessed with opportunities to see life through others’ eyes. She is an optimist. A half glass full person. And someone who believes in the power of a smile, a simple hello to a stranger, and a good laugh. She is on this wonderful journey called life and looks forward to meeting more wonderful people in the experiences to come.
Kim Lott
Kim was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and she is a military daughter which helped develop her adaptability and relationship-building skills. She continued to develop these skills as an adult by moving to a total of 5 different states for her career. She loves volunteering in marginalized communities. She enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as traveling and reading. Kim lives in the Atlanta suburbs. Kim is excited about this opportunity with MCLP and looks forward to a year of Discovery, Growth, and Purpose!
Kori Folkerts
Kori is a first-generation college student and graduate from Heartland Community College (Associates), Eastern Illinois University (Bachelor’s), and Illinois State University (Master’s). Born and raised in the Central Illinois area she is passionate about the area she grew up in and has an appreciation for small-town living. Through her job at Heartland Community College she enjoys working with college students as they begin a new chapter of their lives. She assisting in guiding them through utilizing supports that they may need in order to be successful and strong self-advocates through their college experience. As a wife, mother to two toddlers (ages three and one), dog mom, and hard worker, Kori is always looking for ways to grow in her life. She is constantly on the go with two littles but enjoys reading and participating in activities that require her to be creative in her thought process. She also enjoys putting together puzzles and watching her family grow and develop with the seasons.
Kristen Buhrmann
Kristen is an (almost) life-long resident of Blo-No. When she went off to college at the University of Evansville, she was sure she had left the quiet, midwestern town behind. After returning home after graduation, she found a job and a new perspective on the community. She loves checking out new restaurants, events, places to explore, and soaking up all the community has to offer. In her free time, you’ll find Kristen volunteering, reading a book, or snuggling up with her cat.
Kristi Glesne
Kristi is a Midwesterner at heart and relatively new to Central Illinois. The wife of a Lutheran Pastor, Kristi came with her husband, David, to Bloomington in June of 2019. The mother of two adult LGBTQ children, one who lives with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, she has served as an advocate and ally for several years. She is a collector of “hobbies” including paper-making, handmade bookmaking, quilting, and conducting research on various topics. She currently serves as the Associate Director of Work Ready Curriculum Development at Heartland Community College, working with area businesses to create a curriculum to ready and boost workers for the job market.
Rama Naraparaju
Rama Naraparaju was born in India and moved to the United States to pursue her Master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Illinois in Springfield. After graduating, she gained expertise in multiple technologies by working in disparate domains in Information Technology. She moved to Bloomington to join the State Farm in 2012. Rama is even-keeled, dedicated, honest, and a family-oriented person. She is approachable and always available when someone seeks help. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, cooking, and playing badminton. Rama is excited about this opportunity with MCLP and looks forward to learning further and contribute to the community.
Ryan Moore
Ryan grew up in the inner city of Chicago IL and relocated to Bloomington IL where he attended Lincoln College. During Ryan’s time in school, he joined the fraternity Phi Beta Sigma. While in the undergrad chapter he held the position of President and Treasure. They put on countless community service projects, volunteered at Home Sweet Home Ministries and the Youth Detention center to name a few. It was during that time where Ryan really grew the love for helping others. Ryan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and is currently working at State Farm. Ryan enjoys spending time with his lovely family, his wife Tatiana, and their three kids Tristen, Journee, and Zyaire. Ryan and Tatiana understood how difficult times have been for people around the community due to COVID and other things, so they decided to donate their stimulus checks to families that needed groceries and help with everyday living. Ryan was very honored to be one of the people selected for the MCLP Class of 2022 and he is extremely excited to get started.
Sammi Kern
Sammi is a tried and true Central Illinoisan, having grown up in various cities along Route 66 between Joliet and Bloomington. She is a first-generation college graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in History from Illinois State University. She has known all of her life that she wanted to be a helper and as a storyteller with an affinity for data, the possibilities were endless. Luckily, Sammi has had some wonderful managers who helped guide her towards a career in development, which is fancy for fundraising. She has worked with the McLean County Museum of History and the University of Chicago, working to raise funds for various projects, including the digitization of historic negatives from The Pantagraph. She is excited to be back in Central Illinois and currently works as the Development Coordinator for the Town of Normal Cultural Arts Department where she leads the development efforts for the Children’s Discovery Museum, Uptown Events, and Normal Theater. Sammi hopes MCLP will help her get more involved in the greater Bloomington-Normal community and give back to the place she has grown to know as home.
Sarah Bauer
Sarah is systems manager in Human Resources at COUNTRY Financial. She is also a mom to three kids; ages 24, 10, and 9. She was born and raised in Bloomington IL, attending District 87 schools and Illinois State University. Sarah has been involved in several community-based volunteer organizations and is currently the Chair of the Oakland Promise Council and sits on the Beyond the Books Educational Foundation board. Sarah loves to travel, cook, read, shop local, and spend time with her large extended family. She is straightforward, talkative, sarcastic, and wants to make a difference in the lives of those around her.
Shavantay Thomas
Shavantay is an avid lover of the word, thought, and most of all: the soul of man. Born and raised in Peoria, IL, she is the oldest of four and is now a mother of her own little dude! Her deepest joy comes when she is able to sift through the pieces that have come to define who she is today, but also the pieces that make up the people around her. While Shavantay attended Illinois Wesleyan University, it was life post-college that has seemed to teach her the most. Through her various work experiences in everything from leadership to service, to now entering the corporate arena, Shavantay has learned that her greatest passions are stimulated when she is able to learn, to advocate, and to be an intercessor; be it naturally or spiritually. Shavantay is beyond excited to be a part of the class of 2022’s journey through the Multicultural Leadership Program.
Shiquanda Murphy
Shiquanda is a native of Atlanta, GA. She spent the last 7 years building her career and leadership skills. She has a passion for coaching, training, and finding positive ways to inspire those in her community. She is an advocate for several nonprofits organizations within her community. Shiquanda prides herself in learning and adapting new skills every day. She believes knowledge is power. Shiquanda enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends, rollerblading and ice skating, and, most of all, traveling to new places and learning the history of other cultures and ethics. She always seizes an opportunity to explore or learn. Her motto is “Each one teach one, the more you learn, the more you can share with others, together build an empire, create a legacy, and leave a blueprint for the next generation”.