CWHC Board of Directors
Mary Ann Johnson
Co-Founder, President Emerita
Mary Ann has been involved in the organization since its founding. She is the former director of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum at UIC.
Xyla Gatilao
President
Xyla has served as Illinois state chair for WISE (Women Improving the Strength of the Enterprise), a Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion business resource group at HCSC.
Esther Nieves
Vice President
Esther Nieves has worked with grassroots, statewide, and national organizations. Her career experience includes leadership positions in city government (Chicago), not-for-profit/non-governmental, and philanthropy.
Tamquita Johnson
Secretary
Motivated by a strong passion for cultural preservation and information accessibility, Tam Johnson pursued a Masters of Library and Information Science at Dominican University. I also have a Certificate in Archives and Cultural Heritage, to equip me with the specialized knowledge needed to excel in archival and collection management.
Cristina De La Rosa
Treasurer
Cristina De La Rosa is the Executive Director of Erie Neighborhood House, a nonforprofit social services agency serving over 13,000 low-income, primarily Latinx families and individuals through education and empowerment in Chicago.
Bianca Milligan Garcia
Director
Bianca Milligan Garcia is a independent public historian, and an Associate Curator in the Exhibits Department at the Chicago Public Library.
Maureen Hellwig
President Emerita and Director
Maureen was Senior Director of Programs for Erie Neighborhood House until her retirement in 2015, where she helped found the Allied Health Care Career Network.
Laurie Little
Director
Laurie is a Chicago based filmmaker, educator, digital artist, colorist, photographer and founder of the production company, Luminist Films.
Beth Loch
Director
Beth is a Senior Archival Specialist at Chicago Public Library’s Special Collections in the Harold Washington Library Center. As an archivist, Loch creates exhibits, processes collections, works with researchers, and plans programs to showcase the diverse history of Chicagoans.
Fiona Maxwell
Director
Fiona Maxwell is a historian of the long nineteenth-century United States specializing in urban history and spoken performance. Her first book project, Democratic Ensembles: Spoken Art and Politics at Chicago Settlement Houses, uncovers how working-class, immigrant, and Black community members used verbal expression to rehearse a participatory civic culture.
Yvette Gatilao Murphy
Director
Yvette Gatilao Murphy is a global education and nonprofit leader with 20+ years’ experience advancing inclusive, high-quality learning. She serves as Senior Advisor for Global Education at Childhood Education International.
Melissa Roels
Director
Melissa Roels is a Marketing Director with over a decade of experience crafting impactful campaigns that engage communities and harness the power of creativity. A multihyphenate marketer, designer, and artist, she has worked for notable organizations such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, and Uniting Voices (formerly the Chicago Children’s Choir).
Rana Segal
Director
Rana has worked as a director, producer and cinematographer for 30 years and has produced/directed many documentaries about Chicago women.