Board of Directors

Peter Kim

Senior Director and Chief Counsel, Litigation and Employment, JLL

Chair, Board of Directors

Peter Kim is an attorney focusing on employment and labor law. Before joining JLL as in-house counsel, he was a partner of a national law firm representing a wide sector of industries in finding solutions to employment and human resources (HR) related matters. At JLL, Peter is the lead in-house counsel managing legal employment exposure and providing HR counseling fairly and equitably. He is also active in the legal community and serves as a mentor for young attorneys.

Peter also serves as a board member of a social service and social justice non-profit, providing services to immigrant communities and championing the rights of the undocumented community. Peter earned his Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Amirh Collis

Trust Solution Partner – Pricewaterhouse Coopers

Treasurer, Board of Directors

Amirh Collis is a Trust Solutions Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), a professional services firm. Amirh has over 17 years of client service experience working with multinational Fortune 500 and privately held audit clients in various industries including automotive, industrial products, consumer markets, and business services.

She is very active in the firm’s people initiatives and has served in various roles directly impacting the people experience at PwC. Amirh has always maintained a passion for working with children through her volunteer efforts and serving on the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation non-profit board, where she is the Audit Committee Chair and a member of the finance committee. Amirh has a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in accounting from the University of South Florida. She is also an active certified public accountant (CPA) with licenses in several states including Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina. Currently, Amirh resides in Chicago, IL with her family, husband, and daughter.

Katie Durick 

Director & Associate General Counsel, Meta 

Member, Board of Directors

Katie serves as Associate General Counsel at Meta working on legal investigations and high-severity harms. Prior to Meta, Katie served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois for more than five years. During her tenure as a federal prosecutor, Katie prosecuted public corruption, fraud, drug trafficking, and violent crime. Katie has also spent time at large law firms in both Chicago and Washington D.C. focusing on white collar criminal defense and congressional investigations. Before law school, Katie worked in the United States Senate for her home-state of North Dakota. She graduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and Harvard Law School. Katie lives in Chicago with her husband and three sons.

Hardik Dalal

Vice President of Finance, Central Chicagoland PSA

Member, Board of Directors

Hardik Dalal is an experienced leader in the healthcare industry, specializing in financial operations, growth, and development. Currently the Vice President of Finance at Central Chicagoland PSA Advocate Aurora Health, Hardik brings nearly 20 years of experience in the financial and healthcare sectors. In his current role, Hardik provides executive leadership over finance and matrix support for supply chain, patient access, and health information management for Illinois Masonic Medical Center and Good Samaritan. He previously served as the Executive Director of Finance for Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Hardik earned his bachelor’s degree and M.B.A. from Purdue University. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife and two children.

George West

Financial Advisor, WestPoint Financial Group

Member, Board of Directors

George is a Financial Advisor at WestPoint Financial Group. He specializes in providing comprehensive financial guidance to child care business owners at all levels, focusing on implementing sound financial strategies to promote stability and long-term wealth creation. Recognizing the vital role that child care providers play in our communities, his goal is to equip them with essential resources, including business coaching, lending options, tax planning, estate planning, and retirement strategies to support their continued success.

George is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children (ILAEYC). He resides in Chicago with his wife and two children.

Linda Hodo

Pivot Page Founder

Member, Board of Directors

Linda is an experienced human resources (HR), learning, and organizational development leader skilled at collaborating with leadership to create integrated talent management strategies that foster a culture of high performance to achieve business results. She has served in the capacity of officer, leader, consultant, and strategic business partner for senior leaders across a variety of industries. Her current role is Assistant Director, Learning Strategist, and Solution Leader, at Crowe LLP.

Throughout her career, Linda has also been an adjunct instructor for coaching in Northwestern’s MSOD program and an adjunct for Columbia College. At present, she is the owner of thepivotpage.com where she continues to help individuals and organizations take their ideas and turn them into actions for change. Additionally, she has had extensive experience as a Board member with non-profits and industry associations.

Linda has her BA in journalism from Drake University, her MS in marketing communications from Roosevelt University, and the Doctoral Program (ABD) in HR development/planned organizational change at George Washington University.

Chris Knapik

Jason G. Smith

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Supervision Manager 

Vice Chair, Board of Directors

Jason is an independent board director, senior advisor, financial expert, and managing director. In his governance roles, he serves as an experienced auditor, finance committee member, DEI committee member, and governance committee member.  

In the community, Jason is on the Board of Focus Fairies Mentoring serving as Vice Chair of the Board. Focus Fairies provides mentoring and wellness support for young women and girls. He also serves on the board of Can &Will Help Foundation, which provides ESL and GED services for young adults as well as provides support and resources to displaced families through shelters.  

Jason is a member of the American Bankers Association (ABA) and serves on the leadership council of the ABA black banker ERG. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, Chicago Alumni Chapter. 

Jason is a graduate of the Chicago Urban League (CUL) Impact Program through the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He received a B.A. in economics from St. Olaf College in Minnesota; and is a Commissioned Bank Examiner. 

