Podcast

Brad Roos

Brad Roos is a Rockford native with Chemistry degrees from the University of Illinois/Champaign-Urbana where he then taught high school.  For more than 40 years Brad has been doing neighborhood and community development work with most of his work focused on affordable housing development using  sustainable building design. He has also served in leadership and consulting roles in the Rockford area and in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota and Washington State.

Kristen Hayden

Kristen Hayden is currently a Health Equity Associate with the Region 1 Planning Council, where she works on a range of sustainability and community impact projects. She has a BS in Earth and Environmental Science and Environmental Studies from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).

Sydney Turner

Sydney Turner has been with Region 1 Planning Council for 6 years, where she serves as the Director of Regional Planning. She is responsible for managing the transportation planning initiatives of the Metropolitan Transportation Organization (MPO), including the development of the recently adopted 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, as well as land use planning initiatives. She received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science from Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville.

Shelby Best

Shelby Best is an environmental and sustainability specialist. Shelby has a multi-disciplinary background in communications, research, planning, and environmental policy and economics. To date her research has involved conservation development, ecosystem services, and the circular economy. Shelby holds a BSc in Psychology from Loyola University Chicago and a MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London.​

Chester D. Kolodziej

Chet is a Co-founder and Treasurer of Sustain Rockford “a Not for Profit” located in Northern Illinois. He iscurrently active in a number of State Wide Working Groups promoting Energy Efficiency and Solar Systems legislation. He was formally (2007-2019) a founder and Executive Director of Freedom Field Renewable Energy, Inc. Chet has 40 years of management experience in manufacturing, product distribution and services delivery. He has focused during the last 15 years primarily on CleanTech companies and their related technologies. He has been on the Board of Directors of three not-for-profits promoting these technologies, and is a graduate of the NREL Golden Colorado’s EnergyExec program. He has also consulted for the local County government and the regional Economic Development Agency concerning CleanTech technologies. Informally he has mentored a number of local clean energy start-ups, and advised on numerous Solar and Energy Efficiency projects. Chet is an active member of a number of other not for profits both in Illinois and Wisconsin that promote energy efficiency and clean technologies both to commercial and consumer communities. Chet received his M.B.A. from Northern Illinois University and his B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater, and is a CPA in the State of Illinois. He has represented the local County government economic development agency, and has twice been speaker at the International Bio Energy Conferences in Lidkoping, Sweden. He is a very active networker both as a participant and an organizer promoting the subjects of sustainability as part of business development, and STEM education, and hands on training in learning environments. He has lived in Northern Illinois since 1974.

Dan Kane

Dan Kane is the Executive Director of the Boone County Conservation District and has served in this capacity since April of 2000. Dan is currently serving his second term as the Vice President of the Illinois Association of Conservation Districts (IACD). Dan has a BS in Geology from Winona State University and is a Licensed Professional Geologist by the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. He served three terms as the Chairperson of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Northern Regional Groundwater Protection and Planning Committee, and serves as a member of Technical Advisory Committee of the Boone County Regional Stormwater Planning Committee. Dan has also served two terms as President of the Kishwaukee River Ecosystem Partnership. Currently, Dan is serving as the Co-Chair of Boone County’s Water Preservation and Protection Action Committee, which is now engaged in efforts to assess sensitive groundwater recharge areas and develop action items that will minimize and reduce local impacts to surface and groundwater resources. During previous employment Dan was a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control by the Soil and Water Conservation Society; and was a Certified Soil Tester – Morphological Soil Evaluator by the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Safety and Professional Services. Dan also has previous work experience with exploration of petroleum resources.

Kyle Saunders

Kyle Saunders is the Director of Public Works for the City of Rockford where he is responsible for the culture, strategy, and leadership of the City’s Public Works Department. Kyle graduated Magna Cum Laude from Rockford University with both a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA, and is currently enrolled in the University of Colorado’s MSOL program where he is studying organizational leadership. He represents the Illinois Section of American Water Works Association (ISAWWA) as a Water Matters! Fly-in delegate where he’s lobbied on behalf of the water industry regarding regulatory and water infrastructure finance matters. Kyle currently serves as vice-chair of the ISAWWA Water Utility Council.

