Interfaith Action Board

Donna Richardson, President, is a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, where she serves as the lay coordinator – Social Justice and Outreach Ministry.  She was St. Mark’s IAE delegate for three years.  She is one of the coordinators for the Wednesday Lunch Ministry sponsored by St. Mark’s and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Churches.  Donna is a retired special and school librarian, spending the last 22 years at Chute Middle School in Evanston.  She has held a leadership role of IAE’s Delegate Advisory Team since 2021.  She has volunteered at the Produce Mobile, Overnight Shelter and IAE’s Soup Kitchen at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.  Donna is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., actively involved in the local chapter.  She has served as a Suburban Cook County Election Judge since 2015.  She was honored in 2019 with St. Mark’s Lion of the Year Award and was St. Mark’s Vision Keeper in 2023.  She and her husband have lived in Skokie for more than 35 years, have two adult children and Louie, a three-year old miniature schnauzer.

Simon Anolick, Vice President,  a member of Beth Emet The Free Synagogue, is an intellectual property attorney with HERE, a location and navigation company, in Chicago. Simon has been in leadership at Beth Emet for many years, serving on the Board of Trustees for over 10 years including 3 years as Secretary.  He has also led various committees including Adult Education, Worship, Nominating, and a Cantorial Search Committee.  Simon also served for 12 years as one of four people on the Ozerim (Helpers) Committee that helps the clergy provide for the needs of congregates by arranging meals including providing a Shabbat meal to a congregate each week, minyan leaders for families sitting shivah, and rides.  In 2014, Simon, with Debbie Render, Kathy Kaberon, and Gita Weintraub, were honored as Beth Emet’s Vision Keeper sponsored by Interfaith Action.

Carol Wilson, Secretary, a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, worked for 46 years as a journalist, including 34 years writing about telecommunications technology. At Trinity, she is former Church Council President and a member of the Faith in Action committee. She is a regular soup kitchen and Emergency Overnight Shelter volunteer, as well as a member of the Communications, SNAPGap, Walk for Warmth and Fundraising committees. Her other volunteer work includes teaching adult ESL classes and working at the Misericordia Sweet Shoppe.

Nancye Kirk, Treasurer, is a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.  She is serving as co-chairman of the current capital campaign which is funding the renovations to the Hospitality Center at the church, and on the finance and investment committees.  She is a former warden of the vestry and involved in the Wednesday lunch program at the church which was started six years ago by her late husband, John Lucadamo.  She has been a resident of Evanston for over 40 years after moving here from her native Kentucky She has an undergraduate degree from Centre College in Kentucky and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School.  She waa the Head of Special Projects at the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), a 501-c-6 not-for-profit professional society headquartered in Chicago and retired in 2021.  While at IREM, she has led a number of programs, including international, publishing, academic outreach, ethics and governance, and meetings. Through IREM, she sits on academic advisory boards at several universities.  For a number of years she was executive director of the IREM Foundation, a 501-c-3 organization.

Melissa Appelt, a member of First United Methodist Church, is a soup kitchen and emergency overnight shelter volunteer and a member of the Interfaith Action Advocacy team. Within her congregation, Melissa has served on Church Council and led Staff Parish Relations and Mission & Outreach committees. She has participated in a dozen trips to the Appalachia Service Project and hurricane relief efforts in various locations and currently assists Syrian refugees and Bundled Blessings, FUMC’s diaper service for low-income families. Melissa retired from the Chicago Botanic Garden, where she worked in Foundation and Government Relations and continues to volunteer for the Garden’s Windy City Harvest program, helping ex-offenders with resumes and job searches.

Olga Ricketts-Peart, a member of The First Presbyterian Church for 30+ years, has held numerous leadership positions and was a faithful volunteer at the Souper Saturday soup kitchen for many years. Olga co-teaches the Thursday Evening Women’s Bible Study and she is a Commissioner at the Presbytery of Chicago.  She is a retired geriatric social worker and worked at the Inter Faith Action Hospitality Center for 5-years in computer training.  Olga holds an AA degree from Oakton College, BSW and MSW from the Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois. She worked as a computer programmer with the United Methodist Board of Pension and senior computer programmer analyst with the Beaven Life Insurance Company and was a small business owner. Member of the IAE Fundraising Committee.

