2019-2021 Board of Directors
Allyson Haut,
President LWV Wilmette 
Cate Williams
Secretary LWV McHenry 
Kathy Kenny,
Board Member, LWV Naperville 
Cheryl Budzinski,
Board Member LWV Peoria |
Jan Dorner,
Vice President LWV Elmhurst 
Barbara Sturges,
Treasurer LWV Park Forest 
Rosemary Heilemann,
Board Member LWV Deerfield 
Barbara Laimins,
Board Member LWV Wheaton |
Jenny Grochowski,
Vice President LWV Chicago 
Amy Knutson Strack,
Board Member LWV Lake Forest/Lake Bluff 
Siobhan Greene,
Board Member LWV La Grange |
Lali Watt,
Vice President LWV Wilmette 
Jean Pierce,
Board Member LWV Central Kane 
Barbara Hayes,
Board Member LWV Homewood/Flossmoor |
Executive Director
Audra Wilson is a public interest attorney, with a depth of experience in poverty law and diversity, Wilson is uniquely positioned to lead the organization whose mission is to further a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge, and the confidence to participate .
Wilson began her legal career as a Welfare Advocacy Staff Attorney with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law where for five years she focused on food security issues and advocacy for low-income working families. Wilson was thrust squarely into the world of politics when she was tapped by then state senator, Barack Obama to serve as the Deputy Press and Policy Director on his U.S. Senate campaign.
After the U.S. Senate race, Wilson spent seven years on the faculty at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law as Adjunct Professor and Director of Diversity Education and Outreach. In addition to launching several major diversity initiatives, Wilson developed and taught a seminar analyzing the history of US welfare programs and impact of social attitudes on contemporary welfare policy.
In 2013, Wilson accepted a position as Deputy Chief of Staff for United States Congresswoman Robin Kelly in the Second Congressional District of Illinois. Through her work with municipal and statewide elected officials and stakeholders Wilson was able to develop her strength as a consensus builder. She began her work with the League of Women Voters of Illinois in October of 2018.
Wilson began her legal career as a Welfare Advocacy Staff Attorney with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law where for five years she focused on food security issues and advocacy for low-income working families. Wilson was thrust squarely into the world of politics when she was tapped by then state senator, Barack Obama to serve as the Deputy Press and Policy Director on his U.S. Senate campaign.
After the U.S. Senate race, Wilson spent seven years on the faculty at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law as Adjunct Professor and Director of Diversity Education and Outreach. In addition to launching several major diversity initiatives, Wilson developed and taught a seminar analyzing the history of US welfare programs and impact of social attitudes on contemporary welfare policy.
In 2013, Wilson accepted a position as Deputy Chief of Staff for United States Congresswoman Robin Kelly in the Second Congressional District of Illinois. Through her work with municipal and statewide elected officials and stakeholders Wilson was able to develop her strength as a consensus builder. She began her work with the League of Women Voters of Illinois in October of 2018.
