Class of 2023
Alyssa Foreman
Alyssa Foreman was born in Opelika Alabama and because of her love of the military, she decided to enlist in the US Army at the young age of 17. After serving 11 years in the military, Alyssa began a career of facilitation and leadership development. She was a pivotal developer for a major telecommunications company new hire training and onboarding programs. Alyssa expanded her passion for helping people and began working as a tutor for the Lee County Literacy Coalition, an entity of the United Way of Lee County and volunteering at the Food Bank of East Alabama. Being an athlete in high school, Alyssa gravitated to a non-profit organization in Opelika that mentors youth, primarily through sports. She became a certified Clifton Strengths Coach and is a graduate of Opelika’s Chamber of Commerce top 20 under 40 leadership program. Being new to Bloomington/Normal, she wanted to find a way to immerse herself into the community as well as network and serve with likeminded individuals. Throughout her research she found that MCLP was the avenue that would allow her to do both. In her free time, she enjoys watching football, traveling, reading and spending time with her son.
Mandy Webster
Mandy Webster is a life-long learner who wants to experience everything the world has to offer. She is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who lived in Texas, Hawaii, North Dakota, and Wisconsin before returning to her home state of Illinois. Mandy has a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Business Management from Cardinal Stritch University (Milwaukee) and an M.A. in English with a concentration in creative writing from Mount Mary University (Milwaukee.) She is currently an academic advisor at Illinois State University, an adjunct instructor at Illinois Central College, and a Trustee for the Village of McLean. In her spare time, she writes and independently publishes her novels under the name “Amanda L. Webster.” Mandy is excited for the opportunity to get involved in causes she cares about in a meaningful way. During the MCLP experience, Mandy hopes to be able to work with a women’s shelter or similar organization that addresses the issues of family violence and child abuse. She is also interested in addressing housing instability for young adults in the 18-to-25-year age range who lack the family support necessary to become stable and self-supporting adults.
Andrew McAllister
Andrew is a current resident of Bloomington, Illinois. He recently graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2020 with a bachelor’s in Political Science and minors in Asian Studies and Education Policy. Andrew grew up in Normal and attended Unit 5 schools through K-12, graduating from Normal West in 2016. Andrew has worked for the last two years at Central Illinois Institute of Balance, his mother’s medical practice, in several capacities after graduating from university.
Annapoorna Halepatali
Annapoorna is a high-energy individual passionate about creating new things, and building new relationships. She was born and raised in India, where she completed her Bachelor’s in Architecture degree. After working for six years in India she moved with her husband to Champaign in 2012. She completed her Master’s in Architecture degree from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign where she received the Edwin A. Horner Fellowship and the American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Medal award. She is a practicing architect at Farnsworth Group and has been part of the Bloomington-Normal community for the last two years. As an architect, she has designed healthcare facilities, schools, recreation centers, hospitality, township, and residential facilities. In her spare time, she enjoys learning music, traveling with her husband, and taking her dog Cheeku on long walks. She is thankful to her family, who taught her that she needs to relish work and life at the same time.
She is excited to be a part of MCLP 2023 where she looks to build relationships and connections with the professionals and leaders in the Bloomington-Normal community. She believes MCLP is a great opportunity to develop leadership skills, learn from other peers in this program, and learn how to solve problems from multiple perspectives.
Jennifer Caldwell
Jennifer was born in Bloomington, Illinois but grew up in Detroit Michigan. She relocated back to Illinois to be closer to her grandparents who were very instrumental in her upbringing and viewpoints that she holds valuable. She is excited about learning new things and loves a good inspirational or self-improvement book. She is such a fan of creativity, freedom of authentic and unique expression, and adds a youthful spirit that gravitates to an enthusiastic atmosphere. Currently she works at Heartland Community College in the Student Engagement Office, which is also known as Student Activities or Student Life. She enjoys the interaction with the students and impacting their growth by inspiring them to stay resilient and by being an active listener. Jennifer believes that the MCLP (Multicultural Leadership Program) is the next step in her development as a leader, as it offers opportunities to connect with community leaders, growth in influence, build confidence and a self- discovery component that will be beneficial for Heartland Community College and finding my place in the community.
Jennifer Funk
Raised in a small town outside Bloomington-Normal, Jennifer was a first-generation student who didn’t know how to navigate the college landscape and had no idea what she wanted to do with her life after high school. She pursued a bachelor’s degree in education because others often told her she would make a good teacher. It wasn’t until she graduated that she realized she didn’t want to work in K-12 education at all. After trying on a couple of jobs, she moved to Shenyang, China to teach at a university and discovered a passion for higher education. After over three years in Shenyang, she moved back to the States and started as an ESL tutor at Heartland Community College. Several roles and a master’s degree later, she now works as a Success Coach at Heartland, helping students connect with and fulfill their purpose as they explore their college experience and the world around them, coming full circle to fulfill her own purpose as well. Jennifer is a trained coach and Kundalini Yoga teacher and finds the wisdom of yogic philosophy to be invaluable to her work. In her free time, she enjoys teaching classes and workshops introducing practices like pranayam, kriya, meditation, and mantra; guiding others to their wisdom within. Her personal philosophy is to approach life with curiosity, integrity, and compassion, and her vision is to create spaces for people to come together in practice with the intention of creating consciously compassionate communities.
