Staff Bios

Yasmine Baharloo (Yassi to us) joined Voices as a development intern, ensuring the success of the Voices’ Associates Board’s “Kids at Heart” fundraiser. She has since moved into her position as project assistant, to work on the public awareness campaign Foster Kids Are Our Kids, provide communications support for Illinois Kids Count, and continue in her development role. Recently she helped organize and implement the Wrigley Start Early Run, which brought nearly 2,300 people together in Chicago’s Grant Park in recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Originally from Houston, Texas, Ms. Baharloo came to Chicago to attend Columbia College Chicago, where she earned her degree in public relations. Outside of Voices, she can often be found at one of the Chicago’s many free events, her favorite of which is the Downtown Sound music series at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion.

Meleneal Cameron serves as Voices’ administrative and development associate. An information management and web development professional with more than ten years’ experience specializing in nonprofit technology, Ms. Cameron brings a valuable skill-set to the Voices team. In addition to a comprehensive understanding of fund development, various fundraising strategies, and 501(c)(3) best practices, Ms. Cameron has extensive experience coordinating special events and major gift and capital campaigns. Throughout her career, she has promoted higher levels of productivity through information management and integrating technology resources to project needs. Ms. Cameron is a movie buff who enjoys outdoor activities and reading. She has three beautiful adult children and two grandchildren.

Paula Corrigan-Halpern began her career at Voices, then returned almost 20 years later to apply her experience leading statewide advocacy efforts and directing communications and public awareness initiatives. As policy advocacy director, Ms. Corrigan-Halpern works closely with Voices’ staff, partner organizations, and community leaders to create effective policy solutions, build statewide support to improve the lives of children, and champion Voices’ advocacy agenda in Springfield. Prior to joining Voices, she worked on family economic security issues, afterschool initiatives, and K-12 education, most recently directing communications for the education, human development, and workforce program at American Institutes for Research. Ms. Corrigan-Halpern has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master’s degree from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.

Pat Gonzalez was one of the first team members to join Voices for Illinois Children in 1987. She was instrumental in getting Voices started by helping to develop the organization’s bookkeeping and financial policies. Ms. Gonzalez has served as fiscal manager for the past 17 years, applying her strict attention to detail and strong management skills to keep Voices in sound fiscal shape. As a parent who was active in her children’s schooling, she believes strongly in Voices’ efforts to involve parents and concerned citizens in speaking out on behalf of children. Prior to joining Voices, Ms. Gonzalez was assistant bookkeeper at a financial company. She and her husband, Louis Garcia, have two children, Jaime and Kristen, and three grandchildren.

Larry Joseph sees his work at Voices for Illinois Children as trying to solve a puzzle: what data need to be shared, in what manner, and with what audience to result in positive policy changes for children. As director of the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children, Mr. Joseph oversees research and analysis on state fiscal policies and their impact on the lives of children and their families. Prior to joining Voices in 2007, he was senior research associate at the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, where he conducted policy analysis on Medicaid, welfare reform, and fiscal federalism. He previously served as associate director of the University’s Center for Urban Research and Policy Studies in the School of Social Service Administration (1987 to 1996) and in the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy (1996 to 2003). For 10 years, Mr. Joseph collaborated with Voices in organizing the highly regarded Illinois Welfare Policy Symposium, which examines policies and programs affecting low-income families and advances strategies for reducing poverty and expanding economic opportunity. Mr. Joseph earned his doctorate in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also has a master’s degree in public policy studies from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University. He and his wife, attorney Lauren Newman, have a teenage daughter, Carol.

Madelyn James, director of Voices for Illinois Children’s “Great at Eight” initiative, is a passionate advocate for ensuring all children from birth to age 8 and their families have the necessary supports to achieve a strong foundation for future success. Ms. James’ responsibility at Voices is to build an approach that advocates for supports that benefit the “whole child.” Her first career was in business, where she honed negotiation, team building, management, budgeting, and strategic planning skills. Prior to joining Voices, Ms. James served in various capacities as a direct service provider, a Head Start and state preschool teacher, an Illinois STARNET trainer and project director, a supervisor of home visiting and center-based programs, director of the National Lekotek affiliates and early childhood training, a National Association for the Education of Young Children fellow, an adjunct faculty member with Chicago City Colleges, and as consultant and member of local, state, and national early childhood collaboratives. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bradley University and a master’s degree in early childhood education from Dominican University in River Forest, Ill. She has two adult children and recently became a grandmother for the first time to a beautiful baby named Illyana.

As youth development associate, Samantha Hedges uses her coalition building and teaching experience to support Voices’ efforts to improve out-of-school time and youth development opportunities for children and youth in Illinois. Prior to joining Voices, Ms. Hedges strengthened her policy advocacy and coalition building skills while working with suburban Cook County schools and communities through a federal obesity prevention grant awarded to the Cook County Department of Public Health. Her skills in education and out-of-school time derive from her time as an elementary school teacher. Ms. Hedges has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Indiana University and a master’s degree in social work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago.

