Corporate Board
 

Kelly Paton

Kelly attended the Flagship Seminar for Illinois Leadership Seminars in 2006 and that kicked off her passion for volunteering and working with nonprofits. She was the Director of Operations from 2011 - 2015 and then took a break to get her Master's Degree in Nonprofit Management from Hamline University and volunteer at the Rio Summer Olympics in 2016.She has been working in the homeless services sector for over 10 years and is currently an Implementation Consultant for Homeless Management Information System software.In her free time you can find her at any one of the many local bookstores in DC or enjoying the music scene.

Tony Catinella

Tony has been involved with Illinois Leadership Seminars since attending as a participant in 2013. SInce then, he has been on the Junior Alumni Board, served as a junior coach, spirit leader, senior coach, Director of Programming, and Director of Staff while continuing to be involved with fundraising efforts. He has also served on the Corporate Board for 4 years in several capacities.

Since graduating from Iowa State University in 2019 with a double major in Marketing and Public Relations, Tony has worked in fundraising, non-profit, and the corporate landscape.

Nowadays, Tony works as a Director of Marketing for American Campus Communities.

In his free time, Tony loves to go on adventures, experience the unknown, volunteer, learn, and continue to advocate for leaders of all ages.

Becca Gorman

Becca went through seminar in 2016 as a representative of Washington Community High School. She graduated from Millikin University in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in finance. Becca has come back to volunteer at seminar several times in several different roles including on the AdWin/OATs team, as a facilitator, and the Assistant Recruitment Director for SPC. Becca started her career working for a non-profit in Decatur, IL. Where she mostly worked on grants and budgets. Becca has recently made the switch to Peoria, IL to work at OSF hospital as a member of the Provider Compensation team. Becca has a passion for both numbers and helping people! She is excited to be able to use her skills to help unleash the potential of Illinois' youth!

Keeley Tinsley

Keeley attended ILS in 2016 as a representative of Mt. Zion Highschool. She is passionate about leadership and using what she's learned at ILS throughout the years in her everyday life. She has been involved as a junior staff member as a Junior Coach and a member of the Alumni Board. As a senior staff member she has been a seminar facilitator and a Senior Coach. She attended Syracuse University studying chemistry and now lives in Nashville working as a Chemist.

Madison Gillis

Madison (she/her) attended Illinois Leadership Seminars in 2014 representing Naperville North High School. After she went through seminar, she became passionate about leadership and stayed involved with the organization ever since. She has served a variety of roles from Junior Staff to Spirit Leader and now as an adult, serving as a Senior Coach and Co-Alumni Advisor. Madison graduated from Illinois State University in 2020, holding degrees in Theatre Education and Acting. She now teaches high school theatre and speech in the suburbs of Chicago. She is passionate about uplifting youth’s voices to make positive change in the world. 

Josh Fredrickson

Josh attended our seminar in 2012 representing East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, and attended Western Illinois University before returning to Chicago. He has a background in door-to-door fundraising, as well as political and community organizing. Josh has continued his involvement with ILS, having held positions on our alumni board, our seminar staff, and as a previous member of the Seminar Planning Committee as Director of Operations & Technology and Director of Staff. He's proud to continue to serve ILS in any way that he can. Donate to ILS here!

Maddie Kuhl

Maddie attended Illinois Leadership Seminars in 2016 as a representative from Durand High School and has remained involved with ILS ever since. Over the years, she has served in a variety of roles across the Alumni Board, Media Team, and Seminar Planning Committee, including Assistant Director of Media and Director of Media. She currently serves as Marketing Director on the ILS Corporate Board.

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Her experience with ILS first sparked her interest in media and communications, an interest she went on to pursue at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she graduated in 2021 with a B.S. in Journalism and a minor in Public Relations. Today, Maddie lives in Chicago and works in healthcare public relations.

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Outside of work and ILS, Maddie enjoys listening to podcasts, traveling, and attempting new recipes saved to her ever-growing Pinterest boards.