Kalessa Edgerson
Kalessa Edgerson is an Executive Director of Heartland Head Start in Bloomington IL whose passion lies in the personal, educational, and emotional development of children. Ms. Edgerson has over 30 years of experience in Early Childhood Education, with an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Oakland County Community College, a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, and a Masters in Early Childhood Education, both from Grand Canyon University. Ms. Edgerson is a proud member of The National Association of Head Start, and The National Black Child Development Institute, however her pride and joy lies in her 4 children, and grandchild. She enjoys football and track in her spare time. Persistence, dedication, and the ability to view every child as deserving of love, and equal opportunity no matter their circumstances prove to be the fuel that drives her love for the industry, and the children, staff, and families that make it all worth it.
Kela Leshoure
Kela Leshoure was born and raised in Champaign, IL and moved to Bloomington to attend college at ISU. She graduated from ISU and began working as a preschool teacher at Heartland Head Start. Kela fell in love with her experience so much that she taught as a preschool teacher for 18 years and now currently works as an Education Manager. Kela is very passionate about early childhood education and supports for staff, children, and families. She is also a mother of 5 children and during her leisure time she loves cooking, reading, and spending time with her family. Kela is very family-oriented and always advocates for the supports of the family as a whole. Kela’s passion focuses on high-quality inclusive early childhood education in the beginning years for all children.
Lori Hall
Lori Hall, originally from Chicago , a first generation college student and graduate of Illinois state university. Her background is in Family Consumer science with a focus on early childhood and quality care. Lori has recently accepted a new position as an education specialist with hopes to coach and mentor other educators into developing their passions and teaching practices. Lori loves spending time with her family, reading and being outdoors.
Michael O’Connor
Michael grew up in a small town in northwestern Ohio. A sense of adventure brought him down to the sunshine state of Florida. While in Florida, Michael was able to absorb the finer points of hospitality while working with the best in the industry. He expected a fullfilling life in the service industry. What he did not expect was to meet the woman he would later be lucky enough to call his wife. Following her to her hometown of Bloomington, IL, Michael was welcomed by a community of entrepreneurs and go-getters with a strong sense of community. Michael was inspired by the people of Bloomington to do the best he can for his team, his family, and his community. While he never originally sought leadership, circumstances would often call for someone to step forward and take charge. Michael is expected to be working with like-minded leaders to learn what it truly means to be a servant leader.
Michelle Freeman
Michelle Freeman joined the corporate law department at State Farm as a managing attorney in December 2020. She considers her greatest accomplishment reflected in the vibrant lives of her children. Her three daughters live throughout the southern states pursuing personal and professional adventures. From 1998-2010, her entrepreneurial spirit contributed to owning and managing a furniture manufacturing company with more than $6m in sales and up to 85 employees in a 65,000 sq. ft. production facility selling to boutiques and companies such as Horchow, Neiman Marcus, and Bombay. For approximately two years, Michelle served as a trustee on a board for a Texas Independent School District. The opportunity arose for her to explore her professional interests further, leading her to complete her undergraduate degree and a Juris Doctorate at The University of Mississippi. State Farm offered Michelle a legal internship during law school, which led to her current full-time counsel position. One of her most profound defining moments was losing her son in a 2002 church bus accident. She learned how to deal with grief while rearing a family and maintaining a business. Her inspiration is derived from the phrase, “To whom much is given, much is required.” She recognizes the burden that comes with talents and knowledge. Michelle strives to be authentic, honest, and kind. She believes there is always hope to be found even when the darkness is overwhelming.
Misty Metroz
Misty Metroz was born in Bloomington, Il but at the age of 13 moved to the village of Odell, Il with her family. Although she was offered scholarships to ISU and U of I, she chose North Central College in Naperville because of the simplicity, naturalness, and spirit of competition shown on the prospective student mailing she received-that of a student in a track and field jersey competing in the javelin event. That is part of Misty’s personality-sometimes the smallest things appeal to her and what may be overlooked by someone else will be noticed by her. Misty graduated with a bachelor’s degree in International Business and Spanish. Since graduation, she has seen the difficulties, the bumps, the setbacks, the lows and the unpleasantness of life; but, through it all, even the most difficult of times, she has managed to maintain her smile and laughter, and learned how she can still help others on their own journeys. After having moved around quite a bit, she moved back to Bloomington with her 2 sons, whom she adores, and for whom she built a house for the 3 of them to live in through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Because Misty is a complex person (even writing this bio is extremely difficult), she loves the simple things in life-good music, sunshine, old cartoons/reruns, laughter, sitting on her porch reading or watching the birds in the sky, visiting older relatives. Over the past decade, she has helped build Habitat for Humanity homes and for more than a decade has been a coach with the Prairie Cities Soccer League. She doesn’t consider herself a “front and center” person but decided to give the MCLP a chance because somebody believed this was right for her. She accepts the challenge and will do her best.
