2011-2012 ILS Corporate Board
Chris “Hopper” Oehler
President/Board Member
Hopper is an alumni of the program and has been a volunteer with the organization for over 20 years. He has served as a member of the Junior and Adult Staffs, the Seminar Planning Committee, Alumni Adviser and The Corporate Board. Hopper received his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University. He has enjoyed a 15 year career in the aerospace industry as a mechanical engineer with Woodward MPC, where he is responsible for designing test equipment.
Dimitri “Dimi” Moore
Seminar Chair/Board Member
Kristin Nickels
Alumni Advisor/Board Member
Kristin has been volunteering with ILS for over 13 years after first becoming involved as a Senior Coach. She has held many roles including Programming Director, speaker/facilitator and her current roles as Corporate Board Alumni Advisor and Seminar Director of Staff. Kristin graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communications from Northwestern University. She is currently working as a Product Specialist at the NPD Group, a market research firm, where Kristin is responsible for overseeing a variety of research products that track trends within the food industry.
Patrick Whiston
Fundraising Chair/Board Member
Patrick is a Senior Consultant with Gallup, where he is responsible for leading research and development projects, product innovation, marketing, and client relationship management. He specializes in customer and employee engagement, strengths-based hiring and development, and comprehensive organizational improvement; he also provides industry expertise to financial service clients to help them achieve strategic growth and market leadership position. Patrick has been an active Corporate Board member since 2009 when ILS first partnered with Gallup on Strengths leadership programming and corporate sponsorship. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Illinois State University. He received his Master’s in business administration from Loyola University Chicago.
John Bielski II, JD, CPA, MBA
Treasurer/Board Member
John is an attorney and owner of the Bielski Law Office, Ltd., and practices in the areas of business law, real estate law and estate planning. In addition to performing extensive transactional work for individuals and businesses, John has represented clients before state and federal courts, appellate courts, and before the Illinois Supreme Court. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Illinois Benedictine College, and his law degree from DePaul University College of Law. Mr. Bielski is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Finance from DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. John is currently the Treasurer and a Director, and has been involved with ILS since 2002. In addition, he provides legal advice to the organization and the Board of Directors.
As a high school sophomore in 2000, Keith had his first encounter with ILS as the world entered the new millenium... and he could not imagine a world without the insighful and enegmatic leaders that walk through the doors of the flagship seminar every June. Since 2000, Keith has remained on staff fulfilling roles including Junior Coach, Operations Team Member, Admin Team member, and Seminar Planning Committee member. In 2008, he joined the Corporate Board and was selected as chairperson for the Flagship Seminar from 2009 – 2011. He has also served our national affiliate, NSYL, the National Society for Youth Leadership, as the Illinois representative. Keith received his B.A. from St. Mary's University of Minnesota and went on to teach high school and subsequently become a high school administrator.
Naomi Hill
Board Member
In 2008, Naomi volunteered as a Senior Coach for the ILS flagship seminar for the first time. After three years serving as a Coach, she increased her involvement to include Corporate Board Secretary and Seminar Programming Director. Currently she is serving her second appointment as Seminar Programming Director and is also assisting Patrick Whiston with ILS fundraising efforts. Naomi works as a planning and portfolio training manager at a Chicago-area pharmaceutical company, where she leads a team of learning and planning professionals. She received a Bachelor's degrees in biology and German from SUNY Albany and a MBA from Union College, both in upstate New York.
