We seek members who are passionate about our mission, support housing and social justice issues, and are motivated to serve a community. We seek members who bring positivity along with professional skills, strong networks, and a readiness to raise resources and build connections. We care about equity and social justice, and seek members who will serve PADS mission in alignment with our values. Skills of all kinds are welcomed (HR, strategic planning, finance, marketing, special events, healthcare, education, etc.).
Please email [email protected] and provide a brief note sharing why you’re interested and attach a recent resume or simply provide a general description of your professional background.
Kevin has been a board member here at PADS Lake County since 2019, as well as serving as a long-time member of the Gurnee Exchange Club. Kevin has served the village since 1988 as a police officer, and as Chief of Police from 2011 to 2019, when he retired. He also is a Village Trustee since 2021.
Kevin has been active in the church that he and his wife Cathy have attended for the past 20 years, serving on the Board of Elders and volunteering with the food pantry and other ministries
Vice President
Jason Gunther
Secretary
Shelley Majewski
Shelley has been a resident of Lake County for over 25 years. She, along with family members own and operate a small business in Lake County, Cost Per Copy Consultants, Inc. their company has been in Lake County for over 30 years. While working and raising her children at the same time, she involved herself with several community organizations and school programs in the Lake Count area. She finds joy in her volunteering work, especially in organizing events, fundraising, and providing support to those needing help in her community. She joined PADS of Lake County Board of Directors in July 2021, even as she has been involved through various activities and events of PADS prior to accepting her Board position. As a Board Member, she is closely involved with the Development Committee and looks forward to continuing efforts of fundraising, creating awareness and supporting the mission of PADS.
Treasurer
Billy Farlik
Billy joined the Board in 2022 and serves on the Finance Committee. Billy saw PADS’ important work first-hand when he stepped in to help someone experiencing homelessness at his local library. Billy lives in Highland Park and is a VP of Finance at Madison Indoor Air Quality, making the world safer, healthier and more productive by improving air quality where we work and live.
Alexandra Beiriger
Alexandra Beiriger joined the PADS Board of directors in 2016 and is a tireless advocate for marginalized populations. She has a Master of Arts in women’s and gender studies and has served in the nonprofit sector for nearly a decade, primarily through counseling survivors of sexual violence and raising funds and awareness to keep those services strong for the community. Alex currently works as a grants and contracts specialist at DePaul University, collaborating with professors to secure grant funding for their research and providing policy and guidance with carrying out the research projects. In addition to PADS, she also promotes philanthropy for women and the LGBT community as an active young professionals’ board member of the Chicago Foundation for Women.
Patrick Niday
Patrick joined the board in early 2020 and currently serves on the finance committee. He is an AVP with First Bank Chicago working in the Lease Finance and Large Corporate departments focusing on the analysis and underwriting of equipment leases and large syndicated credit facilities. Patrick has an MBA from Ashland University in Ohio. He lives in Deerfield with his wife and two children and is also member of Highland Park Presbyterian who has a long history of making lunches for PADS. Patrick sought out the opportunity to get more involved with PADS and really wants to help those in need in his community.
Levoda Walker
Growing up in a family that’s committed to giving and serving the needs of others, Levoda continues to carry forward that strong family legacy in a variety of ways. Levoda joined the PADS Board of Directors in August of 2018 and currently serves on the Development Committee which is focused on outreach and bringing awareness to the needs of those experiencing homelessness in Lake County.
Levoda’s professional career has been spent working in the pharmaceutical industry where she has over 20 plus years of experience working for Abbott/AbbVie. Currently Levoda serves as an Associate Director for Global Learning Capabilities at AbbVie.
Katie Taylor
Katie joined the PADS Lake County Board of Directors in August 2021. Katie is Director of Development at Northwestern Settlement, a non-profit in the city of Chicago, with a mission to disrupt generational poverty for children and families. In this role she oversees fundraising and external communications for a $20 million organization. The work she does on a daily basis is inspired by her own personal experience of immigrating to America and disrupting her own family’s generational poverty. Her personal experience with philanthropy and giving back to those in need, along with an invitation to PADS first Gala in 2017 inspired her to join the PADS board.
Laura Comilla
Laura Comilla joined PADS Board of Directors in 2022 and serves as board lead for the Strategic Plan and a member on the Development Committee. She lives in Libertyville, IL with her husband and two teenage daughters. She works at Siemens Healthineers as the Senior Director and Head of the Global Healthcare Consulting Solutions organization, where her team designs efficient and cost-effective laboratory solutions. Laura was introduced to PADS through CrossLife Evangelical Church as a volunteer at a nearby shelter. The joy of serving others and seeing the importance of PADS mission, led her to becoming involved in the organization.
Kiearrah Lawrence
Living through the words of Dr. King, “Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”, Kiearrah keeps the spirit of service alive by giving back to her community in many ways. Kiearrah was introduced to PADS through volunteerism with her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She currently serves as DEI Action Co-Chair and seeks to use her knowledge and passion for equity, diversity, and inclusion to advocate for marginalized people.
Professionally, she is a finance manager at AbbVie, where she is responsible for Sales Forecasting. In addition to her core responsibilities, Kiearrah is the Global Chair of AbbVie’s Black Business Network (BBN) employee resource group. In this organization of more than 2,500 members, she is responsible for leading the development and execution of strategy aligned with the enterprise’s equity, equality, diversity, and inclusion mission and vision.