Jason resides in Chicago, Illinois, and is a proud father of two children, Jaylen (23) and Ava (4). 

Catherine Merritt

CEO, Spool Marketing and Communications

Secretary, Board of Directors

Catherine Merritt is the founder and CEO of Spool Marketing and Communications, an integrated marketing and PR agency she founded along with a cohort of media and agency ex-pats who believed a new agency model is needed for today’s companies and brands. So, she set out to build it with Spool.

Catherine is an innovative, results-driven communications and marketing leader who has worked with startups, fortune-top companies, and many in between. She has more than 15 years of communications and marketing leadership experience from her roles at global agencies where she has overseen many of the agencies’ largest communications and public affairs clients.

Magen Hanrahan

Senior Vice President of Consumer Understanding & Experience, Ferrara Candy

Member, Board of Directors

Magen Hanrahan is the Senior Vice President of Consumer Understanding & Experience for Ferrara Candy, where she leads a dynamic group of curious and creative thinkers across insights; business intelligence and analytics; public relations and content; media and partnerships; and creative and design for the entire portfolio of brands.

Magen is an experienced leader with more than 25 years in media and marketing services across a variety of clients including Kraft Heinz, Nintendo, P&G, and the U.S. Army. Throughout her career, Magen has balanced inspirational and visionary thinking with strong execution to get the job done.

Magen is grateful to her parents, who encouraged service to the community at an early age. Through professional and volunteer experience, Magen consistently demonstrates a curious mindset, evaluating problems and solutions from all angles. She believes trust and communication are at the heart of any strong relationship, along with a keen ability to navigate change while motivating and retaining productive team members.

Magen is a graduate of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and currently lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters. When not rooting on the Cubs, Magen can be found engrossed in her latest DIY project, volunteer work, or reading a book.

Micah Brown

Policy Council Vice Chair

Member, Board of Directors

Micah is a devoted mother of three daughters and an engaged community advocate. Her youngest daughter attends the Chicago Heights Head Start program, where Micah plays an active role in supporting the school community. She also contributes her time and energy to the PTO at her oldest child’s school.

Micah values family time, often enjoying bonding activities with her daughters and their beloved dog, Zoey. A resident of Chicago Heights, Micah is passionate about early childhood education and strengthening family connections to create a positive impact in her community.

Gail Carter

Policy Council Chair

Member, Board of Directors

Gail is a dedicated mother of three and proud grandmother of four, currently raising her 5-year-old grandson as his guardian. Gail has been deeply involved with Illinois Action for Children’s Harvey-South Holland Early Learning Center for three years, serving as Chairperson for two consecutive years and now leading as Chairperson of the Policy Council.

With a strong commitment to advocacy, Gail is passionate about ensuring IAFC students and families have access to successful programs. Residing in Blue Island, Gail brings her experience, leadership, and deep understanding of early childhood education policies to the board. Her active engagement in her grandson’s education exemplifies her dedication to building brighter futures for children and families in her community.

Nirav Patel

Executive Advisor & Managing Director, NJP Strategic Insights

Member, Board of Directors

Nirav Patel serves as Executive Advisor at NJP Strategic Insights, offering fractional leadership and strategic advisory services to companies navigating complex regulatory landscapes. With over 20 years of global leadership experience, Nirav specializes in elevating audit from compliance to a strategic business driver. Previously, as VP Finance & Internal Audit at UL Solutions, he served as Chief Audit Executive, shaping enterprise risk and audit strategy and was pivotal in driving its 2024 IPO-readiness workstreams for SOX and governance.

Nirav’s foundational experience includes tenure at three Big 4 firms, notably in KPMG’s Risk Advisory practice, where he was recognized as a National Mentorship Finalist. He is passionate about developing people and building high-performing teams.

Nirav holds a BSBA from the University of Tennessee and an MS in Accounting from The Ohio State University. He is a CPA and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and has completed executive programs at MIT Sloan, Harvard, and Yale. A resident of Palatine, Nirav volunteers as a youth baseball and basketball coach and lives with his wife, Jigisha, and their two children. He was drawn to IAFC to support its work in improving educational outcomes for children, regardless of their zip code.

Ben Wasmuth

Partner, RSM US LLP

Member, Board of Directors

Ben Wasmuth is a partner at RSM US LLP, a professional services firm serving the middle-market. Over his 13-year career in public accounting, Ben provided tax compliance and consulting services to asset management and capital market entities and is now a member of the Washington National Tax office at RSM, in which he leads the Asset Management Specialty Group. Prior to entering public accounting, Ben served a short time as a Revenue Agent with the Internal Revenue Service.

Outside of work, Ben serves as the treasurer for Bucktown Fine Arts, an organization that produces an annual summer neighborhood art festival. Ben is also a passionate supporter of the performing arts. Ben earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Accounting from the University of Florida and now lives in Chicago with his wife.