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• 2022 Leadership Round Table: Accelerating Health, Equity, & Nature

June 15, 2022

9-11 a.m. at Greenbelt Cultural Center, North Chicago

Join community, civic, and business leaders from across Lake County to address economic and racial disparities at the intersection of health, climate, and nature.  Learn about exciting efforts underway in our communities, understand local and state policy opportunities, and be a part of these collaborative solutions. Complimentary hot breakfast will be provided to all attendees.

The goal of the Community Leadership Roundtable is to: 

1. Create a community space for understanding the impact of access to greenspace and environmental justice on health equity in Lake County; and
2. Identify collaborative, community-informed opportunities to improve the health of people and the environment in Lake County.

Building on our virtual Roundtable in 2021, we hope to use our time together to create connections, compile resources, and collaborate on important metrics to advance health equity in our communities. Your voice will help shape the future of this work, as we work collectively to develop a "Nature and Health Equity Report" for Lake County through Brushwood Center's Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator. 

Register Today

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Program Agenda

Opening 
Marvin Bembry, Master of Ceremonies, Executive Director of The John Maxwell Team
Catherine Game, Executive Director, Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Angelo Kyle, President, Lake County Forest Preserve District
Mayor Leon Rockingham, North Chicago
Senator Adriane Johnson, 30th District, Illinois State Senate

Panel: Community Action and Opportunity
Eddie Flores, Co-Chair, Steering Committee, Clean Power Lake County
Natalia Ospina, Director of the Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator, Brushwood Center
Sam Salcedo, Health Educator, Erie Family Health
Barbara Waller, Executive Director, Cool Learning Experience
Anna Yankelev, Interim Strategic Planning and Partnerships Manager, Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center

Table Discussions 
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Concluding Conversation and Next Steps

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About the Speakers

Master of Ceremonies
Marvin Bembry, Executive Director of The John Maxwell Team
Marvin serves as Executive Director of The John Maxwell Team, where he facilitates, speaks, trains and coaches individuals and groups in the areas of leadership development, professional skills and personal growth. He has over 20 years of corporate leadership experience in Government Affairs, Human Resources, and Training and Development.  His most recent experience was as the Midwest Regional Director of State and Local Government Affairs for a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical firm. In this role, he supported the legislative and regulatory interest at the Federal, State and Local levels. Prior to this, he was the Senior Manager of Organizational Development for the Engineering Division of a major Health Care company. In that role I led a team dedicated to improving organizational effectiveness, training and development. I haved served my community in a variety of civic and leadership roles.   He has received many awards for community service, leadership, and volunteerism, and has travelled extensively and been the featured speaker/trainer to thousands of people throughout North America, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa and Israel. ​

Eddie Flores, Co-Chair, Steering Committee, Clean Power Lake County
Eduardo Flores is a 2020 graduate of Waukegan High School, a student at College of Lake County, and Co-Chair of Clean Power Lake County (CPLC). He first became involved with CPLC through their youth internship program. Eddie has also participated in programs with the Brushwood Center, Lake County Openlands, and the Green New Deal. Eddie was also the 2021 recipient of Brushwood Center's Youth Environmental Leadership Award for his outstanding environmental justice activism. He is a lifelong resident of Waukegan and is committed to empowering community members to work for positive change and share the story of hope for the city he loves.

Senator Adriane Johnson, 30th District, Illinois State Senate
State Senator Adriane Johnson was sworn in as the first Black state Senator from Lake County to represent the 30th District in October 2020. As commissioner of the Buffalo Grove Park District Board and the president of the Buffalo Grove-Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, Johnson had dedicated her life to serving the residents, small businesses and local parks of the northern suburbs.  Prior to her current job, Johnson served as the president of the Buffalo Grove Park District. Johnson is also currently the chair of the Illinois Association of Park Districts' Board of Trustees, a member of the Village's Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, a member of the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove, and serves as a volunteer with the Taproot Foundation. Johnson serves as vice chair of the environment and conservation committee, and will sit on the behavioral and mental health, commerce, public safety, ethics, and transportation committees. Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from Columbia College and a Master of Jurisprudence in Business Law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She lives with her husband, Bruce, in Buffalo Grove. The couple has an adult daughter who lives in Chicago. The 30th State Senate District includes all or part of Waukegan, Buffalo Grove, Vernon Hills, Mundelein, North Chicago, Wheeling, Gurnee, Park City, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Beach Park.

