Above / Naperville YMCA Board of Directors has elected a new chair and vice-chair to advance the Y’s mission across the Western Suburbs via the Fry Family YMCA, one of 14 Y centers and five overnight camps that make up the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago association.
The Naperville YMCA Board of Directors has named commercial real estate expert Adam Johnson as its new Chairman and local nonprofit development professional Lauren De Simone as its Vice-Chair. The local Board provides advice and strategic direction to the Fry Family YMCA, a local YMCA center, and YMCA Safe ‘N Sound, a before- and after-school program offering quality child care to the Naperville and Aurora-area families at many neighborhood elementary schools. The Board will also work to deepen community partnerships to ensure that the Y continues to be a valuable community resource for local families.
“I am delighted to welcome Adam and Lauren’s leadership of the board,” said Stephanie Kuzelis, Executive Director of the Fry Family YMCA. Their appointments come at a pivotal time for our center as we, and the entire city and state, turn the corner in our COVID-19 recovery and prepare for a full reopening.”
Kuzelis continuted, “Both are already serving as Naperville board members – Adam since 2013 and Lauren since 2015. Collectively, they bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and passion to the Y that will help us to secure the resources we need to support and strengthen local youth, families, and communities. I am excited for all the work we will do together.”
Incoming Chairman Adam Johnson
Incoming Chairman, Adam Johnson is an Executive Vice President in the Office Services & Capital Markets Group at NAI Hiffman, a commercial real estate agency headquartered in Oak Brook. He joined NAI Hiffman in 2008 and specializes in small to mid-cap office investment sales, assisting owners, users, and banks to purchase or sell office and industrial space throughout the Chicago suburbs.
“As we look to the future of the YMCA in Naperville, I would like to raise awareness that the Y is so much more than the ‘gym and swim’ that it is most commonly known for,” said Johnson. “The Y is also about cultivating promising futures for local youth and families by creating positive identity, developing transferable life skills, instilling healthy habits, and building career readiness. I look forward to working alongside our new Vice-Chair, Lauren De Simone, and fellow board members to further the Y’s mission and build upon the many great accomplishments of the YMCA in Naperville over the last 100 years.”
“YMCA Safe ‘N Sound has been a trusted provider of quality, fun, and engaging child care for Naperville and Aurora families for more than 35 years. We are committed to meeting the needs of working parents and understand that families need a safe and enriching place for their kids to go before and after the school day, on days when school is out, and throughout the summer,” said Erika Wood, Executive Director of YMCA Safe ‘N Sound and Suburban Education Initiatives.
Incoming Vice-Chair, Lauren De Simone
Meanwhile, incoming Vice-Chair, Lauren De Simone, has more than 13 years of nonprofit development experience specializing in increasing revenue year-over-year by building strong relationships and creating efficient department infrastructure. In July, she begins a new role as a Senior Consultant at DBD Group, a team of professionals from the nonprofit world, joined together to help organizations realize their goals and support their unique vision. Consulting services include fund development, strategic planning, financial management, board governance work, and more. More recently, De Simone served as the Director of Development at Metropolitan Family Services. She is also no stranger to the YMCA having begun her nonprofit career in 2007 as the Associate Director of Development at the Heritage YMCA before it became the Fry Family Y.
“Growing up in Naperville, I know how fortunate I am to live in such an amazing community. In that same community, there are families that need an affordable and safe place to nurture their minds, bodies, and souls. I believe strongly that the Y is that place and I am grateful for the opportunity to lead alongside a team of dedicated volunteers like Adam and the entire Board,” commented De Simone.
Fry Family YMCA / 2120 W. 95th Street in Naperville
The Fry Family YMCA is one of 14 Y centers and five overnight camps that make up the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago association, serving families across the Chicagoland area.
Meanwhile, YMCA Safe ‘N Sound is headquartered at the Fry Center and operates out of several local schools and community buildings. Together, throughout the pandemic, the Fry Family YMCA and YMCA Safe ‘N Sound have continued to support local residents with their child care and health and fitness needs safely and responsibly and in accordance with public health authority guidelines.
This support includes providing emergency child care services and a safe place for the children of essential workers to learn, have fun, and grow at the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, at a time when many school districts converted to a hybrid or e-learning instruction model, the Y assisted young students with remote learning support so that parents could focus on work while their children enjoyed academic enrichment lessons, homework help, science and arts, and physical activity in a safe and supervised environment.
The Y’s Summer Camps continue to offer engaging child care options for many youth, while also helping to re-acclimate them to peer interaction, in-person learning, and social-emotional development in preparation for the upcoming academic year.
YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
The YMCA of Metro Chicago is an association of 14 Y centers, five overnight camps, and dozens of extension sites located in the city and across the suburbs. We serve more than 200,000 members annually and help children, families, and communities learn, grow, and thrive through programs that promote academic readiness, character development, violence prevention, and fitness, and healthy living. Our impact is felt every day when an individual makes a healthy choice, when a mentor inspires a child, and when a community comes together for the common good.
To learn more about how the Y is working “for a better us,” visit ymcachicago.org. To support the Y’s work as a nonprofit organization, visit ymcachicago.org/donate.
Story and photos of Johnson and DeSimone submitted by Man-Yee Lee for the Fry Family YMCA.
