Board of Directors
Katie Dunne - Chair, Board of Directors
Gerry Hennelly- Vice Chair, Board of Directors
Selima Hargadon - Treasurer, Board of Directors
Victor Bernstein - Secretary, Board of Directors
Dan Allen
Amy Fahey
James Jablonski
Paula Moscinski - Development + 50th Anniversary Gala Committee Chair
Robert Smolen, Chair Emeritus
Nandita Ananya Baloo - Northwestern Kellogg Board Fellow (non-voting)
Leadership + Staff
Kathryn H. Lavin, MSW - President/Executive Director
John Ratzenberger - Sr. Director of Operations
Mara O’Brien - Operations Manager
La Vitta Mason - Office Manager
Malgorzata Zukowska - Director, Self-Directed Assistance Division
Tricia Luzadder CESP - Director, Employment Services Division
Amanda Bulgrin - Director, Community Day Services
Kevin Miller - Community Day Services Manager
Rebecca Kramer MACAT, ATR-P - Wellness Specialist, Art Therapist
Emma Kelley - Advancement Manager
Sarah Meyerson CESP - Employment Services Manager
Danuta Potyrala - Quality Assurance Specialist/Lead QIDP
Blair Michele Meehan - Art Therapy Intern
A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP
Since its inception in 1974, Gateway to Learning has been blessed with strong leaders whose extraordinary vision for the future for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities has driven the organization’s evolution and ensured our continued impact into our next 50 years.
Dorothy Hough
Dorothy and Roger Hough’s two beautiful children, Suzanne and Roger, Jr., were both diagnosed with a disability shortly after they were born. Challenged with providing the best education possible for their children, Dorothy and Roger helped create Gateway to Learning, a school specifically designed for Suzie and Roger, Jr., and others with unique needs. Dorothy served as Executive Director from the organization’s founding in 1974 to 2002.
Gateway to Learning stands as a testament to Dorothy and Roger’s vision and hard work, inspired by God, and their legacy of singular contribution to humanity. For half a century, organization has continued to bring the joy and a sense of life’s fullness to each Gateway to Learning participant as they imagained.
Cheryl Hennelly
Cheryl Hennelly’s first job out of college was as an Instructor at Gateway to Learning in 1985. Her dedication to the participants and their families was the hallmark of her career. In 2003, she was promoted to Executive Director and guided Gateway to Learning with her visionary leadership for 14 years instituting key programming, such as Dorothy’s Sweet Shoppe.