Board of Directors - Artists ReEnvisioning Tomorrow (2024)

Les Willis

President

Les Willis is currently an Executive for State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington, Illinois. Originally from Chicago, Les has also worked in Texas, Indiana, and Toronto, Canada. Les received a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Bradley University. He earned the Chartered Property and Casualty (CPCU), Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Fellow Life Management Institute (FLMI) and Associate in Premium Auditor (APA) designations. He also serves as Operations Chair on the Auto Insurance Plan Services Office (AIPSO) Board and on the Executive Committee for the Property Insurance Plan Services Office (PIPSO) board.

Dr. Taunya Jenkins

Vice President

Taunya is the Executive Director of Quest Charter Academy. She hails from Dallas, Texas where she earned her double major undergraduate degree from Texas Woman’s University in Education and Dance. She danced professionally for Dallas Black Dance Theatre and The Dallas Cowboys. Here in Illinois, she works with many arts organizations in various capacities from director to choreographer to board member. She earned her Master’s degree and Doctorate degree in Educational Administration from Illinois State University.

Angela Bolden

Treasurer

Angela Bolden is a certified Housing Development Finance Professional with approximately 15 years of nonprofit and leadership experience collectively. Her professional background consists of experience in analyzing revenue data, managing programs, computer programming and teaching mathematics at Illinois Central College. She currently serves as a Senior Program Officer at Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) in Central Illinois. At LISC, she is responsible for capacity-building, grant management, project management, donors’ contribution management, and overseeing affordable housing development activities. She also serves as the Fiscal Director of the Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ. Angela is a proud alumna of Bradley University where she studied Mathematics and Psychology.

Deborah Roethler

Secretary

After a number of years in the private sector, Deborah Roethler has moved back to public sector work as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Peoria. In this role, she is responsible for leading the teams that work on Economic Development on behalf of the city, the Emergency Communications Center, and Information Systems.

Shanell L McGoy PhD MPH

Board Member

Shanell L. McGoy, PhD MPH, a Peoria native, is a product of programming at George Washington Carver Center, Peoria Tri County Urban League, ICC, Bradley University, Peoria Park District, and Peoria Players Theatre. She has spent nearly 20 years working in a variety of public health settings across the country. Shanell obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Women’s Studies at Spelman College and a Master of Public Health degree in Community Health Sciences from the University of Illinois – Chicago School of Public Health in Community Health Sciences. She completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and was a Health Policy Leadership Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Andy Rubenstein

Board Member

Any Rubenstein is the President, CEO, & Director of Accel Entertainment, Inc. Previously, he was the owner and operator of the largest liquor store chain in Central Illinois by revenue after starting his career at Arthur Anderson Consulting. Andy has vast experience of successfully introducing progressive retail and customer service strategies. He received a BA (Economics) and MA (International Finance & Economics) from Brandeis University.

Carolina Huser

Board Member

Carolina Huser has been involved in different fundraising events within multiple organizations during the last couple of years. She’s a program coordinator at Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service where she dedicates her time in serving the community and impacting people’s life in a daily basis. Carolina is currently the Head Leader of PAME, a nonprofit organization that teaches kids the art of philanthropy. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the State University of New York. In her free time, Carolina enjoys traveling with her husband and two daughters.

Darlene Violet

Board Member

Darlene Violet’s philanthropic contributions know no bounds with her contributions spanning both Illinois and Ohio. In Ohio, she sits on the boards of the Red Cross, Meals on Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties, Shared Blessings, among many others. In 2003, Darlene founded Shared Blessings, a charity with the mission to aid the community and local schools and missions in the Peoria, IL and Canton, OH communities. Locally, Darlene is on the boards of Build Peoria, I.W.E.C. Inc., and the Peoria Zoological Society among others. She also recently brought Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to several zip codes in Peoria.

Neil Brown

Board Member

Neil is currently the Senior Director of Sales Force Operations at AstraZeneca BioPhamceuticals. He currently leads an organization responsible for commercial and medical field personnel sizing, field sales deployment, analytics, data reporting, incentive compensation, and customer relationship management technology. He has spent nearly 30 years working in the healthcare industry within commercial sales, marketing, managed care, and commercial operations. He has been a charter member of several employee resource groups, such as DE&I, within his workplace and with community based charitable organization in Chicago, IL. Neil is an alumni of Bradley University with a BS in Business and Computer Systems.

Chris McCall

Board Member