Natalia Ospina, Director of the Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator, Brushwood Center​
Natalia Ospina leads Brushwood Center's Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator, which aims to activate healthcare investment in nature-based solutions and drive collaboration among community, governmental, environmental, and healthcare sectors in Lake County and the larger Chicago region. Natalia is originally from Colombia and grew up in North Carolina. She has an extensive background in public health, most recently managing the City of Denver's Covid-19 response, and also including community health, data evaluation, and health education. She is passionate about the intersection of public health and outdoor access. She enjoys rock climbing, herbalism, and bringing people together​.

Mayor Leon Rockingham, North Chicago
In 2005 citizens elected Leon Rockingham, Jr. Mayor of the City of North Chicago. Leon Rockingham is a lifelong resident of North Chicago, Illinois. He is married to Yvonne Rockingham and graduated from North Chicago Community High School and attended Ohio University. Leon has two daughters, Tameka (Sean) Wilson and Lea (Lamar) Huley. He is a loving and proud grandfather of 14 and a great-grandfather of two. Leon is a faithful member of the Mount Sinai Institutional Baptist Church of North Chicago where he serves on the Ushers’ Ministry. Leon Rockingham is a retired Systems Technician from AT&T with a tenure of 31 years. He served as North Chicago’s 4th Ward Alderman for 12 years, from 1989 until 2001. He served as a Commissioner on the East Skokie Drainage District and was a member of the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County and is serving on the Lake County Storm Water Agency, where he returned in 2010 as a Board Member and continues to serve in this capacity to-date.

Sam Salcedo, Health Educator, Erie Family Health
Sam is a Health Educator at Erie Family Health Centers, a community health non-profit that provides high quality, affordable care to support healthier people, families, and communities.  In her role, Sam provides one-on-one education to patients on nutrition, healthy habits, and establishing self-management goals to manage existing conditions and live heathier lifestyles.  Sam is passionate about providing the best possible care to her patients and ensuring they access the resources to enable them to live their healthiest lives.  Sam received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with Honors from Loyola University Chicago.  Sam’s other passion is working with organizations that focus on animal welfare, and adopted a senior dog during the pandemic.

Anna Yankelev, Interim Strategic Planning and Partnerships Manager, Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center
Anna Yankelev is the Strategic Planning and Partnerships Manager at the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center, where she is responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of its internal strategic plan as well as Lake County’s Community Health Improvement Plan. As a community organizer and systems thinker, Anna advances health equity by facilitating the development of robust intersectoral collaborations. She centers the voices and priorities of those most impacted by health inequity, including immigrants and other marginalized communities, and those trapped in precarious work. Anna utilizes innovative and participatory approaches to develop high-quality systems and structures that promote equitable access to health opportunities for all. 

Barbara Waller, Executive Director, Cool Learning Experience
Barbara Waller is a well-known church and community leader, and the executive director of the Cool Learning Experience. This program serves children in the Waukegan area, helping them to enjoy and respect the natural environment and broaden their skills through summer, spring break major holidays. Growing up in the countryside near Memphis, Tennessee, Barbara developed an active love of the outdoors and eventually a passion for sharing that connection with future generations. Barbara co-founded the Cool Learning Experience in 2008 in response to the growing "nature disconnect" facing American children and youth, and the detrimental impacts on their overall health, learning ability, and emotional well-being. Going strong since then, the Cool Learning Experience is dedicated to nurturing children’s overall well-being and their healthy connections to family, community, and the natural world with STEAM-based, experiential, environmentally-focused, fun learning experiences. Through this unique program, Barbara and a team of dedicated staff and volunteers encourage children to develop personal confidence, academic and social skills, and resilience toward building bridges, advocating for justice, and contributing to a healthy, more sustainable world.

Angelo D. Kyle, President, Lake County Forest Preserves District
Board member Kyle represents the 14th District, which includes portions of Waukegan and North Chicago. His began his most current term of service on the board in 2018, and previously served from 1990 to 2012. He currently serves as President of the Lake County Forest Preserves District, and also serves on the Diversity & Inclusion, Ethics & Oversight, and Legislative committees on the Lake County Board.

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Special thanks to the Walder Foundation and Harold M. and Adeline S. Morrison Family Foundation for supporting Brushwood Center's Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator.