Ama Johnson is an experienced fund developer with over thirty years-experience in the non-profit sector. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Youth Development, Program Evaluation, Case Management, and Volunteer Management. Strong education professional with a Master of Education (M.Ed.) focused on Special Education from DePaul University. She is the Founder and President of UBUNTU Institute for Global Learning.
Jonathan Peck, was named "Social Justice Champion of 2021" by Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy. He was most recently the Development Manager for Alternatives, Inc., where he also served as the South & West Side Coordinator for Restorative Justice. He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Tucson Urban League. He has over 25 yearsexperience working within the community development field facilitating projects, coalitions, and alliances at the neighborhood, citywide, regional, national and international levels. Jonathan worked as a community organizer, and later as Associate Director of the Southwest Youth Collaborative (SWYC), a Chicago based organization dedicated to the healthy development of low-income children, youth and families. Jonathan Peck has extensive experience in the international arena, most notably working on the ground in Southern Africa and Nicaragua. Jonathan has worked and visited over 15 countries across North and Latin America, Europe and Southern Africa. Mr. Peck has extensive experience as an Advisor and Consultant, providing strategic advice in the areas of organizational development, strategic planning, and nonprofit executive leadership and business management. Mr. Peck is a Master Facilitator, Organizer, Trainer, Coach and Mentor and has provided these services to over 5,000 individuals. Jonathan recently served on the Community Relations Working Group of the Police Accountability Task Force of the City of Chicago. Jonathan is enrolled in the Master's Degree Program at the Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise & Responsibility at Loyola University.
Phillip Thomas has over thirty years-experience in nonprofit management and philanthropy. He was the President/CEO of the eta Creatives Foundation (Chicago's premiere African American theater) from 2011 through 2014. He was a Senior Program Officer at the Chicago Community Trust from 2006 through 2011 and a Program Officer at the Woods Fund from 2000 through 2006. Phillip has a Master's Degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago.
Tom Tresser is a civic educator and public defender. His first voter registration campaign was in 1972. In 2008 he was a co-founder of Protect Our Parks, a neighborhood effort to stop the privatization of public space in Chicago. He was a lead organizer for No Games Chicago, an all-volunteer grassroots effort that opposed Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid. With Benjamin Sugar Tom co-founded The CivicLab, a co-working space where activists, educators, coders and designers came to work, collaborate, teach, and build tools for civic engagement. Located in Chicago’s West Loop, the space operated for two eventful years closing on June 30, 2015. The CivicLab continues its research and training work without a physical home. He is the lead organizer for the TIF Illumination Project that is investigating and explaining the impacts of Tax Increment Financing districts on a community-by-community basis. That work has triggered 85 public meetings. Tom is the organizer and editor for Chicago Is Not Broke. Funding the City We Deserve, which has triggered 65 public meetings across the city. Tom has a Master's Degree in Urban Development from Spertus College.Tom has taught classes on nonprofit administration, public policy, community organizing, and creativity at six local universities.
For our FULL DAY Campaigner's Training Workshop we are proud to work with Kitty Kurth and Kevin Lampe. They have decades of master campaign experience in every aspect of electoral politics - from the Presidential level down to Chicago Alderman!