Board & Staff
WomanCraft Board
Mary Anne Ashmore, President
With more than 25 years of management experience and more than 10 years of non-profit board experience, Mary Anne Ashmore joined the WomanCraft board in 2003 and is charged with increasing usage of WomanCraft products in the corporate world. Mary Anne is currently a Senior Vice President with ABN AMRO Bank N.V. specializing in Regional Due Diligence Management. During the time that WomanCraft was associated with Deborah’s Place, Mary Anne served as the liaison between the Deborah’s Place and WomanCraft Boards. She continues as a Board Member for Deborah’s Place and is a member of the Program Commission. Prior to joining the WomanCraft board, Mary Anne was on the Executive Board for the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity chapter and was co-president for the St. Paul chapter for AFS (American Field Services). She graduated with a Masters of Arts degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota and holds a Bachelor of Science in Personnel Services.
Carrie Heinonen, Liaison to Heartland Human Care Services Board
Carrie Heinonen is the Vice-President for Marketing and Public Affairs at the Art Institute of Chicago. She brings us the benefits of both corporate and not-for-profit marketing experience gained through brand management at the Quaker Oats Company and the William Wrigley Jr. Company. Carrie has worked on classic brands that include Quaker Oatmeal, Cap'n Crunch, Life Cereal and Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape. She has chaired international marketing conferences and is a sought-after expert in kid-targeted marketing. Carrie's additional non-profit sector experience includes positions with the Hood Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the Heard Museum of Native Arts. She spent time in Nicaragua developing a brand and business plan for Pinos Fabretinos, a nascent women's basket-making cooperative. She holds Master's Degree in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management and an A.B. in Art History from Dartmouth College and has served on the WomanCraft Board since 1999.
Susan King, Secretary
Susan King is a Principal Architect with Harley Ellis Devereaux’ Life Enhancement Studio, which focuses on special needs housing, and their partner company the GreenWorks Studio, which offers expertise in sustainable design. King comes to the WomanCraft Board through prior workgroup experience with Deborah’s Place, assisting in the sale of the Milwaukee Avenue building in 2005 and as a part of the relocation group for WomanCraft. She brings more than a decade of community service experience to WomanCraft, including leadership positions with the American Institute of Architect’s Committee on the Environment, serving as the former President of Chicago Women in Architecture, and working on benefits in support of Hedwig Dances, a Chicago based dance company. Her responsibilities in this fiscal year with the WomanCraft, board include achieving our social mission objectives.
Wendy Lawler, VP of Board Development
Wendy Lawler is a Senior Vice President in the Business Banking division of JPMorgan Chase, where she has gained extensive experience serving as a financial advisor to small and medium-sized companies, both for-profit and not-for-profit. Over the past 12 years, she held myriad positions with the JPMorgan Chase and its predecessors ranging from banking publicly-traded corporations in London to creating financial literacy programs in Chicago. She earned an MBA in Marketing and Strategy from the Kellogg Graduate School of School of Management at Northwestern University and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Speech Communication. She served as a volunteer educator for Junior Achievement, teaching personal and community economics to grammar school students in Chicago’s underserved communities. Wendy also brings experience in making jewelry and greeting cards.
Carmelita Tiu, VP of Development and Fundraising
Carmelita Tiu, J.D. is pleased to be one of WomanCraft's newest Board members. Specializing in intellectual property, arts & entertainment law, she has worked for the Tribune Company, Spertus Museum, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. During law school, Carmelita founded two service programs: the Community Service Initiative and the Donate-a-Day program. In recognition of her efforts, Carmelita received awards from the Illinois State Bar Association, DePaul University, and was chosen as one of 2006’s “The REAL Hot 100,” a list of young women activists. She sits on Redmoon Theater’s Spectacle Lunatique Planning Host Committee and is a volunteer with Lawyers for the Creative Arts. She received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and holds a B.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Carmelita’s WomanCraft, responsibilities include identifying new funding sources.