Marsha Richman is a member of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston.  She has been Director of two congregation-based early childhood centers and has, for the past 9 years, pursued teaching yoga to older adults.  Marsha has volunteered extensively over the past 50 years as a resident of Evanston and held board positions in other organizations, most recently as President of the Board at Infant Welfare Society of Evanston (IWSE.)  For the past 3 years, she has organized a group of friends in the community who make and deliver bag lunches to the Hospitality Center at St. Mark’s every Thursday.

Perry Sartori, a long-time Human Resources professional, is joining the Interfaith Action of Evanston Board of Directors, effective in March. Sartori, who has served for two years on the organization’s Human Resources Development Committee, was unanimously approved by the existing board members at their Feb. 14^th meeting. He has more than 25 years of experience in Human Resources with a focus on HR Strategy. His educational background includes certification in Strategic Human Resources from Cornell’s Institute of Industrial Relations and a BA in Business Administration from Lewis University.  He retired from his profession in 2021. He and his partner Matt Glover, who also supports IAE’s communications committee, live in West Rogers Park and are members of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church where both either serve or served in leadership positions.  For fun, Perry is an avid volleyball player and supporter of his Alma Mater’s volleyball program.

Rev. Eileen Wiviott serves the Unitarian Church of Evanston where she has been a member since 2002, was the Membership Director, Social Justice Coordinator, Assistant Minister and has been recently called as the settled Senior Minister.  She graduated from Meadville Lombard Theological School and was ordained in 2017.  She has lived in the Chicagoland area all her life and a Skokie resident since 1998 with her husband, David, and two young adult children – Mable (22) and Grey (18).  Eileen is delighted to serve on the Interfaith Action of Evanston board after many years of involvement including doing a community ministry internship in 2011-2012 at the hospitality center and focusing on interfaith dialogue.

Michael Sehr is a member of Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) in Evanston. He has been a JRC delegate for many years and is a member of the Delegate Advisory Team. Mike has recently rejoined the Direct Services Committee. Mike also coordinates the fourth Monday soup kitchen at Second Baptist and has volunteered at the overnight shelter. Mike is an attorney and currently volunteers at the John Howard Association, a prison reform organization. He is also an active participant in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Northwestern University.

Minister Sharon Weeks is a member of Second Baptist Church for 30 years. Serves on the Pastoral Team as an Associate Minister and is the Core Team Minister for Christian Missions which includes: the Tuesday Soup Kitchen, New Life Shelter Interim Housing, Mary Lou’s Place a Domestic Violence Shelter, and Sarah’s Circle a continuum of supportive services for women. She has also been involved with Connections for the Homeless.  She has been an educator for 30 years teaching at both District 65 and 202 and Milwaukee Public Schools as a Special Education Teacher. Minister Weeks has been a regular volunteer with Interfaith Action of Evanston (formally Evanston Ecumenical Action Council) and the Producemobile for the last 30 years She also serves as the 3rd Vice President of the Evanston/North Shore Branch of the NAACP serving as Advisor for Youth, and Education Committee.

Joyce Davidson, a member of Unity North Shore, worked for over 40 years as a teacher/administrator for Chicago Public Schools and is passionate about serving in memory of her son, Aaron. Currently, she volunteers as the IAE delegate for UNS, IAE’s Hospitality center, Hillside Food bank, and at Northminster Presbyterian Church Preschool Center. Joyce has also served as a former board member at UNS, HOA of previous home, and SHORE. Previous service includes: YWCA of Evanston, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chicago, and North Shore Giving Circle. She is also trustee for the Aaron William Davidson Fund under the auspices of Evanston Community Foundation, for which she is very honored and dedicated