Carl La Mell, President
Carl has served as president of the WE Program Board since 2019. He joined the board to work with his good friend, Hecky Powell. In this way, Carl was able to get more involved in the Evanston community (and he loves Hecky’s BBQ sauce.). Carl was the President/CEO of Clearbrook, a not-for-profit organization providing services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, throughout the Chicago area. He has created a number of work programs for the people Clearbrook serves and believes the WE Program has same core values of providing people with a professional path while building self-esteem. He has served on many local Boards and on President Obama’s Committee for intellectual disabilities. He is no stranger to trying to help people reach their full potential.
Paul Peterson, Treasurer
Paul has served as a commercial Credit Risk Manager with Bank of America for over 20 years, focusing on small business lending. He worked in a variety of lending areas, including community development, commercial real estate and credit review. Early in his career he worked for several nonprofit community development organizations in Cleveland, New York City and Chicago developing commercial and residential real estate, assisting small businesses and the homeless, and seeking to maintain and grow the urban job base. He has also served on Boards and committees of the Chicago Community Loan Fund, The Enterprising Kitchen, and Family Matters, Inc. Paul says that he joined the Advisory Board because he “believes in Hecky’s vision of helping young Evanston residents who are ready to help themselves!”
Mildred Carter, Board Secretary
Mildred is a legal professional and recently retired from her position as a senior federal tax analyst for a global corporation. She has served on several nonprofit boards. Currently, Mildred serves on Interfaith Action of Evanston’s (IAE) Board of Directors and is the Chairperson of its Development Committee. She has been an active participant in IAE’s direct services for several years. Mildred also operates a small tax practice and volunteers as a return preparer and financial coach for the Center for Economic Progress. Mildred says that she joined the WE Advisory Board, “because I believe in its mission to partner with ETHS students who could benefit from the WE program’s practical mentorship and soft-skills training and support students’ pathways to productive and worthwhile careers.”
Michael Laughlin
Mike Laughlin’s career has been focused on consulting in financial services, sales, market development and technology. He has served on the Boards of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Illinois) and the Forrest E Powell Foundation. Mike volunteers for a number of organizations throughout Evanston. Mike has also been a long term resident of Evanston with his wife and two sons.
Cheryl Y Judice
Cheryl Y. Judice moved to Evanston in 1975 after graduating from Lake Forest College. She holds a PhD in sociology from Northwestern University, where she is a practicum instructor in Human Development and Psychological Services within the School of Education and Social Policy. Her research focuses on the intersections of race, class and gender. Her book, Interracial Marriages Between Black Women and White Men, was published in Dec. 2008. Prior to her position at Northwestern, she was the director of an adult educational organization in Evanston, and she continues to volunteer on numerous state and local boards. Cheryl was married to the late Hecky Powell and has three children, all graduates of Evanston Township High School.
Joel Blechman
Joel Blechman has 35 years of experience in marketing, operations and accounting. After working at Frankel & Company developing award-winning marketing programs for Fortune 500 companies such as Citibank, Visa USA, Ford and General Motors, Joel went on to represent GM in negotiations with major sports teams, entertainment properties and events. Joel also created his own consulting firm to enable small companies to mature and grow profitably. His areas of expertise include work-flow processes, software, accounting systems and training. Joel's first Not For Profit experience was starting up The Good Food Business Accelerator for Family Farmed at 1871. Joel has worked with the Evanston WE since its inception, creating and managing the WE Program’s accounting systems, as well as serving on the Advisory Board.
Michael Fagen
Michael Fagen is a professor at Northwestern University, where he directs the Institute for Public Health and Medicine Program in Public Health and the Department of Preventive Medicine’s Public Health Practice Division. Michael’s two daughters are proud graduates of Dawes Elementary School, Chute Middle School, and Evanston Township High School. He has served on a number of non-profit boards and advisory committees, including the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health and the Society for Public Health Education. Deeply committed to social justice and health equity, Michael believes that, “all young people should be provided the opportunity to thrive in career trajectories of their choosing.” For this reason, and because his friend Lynn Blaustein Weiss invited him, Michael is honored to serve on the WE Advisory Board.