Mary Neu-Stoppelman
Mary Neu-Stoppelman is excited to join the WomanCraft board. Mary recently moved to Chicago from New York City and is an Advocate Manager for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Lake County. From 1991 to 2008, Mary practiced law in New York City. Her practice focused on securities fraud class actions and antitrust class actions, representing small stakeholders in suits against large corporations. For 14 years, Mary volunteered at the St. Francis Xavier soup kitchen in New York City where she helped prepare Sunday lunch for 1,000 people. Here in Chicago, Mary volunteers at WomanCraft where she helps research and draft grant applications, assists the transitional job participants with their resumes and job searches, and helps create artisan paper products. Mary also volunteers at Second Presbyterian Church where she prepares and passes out lunch bags to the homeless. Mary received a B.S. in Business and a B.S. in Education from Indiana University. She also received her J.D. from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Sarah Mazzone
Sarah recently started law school at DePaul University as a Public Interest Honors Scholar, with a focus advocacy and reform. Prior to starting law school, Sarah served as Executive Coordinator of Heartland Human Care Services. In this position, Sarah provided support to the department of nearly 400 employees, maintaining the organization and function of the Executive Office while learning a great deal about non-profit management and social service. Sarah graduated cum laude from Northwestern University in 2007, where she studied communication studies and legal studies. At Northwestern, Sarah also was the president of her sorority, Alpha Phi, and was a member of the Executive Board of Best Buddies International, an organization that coordinates college volunteers who desire to work with the intellectually disabled.
Elizabeth Geer
Elizabeth brings over 15 years of experience in affordable housing development to WomanCraft. Elizabeth has gained extensive experience working with agencies such as NYC Department of Housing Planning and Development, Housing Planner for the City of Evanston, and the Chicago Department of Housing. Elizabeth currently works for the Illinois Housing Development Authority in the multifamily department where she works on loan underwriting as well as drafting guidelines for policy and governmental programs. Elizabeth’s background has enabled her to understand the complexity of social issues surrounding homelessness and governmental programs and agencies associated with housing and a first-hand knowledge of best practices in not for profit operations. Elizabeth is a graduate of Colgate University and holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Mary Goodkind
Mary is excited to be the newest addition to the WomanCraft board. Mary joins us through her involvement with the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights. Mary has volunteered at several Heartland facilities including the International Refugee Center and the Neon Center and has served on Heartland’s Women’s Auxiliary Board for the past five years. Mary is retired from a career in environmental and safety consulting. She holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering and an MBA in Marketing and Economics.
WomanCraft Staff
Nancy Phillips, Director
Nancy Phillips has been with WomanCraft since 1998. Before coming to the organization, Nancy worked for 10 years in program management and education administration with affordable housing organizations and educational institutions in Chicago, including Peoples Housing, the Property Management Resource Center and Columbia College. Nancy holds a Master of Science from Spertus College in Human Services Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Mayville College. Her experience also includes managing the kitchen at the Underground Wonder Bar, communications and development consulting and public relations writing.
Tina Beine, Associate Director
Tina Beine became the Associate Director of WomanCraft in 2009, after three years as a volunteer with us. She brings five years of experience as an adult educator serving women who have been impacted by homelessness and adults with disabilities. Tina is also a book and paper artist and teaches bookmaking workshops; her work is in private collections regionally and she has been a recipient of an Illinois Arts-In-Literacy Grant. Tina holds a Bachelor of Science in English from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. She serves as Vice President of the Literacy Works Board, an innovative Chicago nonprofit.
Annie Hussey, Program Assistant
Annie Hussey is the WomanCraft Program Assistant. She joins us through Dominican Volunteers, a non-profit organization that sends young men and women across the United States to serve for a year in ministry. Originally from Jefferson, Massachusetts, Annie received her Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, in May of 2010. She chose to participate in the Dominican Volunteer program and become a part of the WomanCraft staff because she wants to use her design skills to spread awareness for social causes.
