The Team

A non-profit for Prospect Development professionals.

Apra-IL Home
About Us
- APRA-IL Legacy
- The Team
Contact Us
- Subscribe
Events
Blog
Membership
- Become a Sponsor
- Scholarships
Elections

The 2020 Apra-IL Board

From our programming to resources, identity to strategic direction, the volunteer board drives Apra-IL.

President | Kathryn Thomas | she/her

Term(s): 1/2020-12/2021

Kathryn has served as Apra-IL Director of Membership & Marketing since 2017. In that role, she has taken responsibility for the monthly member e-mails and has updated and maintained the Apra-IL website. In 2019, she was also in charge of Apra-IL's social media presence.

She is Senior Prospect Identification Analyst at the Wisconsin Foundation & Alumni Association where she's worked since 2015. Joining Apra-IL has enabled her to grow her network and make strong connections with colleagues in higher ed and other fields under the Prospect Development umbrella.

Kathryn looks forward to growing Apra-IL membership, broadening its reach, and continuing to provide quality programming and communications in her new role as President. She is also looking forward to working with our Great Lakes partners to host amazing content in the coming years.

Vice President | Peter Kotowski | he/his

Term(s): 1/2018-12/2019 & 1/2020-12/2021

Peter has served as Apra-IL Vice President for two years and will continue in this role through 2021. As VP, he has assisted in the planning and implementation of Apra-IL's spring and fall events, working to ensure our members receive quality programming.

He works as an Assistant Director, Prospect Management and Research at Loyola University Chicago where he also teaches part-time in the Department of History.

Peter is excited to work with our new board members to provide great events this coming year!

Secretary | Amy Tibbs | she/her

Term(s): 6/2018-12/2019 & 1/2020-12/2021

Amy has served as Secretary for nearly two years (she took over for the previous Secretary who left following a career change) and will continue in this role through 2021. As Secretary, Amy keeps Board meeting minutes and assists in countless ways planning and executing events. Her positive personality keeps the Board on their toes.

She is a Development Research Associate at the National Audubon Society where she has worked for the past year.

Amy cannot wait to get those name tags printed in time for our spring event and to see you all there!

Treasurer | Kara Mehrkens | she/her

Term(s): 1/2020-12/2021

Kara has been an Apra-IL member for several years and serves on the Apra Great Lakes 2020 Finance Committee.

She is Associate Director for Advancement Research at Illinois Wesleyan University where she has worked since 2017.

Kara plans to use her connections with Great Lakes to help make the planning and execution of the GL2020 conference seamless as well as continuing to track and manage the financial future of Apra-IL.

Director of Marketing | Julia Dimick | she/her

Term(s): 1/2020-12/2021

Julia has been an Apra-IL member since 2017 when she moved from Wisconsin to Chicago. In that time, she's attended several Apra-IL events and was excited to be asked to join the board!

Julia is a Senior Research Officer at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Foundation.

In her new role as Director of Marketing, Julia will be taking over ownership of the Apra-IL member e-mails, management of the blog, and Apra-IL's social media presence. Look forward to a new voice in those communications soon!

Director of Membership | Teresa Liu | she/her

Term(s): 1/2020-12/2021

Teresa has been an Apra-IL member since 2017. Teresa is the Associate Director of Prospect Management at the Art Institute of Chicago. In her role at AIC, Teresa facilitates the movement of prospects, monitors the pipeline of proposals, and delivers forecasting and analytics to major gift officers.

As the new Director of Membership, Teresa will harness her analytics background to help grow the chapter. She will work closely with our VP to plan events and follow-up with our members after events to ensure our programming stays top-notch. Teresa is very excited to join the board!

Apra-IL and Cooperation

Apra Great Lakes Conference Liaisons

Katie Ingrao

Kathryn Thomas

(sub) Peter Kotowski

For more information about Apra Great Lakes, please visit the website here.

Apra-IL is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization.

332 S Michigan Ave. Suite 1032 #A62, Chicago, IL 60604 | apraillinois@gmail.com