CPAH Board of Directors
Mr. Howard Wender, President
Mr. Wender is a twenty seven year resident of Highland Park and serves as a Senior Real Estate Executive with over twenty years of experience in the acquisition, development, leasing, and disposition of industrial and commercial real estate. Prior to joining the CPAH Board, Mr. Wender was a member of the Highland Park Housing Commission and served as its chairman from 2002 through 2004.
Ms. Betsy Lassar, Vice President
Ms. Lassar has served in several capacities in relation to affordable housing in Highland Park, including as a member of the Housing Commission, consultant to the Commission on the implementation of the City's affordable housing plan and as the City's first Housing Planner. She is currently an affordable housing policy analyst with Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI), where she is part of its Regional Affordable Housing Initiative. She is also a member of the Lake County Affordable Housing Commission and chairs the Lake County Housing Action Coalition.
Mr. Ernie Reinstein, Treasurer
Mr. Reinstein is a lifelong resident of Highland Park and is a Senior Director at CB Richard Ellis Investors. He has served on CPAH's Board of Directors since 2004.
Mr. Jeff Nathan, Secretary
Mr. Nathan is a lifelong resident of Highland Park and is the President of Building Inspector's Consortium, a local home inspection service.
Mr. Gidon Berman
Mr. Berman is a community organizer and a Highland Park homeowner at Community Partners for Affordable Housing. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago and an MA in Geography and Environmental Development from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Gidon taught Computer Uses in Geography at two Israeli colleges and the Introduction to Urban Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He coordinated the physical planning of all public schools in the City of Tel Aviv-Yafo. Currently he teaches and consults in Chicago and the northern suburbs and organizes the Dutch and Hebrew Meetup groups of Greater Chicago.
Ms. Janice Goldblatt
Ms. Goldblatt is a licensed real estate broker and has been among the top 2% of Brokers nationwide since 1999. She is a member of both Illinois Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors and is an active community volunteer. In addition to serving on the CPAH Board, her experiences include working as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) on behalf of children in the court system and serving as a voluntary driver for oncology patients needing rides to the hospital and doctors appointments.
Mr. Dan Kaufman
Dan Kaufman is a member of the Highland Park City Council and a partner in the Chicago office of the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. He specializes in labor and employment law, employment and business litigation, and education law. Dan served on the firm's Management Committee from 2000-2003 and as Managing Partner of the Chicago office from 1996-2000 and again from 2005-2010. Awards and recognition Dan has received include being named to Best Lawyers in America, as an Illinois Leading Lawyer and as an Illinois Super Lawyer. One of Dan's proudest accomplishments is receiving an "Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service" from the Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Associations. In 2000, Dan was selected as one of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 Years Old to Watch” by Law Bulletin Publishing. Dan's public service includes, prior to serving on the City Council, being the Chair of the Highland Park Housing Commission and the Chair of the Highland Park Trust Fund Advisory Committee. While he was Chair of the Housing Commission, Dan was one of the principal architects of Highland Park's Affordable Housing Plan. In addition, Dan has served on State Representative Karen May’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Affordable Housing and on the Highland Park Human Relations Commission.
Ms. Eva Kulik
Ms. Kulik is a homebuyer through the CPAH program. She is a professional childcare provider as well as a caretaker for her own special needs children. Ms. Kulik joined the CPAH Board in 2009
.jpg)
Mr. Leonardo Lara
Mr. Lara is an Employment Security Program Representative for the Illinois Department of Employment Security. He is a lifelong resident of Highland Park and a recent CPAH homebuyer. Mr. Lara is very involved in the community and can be frequently found volunteering on a CPAH home.
Ms. Peggy O'Connor
Peggy J. O’Connor is an author of three books: Has Anyone Seen My Daisy, Born Into Love, and The Little Boy Who Was Born Purple. She is an advocate for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, after raising her grandson and seeing the needs of the almost seven million children being raised in grandparent headed households. She and her husband Pat, who is disabled, found accessibility in CPAH housing, which created a safe environment with ease of movement, offering Pat a level of freedom he had not enjoyed in several years. She also works with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Brain Tumor Research Association.
Ms. Terri Olian
Ms. Olian served as a member of Highland Park’s City Council from 2005-2011. Prior to serving on the Council, she served for 6 years as a member of the North Shore School District 112 Board of Education. Throughout her terms, she participated on many local boards and organizations and remains an active community volunteer.
Ms. Jami Sharfman
Ms. Sharfman holds a Bachelors Degree in English from the University of Iowa and a JD from Loyola University Chicago. She has lived in Highland Park since the age of 5 and has served on many committees and held several offices at Braeside Elementary School, including PTO President. She currently serves on the City of Highland Park Housing Commission and is involved in many other charity projects and Boards.
Mr. Andrew Sledd
Mr. Sledd attended Saint Xavier University in Chicago, where he studied marketing and business management. He also attended Roosevelt University where he received his paralegal certification. He was a college All-American basketball player and played a year of semi-pro. He and his wife have lived in the Highland Park community for over 13 years. They have five children who have all atended and are attending schools in districts 112 and 113. His oldest daughter is now an honor student at Howard University in DC, and, as a sophomore is the Community Service Coordinator for the honors program, and for the School of Business. Mr. Sledd has a firm belief that with cultural, racial and economic diversity, along with tolerance and understanding of others, we give ourselves and our children the chance for brighter future and a more peaceful world.
CPAH Advisory Board
Ms. Anne Bassi, Lake County Board
Mr. Robert Braun, Vice President, American Enterprise Bank
Mr. David Brint, Principal, Brinshore Development, LLC
Mr. Tom Decker, Sales Manager, Smart Sealed
Ms. Michelle Feldman, Lake County Board
Mr. Jack Frigo, President, Frigo & Company
Mr. David Gaines, Senior Associate, Marcus & Millichap
Mr. Gene Hotchkiss, Lake Forest College
Mr. Jon Levey, Founder & Vice President, GreenChoice Bank
Ms. Beth Martin, Lake Forest Realtor, Coldwell Banker
Mr. Mark Muller, President, Fulton Developers
The Rev. Andrea Mysen, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church
Ms. Janet Swartz, Lake County Affordable Housing Commission
Mr. Nate Tross, President, NRT Trading
Mr. Marc Zisook, Vice President, First Bank of Highland Park
CPAH Staff
Robert Anthony, Executive Director
Rob has served as Executive Director of Community Partners for Affordable Housing since January 2008. Prior to joining CPAH, he was responsible for administering the federal HOME program and the Lake County Affordable Housing Program as a Senior Planner with the Lake County Planning, Building, & Development Department where he worked for eight years. Rob also served as Chair of the Lake County Continuum of Care for the homeless and as a Board Member for the Lake County Coalition for the Homeless. He spent two years working with homeless children in Mwanza, Tanzania. Rob holds a Bachelors Degree in Business and Sociology and a Masters Degree in Social Work, with a focus on community organizing and nonprofit management, from the University of Michigan. He currently lives in Evanston with his wife and two children, ages four and six.
Amy Kaufman, Director of Community Relations
Amy is the Director of Community Relations for CPAH. Prior to raising her children in Highland Park, Amy was an attorney at Phelan Pope & John in Chicago and Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York. Before law school, Amy worked at the Washington Post as the assistant to political reporter and columnist David Broder, and at a public policy consulting firm in Washington, DC, ICF, Incorporated. Amy holds an A.B. degree from Duke University in Public Policy and Economics, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. She lives in Highland Park with her husband and two college-aged children.