Chris started working for A.D.O.P.T. back in 2009 when she was brought on as A.D.O.P.T.’s Veterinary Technician and then proceeded to become the Medical Services Coordinator overseeing the medical department and low cost spay/ neuter program. She was instrumental in the development of A.D.O.P.T’s Low Cost Vaccine Clinic and Compassionate Programs. After some time with A.D.O.P.T. Chris was promoted to Director of Operations overseeing shelter operations and programing. She was then promoted to the shelter’s Executive Director in 2014. Chris has always had a strong passion for animals and has served on the Illinois Animal Welfare Federation Board of Directors and has been involved in animal welfare for close to 30 years working primarily in the veterinary specter and then moving to animal control where she worked as an Animal Control Officer and Humane Education Officer and finally animal sheltering where she has found her true calling and strives to improve the quality of life for all homeless animals. Chris lives in the Western Suburbs and enjoys spending time with her family and is the proud mother of 4 children and 5 rescue babies Meatball and Patty-Old English Bulldogs, Tito and Chito-Chihuahuas and Maximus the wide eyed cat.
Aleksa started volunteering with A.D.O.P.T. in 2018 and loved it so much she started working here! Aleksa always had a deep love for animals, but more specifically animals in need of loving homes. Aleksa attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing and Management. Upon graduating college, Aleksa began working full-time in a sales role, but later took on evenings at A.D.O.P.T., where she learned that this is her true passion.
Aleksa adopted her first dog, Stanley, in 2015 from a shelter in Indiana. She credits him for giving her the inspiration to pursue a career in animal welfare.
Lisa joined the A.D.O.P.T. Board of Directors in 2018 and has served as President since 2023. She has a passion for animal welfare and is a lifelong animal lover. She and her husband, John, currently have a goldendoodle (Huntlee) and a mini- poodle (Ellie), who were adopted as rescues. Ellie, a proud alumna of A.D.O.P.T. , was adopted in 2023 joining Huntlee who has been “ruling the roost” since 2010. Lisa and Huntlee were volunteers in the Animal Assisted Therapy program at Edward Hospital for many years.
Lisa recently retired as Chief Human Resources Officer for Ryan Specialty, a publicly traded insurance services company, where she was responsible for the human capital strategy for Ryan’s global business encompassing over 5000 employees and 100 offices around the world. Lisa holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Missouri – Columbia and a Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas.
Animals have always been an important part of Lisa’s life and she considers it an honor to work with the talented group of board members, staff and volunteers at A.D.O.P.T.
Laura has been an active volunteer for A.D.O.P.T. since 2009, serving as an adoption counselor for most of those years. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Shelter for several years and has been Vice President and President. She returned to the Board this year and serves on the Finance Committee. Laura recently retired from Raymond James & Associates where she was employed since 2008. Following a career in the Financial Services industry, Laura enjoys volunteering, traveling with her husband, Andy, time with her sons and family, and her best buddy, Rose, an A.D.O.P.T. alumni. She has lived in Naperville since 1997.
“A.D.O.P.T. is very important to me. I respect the organization and its values. I place a high importance on the love of animals, teamwork and building relationships both inside and outside the Shelter.”
David has been a volunteer at A.D.O.P.T. since February 2022 and been a member of the board of directors since December 2022. He is a member of the finance committee. A lifelong cat lover, allergies in the family have prevented David from having cats at home. He gets his “cat fix” by volunteering at A.D.O.P.T.
A seasoned financial executive, David spent twenty years in the financial services industry with Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Company and its predecessors. He served as Senior Vice President and Group Managing Director and he also was the chairman of the corporate ratings committee. In 2000 David left the corporate world for academia when he joined the faculty of the Dunham School of Business at Aurora University. He soon joined Aurora University’s administration as Vice President for Finance and Administration. He subsequently served as Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services at Loras College. David retired in 2016.
David and his wife Carol have lived in Wheaton for forty-three years. They have two adult children who live in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area.
Janet joined the Board in September 2020. Janet and her husband are long-time residents of Naperville where they raised their two children. They have resided in Naperville and Lisle for over 31 years.
Janet and her family are passionate about helping save pets. They have fostered dogs and cats for many rescue organizations in Northern Illinois for more than 25 years. Both Janet and her daughter have volunteered in various capacities at A.D.O.P.T. including fostering. She and her family have also adopted several dogs from A.D.O.P.T. They currently have two dogs and one cat, who is the “queen of the castle”.
Janet earned her B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University, a M.A. in Writing from DePaul University, and a M.S. in Zoology from Miami of Ohio. Janet retired from a career as a policy analyst in government after 32 years and now teaches at a local community college.
Janet has been active in the community and served a term on the Naperville Plan Commission. Additionally, she was involved in the PTA and served as a board member of the Waubonsie Boys Lacrosse Team and Families Helping Families, a transitional housing program in DuPage County. Through her various volunteer positions, she has gained experience in fundraising and event organization.
Trent is a CPA with over 20 years experience as an external auditor, internal auditor, and corporate controller. He has worked within several different industries, mostly focused on manufacturing. He became part of the ADOPT organization in 2016 when he initially joined the Board of Directors as Treasurer. He stayed in that role for over 4 years but has since rejoined the Board at the end of 2022 as part of the finance committee. He lives in Aurora with this wife and two teenage daughters.