In her role as project manager, Anne Klassman works on a variety of efforts that strive to improve the quality of life for kids and families in Illinois. Ms. Klassman manages the Foster Kids Are Our Kids campaign, an award-winning public awareness campaign designed to influence public opinion about foster care. The campaign utilizes multiple communications platforms, including broadcast, Internet, and social media, as well as partner engagement strategies, to increase awareness of the many ways we can work together to make foster care better. Ms. Klassman also serves as director of the Illinois Kids Count project and as editor of the highly regarded annual Illinois Kids Count report, which serves to guide sound state policies that have a positive impact on the lives of children and  families. Prior to joining Voices, Ms. Klassman worked in the for-profit sector as an event planner, and she was also the project manager on the development of a flagship customer service department for a large retailer. As a life-long volunteer with exposure to a variety of social service agencies, Ms. Klassman is dedicated to community empowerment and serves on several local community service boards of directors.

As senior policy analyst with the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children, David Lloyd uses his national public policy experience to advocate on behalf of children in Illinois. Mr. Lloyd plays a leading role in developing policy reports, issue briefs, policy bulletins, and fact sheets to inform FPC audiences. He also conducts research and analysis on fiscal policy issues, as well as substantive program areas such as education, health care, human services, and family economic security. Prior to joining the Fiscal Policy Center, he was a senior advisor to U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, advising the Senator on civil rights, immigration, manufacturing, and international trade policy. Through his work on international trade issues, Mr. Lloyd came to see that our state and national economic competitiveness depends on nurturing and developing our human capital — which starts with our children. Mr. Lloyd has a bachelor’s degree in history from Cornell University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

As development director, Debra Marillo is responsible for all of Voices’ fundraising planning and coordination, including securing grants from public and private sectors, major and planned gift programs, individual campaigns, special events, and board development. She has a longtime passion for providing services to children in need, and her past experience includes a long tenure for a specialty hospital for disadvantaged children with disabilities, chronic conditions, and those who suffered abuse and neglect. Ms. Marillo also gained valuable experience and perspective working at a domestic violence shelter. She holds a master of science with honors in Corrections (Psychology Division) from Chicago State University. An avid believer in the healing and nurturing aspects of food, Ms. Marillo also received a degree in Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts from the Culinary Hospitality Institute of Chicago (C.H.I.C.).

Melissa Meighen, communications director, brings to Voices a career-long dedication to social justice and a personal passion to create positive change for kids and families. Before joining Voices, she applied her experience and enthusiasm on behalf of her PR agency clients at Kathy Schaeffer and Associates in Chicago and, before that, at The Kamber Group in New York City. Her work with various community nonprofits, labor unions, and women’s and children’s health, education, and safety issues ensures an understanding of the challenges families face today. “Technology affords us an even greater capacity to enlist — and galvanize — more advocates than ever before,” Ms. Meighen says. “But we need to remember that it’s often the personal touch, and a human connection, which compel us to move beyond interest and into action.” Ms. Meighen has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in English language and literature, both from Kent State University. She and her husband, Bill McGrath, and their son, William, live in Aurora.

Wearing two hats as director of youth development and assistant director of policy advocacy at Voices for Illinois Children, Kelley Talbot works hard to improve families’ everyday quality of life by strengthening public policy. She has collaborated on efforts to boost families’ economic security, give more children the chance to benefit from quality after-school programs, and strengthen programs that help our youngest kids thrive. She has also worked extensively on efforts to address Illinois’ budget challenges. Prior to joining Voices, Ms. Talbot was the assistant director of external relations at the Illinois Board of Higher Education, handling legislative and media affairs. She gained four years of legislative experience while on the Illinois House Democrats’ staff and helped run successful state representative campaigns in the north suburbs. Ms. Talbot has a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Occidental College in Los Angeles.

As director of special initiatives at Voices for Illinois Children, Joan Vitale oversees the creation and support of Voices Leadership Committees — groups of civic leaders, community and business leaders, and concerned citizens who are passionate about improving children’s lives. Ms. Vitale previously directed the parent-education component of Voices’ nationally known Start Early: Learning Begins at Birth campaign, which provided young, at-risk parents with information about nurturing and stimulating the crucial brain development that occurs in a baby’s first years. The Start Early campaign used an award-winning original video and parenting magazine. Her work included providing training to more than 400 service organizations around the state in using the Start Early materials. Prior to joining Voices in 1997, Ms. Vitale was director of the Child & Parent Center at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, where she managed support programs for more than 300 families. She also participates on a variety of statewide and local boards. She and her husband, Phil, have three children — Andrew, Amy and Melissa — and three grandchildren.