Ashley Land

Born and raised in the windy city of Chicago, Ashley grew up on the city’s south side. The first in her family to graduate from a four-year institution with a B.A. in Media Studies from Pomona College, Ashley began her career working at Community Coalition, a non-profit in Los Angeles where she amplified the voices of thousands of South LA residents through various social media campaigns and helped to pass numerous local and state ballot initiatives.

As an aspiring television producer, she got her big break through Bad Robot’s internship program and she most recently worked there as the assistant to the Vice President of Television. Additionally, Ashley creates content for her YouTube channel, “Welcome To Ashley Land”, where she discusses important topics such as politics, pop culture, the economy, and social justice. Ashley contributes much of her success to her involvement with Illinois Leadership Seminars and she is grateful that the experience helped build her confidence and leadership skills at a young age.

Diego Espinoza

Diego first attended ILS in 2015 from Round Lake High School. Since then, he's held positions within the organization as Junior and Senior Coach, Corporate Board Member, and most recently at seminar as a Facilitator. Diego is excited to give back by helping strengthen relationships across the alumni network and building new opportunities for engagement between alumni and the organization.

Diego works as a Sales Specialist at Leviton, a leading company in the electrical manufacturing industry. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his daughter, going cycling, playing basketball, and watching movies at the cinema.

Ixtel Viramontes

Ixtel attended Illinois Leadership Seminars in 2011 as a student from Genoa-Kingston High School, and what began as a single seminar quickly grew into a lasting passion for leadership, service, and giving back. Since attending, Ixtel has worn many ILS hats, from Media Ninja to Junior Coach to Seminar Chair. Today, she remains active with the organization as a member-at-Large.

When she’s not finding new ways to support ILS, Ixtel can be found championing higher education and student success. She earned her B.A. in Sociology from Elmhurst University in 2017 and her Master’s in Conflict Resolution from Dominican University in 2022. She currently works for The American University of Rome and remains committed to helping others discover and develop their leadership potential, just as ILS helped her discover hers. In her free time, you can usually find her playing her Nintendo Switch or working on her latest embroidery project.

Kaitlyn Marquardt

Kaitlyn has been involved with Illinois Leadership Seminars since 2015, after attending seminar on behalf of Durand High School. She has held a variety of positions on corporate board, seminar staff, seminar planning committee, and the junior alumni board. Her passion for leadership began with this seminar, and has grown throughout her career and personal endeavors.

Kaitlyn graduated from Illinois State University in 2019, earning a degree in Finance and Organizational Leadership. She currently works at COUNTRY Financial as a Private Wealth Consultant.

In her personal life, Kaitlyn is an advocate for trying new things! She has recently relocated to Fort Myers, Florida. She encourages everyone to turn their dreams into reality, admiring the quote, “if not now, when?”

MJ Camarato

MJ attended ILS in 2018 representing a small school from Southern Illinois, Herrin High School.  Ever since attending, MJ has enjoyed the atmosphere and positivity that surrounds ILS as an organization.  After graduating from Herrin High School in 2020, MJ went on to get her bachelor's degree in Secondary Biology Education from the University of Kentucky finishing in May 2024.  MJ is eager and hopeful for ILS to continue to grow!

Sabrina Edwards

Sabrina attended Illinois Leadership Seminars in 2017, representing Willowbrook High School. Since 2017, she has continued to volunteer with the organization. Most recently, she held the role of Director of Administration at ILS 2025. She is passionate about expanding ILS to reach high schools across IL. Every high school deserves the opportunity to send a student to ILS and experience the magic. Sabrina graduated from Marquette University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and currently works in Milwaukee, WI, as an ICU nurse. 

Rob Williams

Rob Williams attended Illinois Leadership Seminar in 2013, from Vernon Hills High School. He has since served as both junior and senior coaches and Director of Programming for Seminar. After getting his BA from Augustana College in History Education, Rob earned his MA in History from Pittsburg State University. He currently works in higher education and as a high school track & field coach.