Robert Wilhelmi

Rob has been involved with Brownfields redevelopment for 20 years as a private environmental consultant, City of Rockford Code Enforcement Supervisor, and now the Brownfields Redevelopment Specialist for the City of Rockford, Illinois.  During his private consulting days, Rob worked on complex brownfields projects that had impacts in the subsurface, but also hazardous building materials.  After 12 years of private consulting, Rob moved to local code enforcement with an emphasis blight removal and integrating the code enforcement with Brownfields redevelopment.  Most recently, Rob leads the City of Rockford’s highly successful Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative that is currently using assessment, cleanup and RLF funds to address blight and catalyze redevelopment in City.

Mark Luthin

Mark Luthin is a retired Environmental Science/Biology teacher, having taught in the Belvidere School District for 32 years. He taught for 23 years at Belvidere High, then moved to Belvidere North for the remaining 9 years. He currently serve on the Board of Trustees for the Natural Land Institute and is one of the Vice Presidents. Mark also served for 18 years on the Belvidere Township Park Board, and was also involved with the Parks and Conservation Foundation for many years. In his retirement, he works with the Boone County Conservation District as a volunteer land steward, as well as the Natural Land Institute doing stewardship and working on 3 different committees. He happens to be the chair of the Education Committee with NLI.

Barb Chidley

As Neighborhood Specialist for the City of Rockford, Barb Chidley is responsible for engaging with residents, neighborhood associations, and other organizations working to improve quality of life in our neighborhoods. Her favorite part of the job is creating meaningful connections with the diverse residents of Rockford. Having spent six years teaching at Auburn High School when she first came to Rockford, Barb credits her students with everything she has learned about valuing other people’s cultures and experiences. The trust and relationships built together in her classroom led to poignant conversations and significant growth, for Barb as well as her students. This is why she invited some of her favorite Rockford relationship-building experts to join together to start Connect Rockford; she knows from experience that deep, meaningful connections are the foundation upon which all other good things are built.

Barb has also served as a board member of the Community Action Agency and on the Head Start Policy Council. She is a single mom of a twelve-year-old son and a twenty-year-old daughter. They have lived in the North Highland Square Neighborhood for seven years.

Janessa Wilkins

Janessa Wilkins was born and raised in Rockford, IL. Her parents are Janet Wilkins and the late Joseph “J.D.” Standfield. She owns her home outright and now she is raising her family in the same community that gave her so much love, motivation, support and preparedness to become the woman that she is today. She was an honors student at St. Paul Lutheran and Rockford Lutheran High School. She furthered my education at Grambling State University, where she received my B.A. in Mass Communications. She is a member of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church and is very active in her congregation.

She works with several organizations that help people in the Rockford community. She is active in the West Gate, Signal Hill and Jeremiah Development Neighborhood Associations where she helps produce newsletters for residents. She has served as the Outreach Co-Chair for Ignite Rockford, Association of Fundraising Professionals IDEA (Diversity) Co- Chair and enjoys volunteering for the Poor People’s Campaign and serving as co-host for Soar Radio. She does a lot of work with young people in our community. She is the previous advisor for the NAACP College/Youth Rockford Branch and volunteers as a mentor for Youth for Christ and Comprehensive Community Solutions (YouthBuild).

Her professional career is also very community focused. She has served as the Resource Development and Community Engagement Manager for HomeStart, a non-profit home counseling agency here in Rockford, where she oversaw the Neighborhood Grant Program through the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois and the Resident Leadership Program, where it is our mission to create vibrant, healthy communities by connecting people and families to beneficial, affordable housing resources and by leading community based solutions.

She is currently a Mentor and Support Specialist for ALPHA, an after school program for youth ages 13-24 with Comprehensive Community Solutions.