Oliver Slavish
OJ Slavish is a native of Matherville, IL, then worked his way through college at Western Illinois University. Eventually graduating and starting a career in Insurance and Investments. OJ learned early on the importance of being educated in financial planning and protecting your family. That propelled him in his career eventually earning the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation. Since moving to Bloomington, he has built a great career helping others understand his industry and building better Financial Representatives. He also found the love of his life, Teresa, and together they were married in 2021 and started their new life together with their two dogs Loda, and Eleanor.
Rachel Riddle
Rachel grew up in Bloomington, IL and was a graduate of Normal Community High School. Rachel attended the University of Illinois in Chicago majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Rachel returned home to Bloomington and began working at State Farm. Rachel quickly found a passion for continued personal development while also helping others to grow through coaching and mentoring. In 2018, Rachel moved to COUNTRY Financial where she can connect and support the agency field force through roles in Financial Product Support and Agency Administration. Over the past year, Rachel has led a team in Agency Administration which oversees onboarding, licensing, and contracting representatives, coordinating field offices and technology, and analyzing agency growth opportunities and placement of new reps. She is excited about being a part of the 2023 class of the Multicultural Leadership Program and cannot wait to bring the knowledge she gains back to her team, her peers, and her organization. Outside of work, Rachel enjoys spending time with her husband and three sons, camping, and traveling.
Robyn Seglem
Robyn Seglem found her way to Bloomington-Normal and Illinois State University after teaching middle and high school language arts in the Kansas City suburbs. Robyn is passionate about rethinking educational systems so that they empower ALL students to find their passions and voices. At Illinois State, she works with future and practicing teachers to help them develop their expertise and confidence in literacy, technology, and inquiry. Whenever she can, she finds her way back into the classroom and has co-taught alongside teachers at the Regional Alternative School, Heyworth Junior High, and Normal Community High School. A recent empty-nester, Robyn also enjoys spending time with her husband, convincing her son and daughter to come for a visit, and playing with her two Shiloh shepherds and new ragdoll kitten. And she might just indulge in online shopping from time to time (or maybe a bit more!). Robyn finds her energy through collaborating with people and is excited to get to know everyone in the MCLP!
Sangeetha Mupparapu
Sangeetha Mupparapu came to United States in the year 2000 with a dream to achieve goals in her life. She worked her way up to find the opportunity in her career in leadership and management. Sangeetha enjoys reading books and gardening. She is curious to learn from others and likes to simply. Sangeetha completed her Master’s degree in computer science in India. She has two boys and a caring husband and is looking forward to learning and grow from the Multicultural Leadership Program.
Shayla Dennis
Shayla’s father always taught her to learn something new every day. She continues to live by that each day, which she believes has helped her be open-minded and always eager to learn something. She is ready to embrace her journey with MCLP to learn, grow and connect with new people. Her goal for MCLP is to learn more about the community and get more involved. Shayla is a two-time alumnus of Illinois State University. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Agriculture and her master’s degree in College Student Personnel Administration. Shayla is currently working at ISU as Instructional Experience Coordinator for Mennonite Nursing of College. You can always find a smile on her face with a positive attitude. When Shayla is not working, she enjoys reading, going for walks, spending time with her family and friends, and trying new restaurants. Shayla is excited about this opportunity with MCLP and ready to become a better leader for herself and the community.
Yelyse Walls
Yelyse, native of the south side of Chicago has always been a rebel with/without a cause. Despite her academic achievements she had a lower than anticipated desire to attend college. Her saving grace was continuing her competitive bowling alongside her collegiate career. 2010 she ventured to Bloomington-Normal to attend Illinois State University and hasn’t left yet! Yelyse obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology minoring in Criminal Justice in 2015 and decided to take a gap year before perusing graduate school. The gap year lasted more like 3 years and in that time, she grew her family with the birth of her son June 2017. It was then she decided that she needed to get back to her educational goals and re-entered the academic setting.
Yelyse is pursuing a Master’s degree in College and Student Personnel Administration expanding her career in Student Affairs. Currently Yelyse works as an Admissions Counselor for her alma mater, responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with high school professionals with an emphasis on the recruitment and matriculation of qualified prospective scholars throughout the state of Illinois.As a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Yelyse is committed to the motto of being “Community conscious and action-oriented” because a “Good Zeta is a Well-informed Zeta”. Yelyse is dedicated to being a professional troublemaker, recognizing that she cannot create change on outside looking in but rather be the change at the center. She is passionate about fostering connections with college students specifically underrepresented Black and POC students and creating affirming spaces for these students/faculty within ISU’s campus. Yelyse is very excited to take part in MCLP to challenge her learned/lived experiences by embracing new connections and increasing her knowledge of differing cultures, identities and social constructs.