Our Team
Family members currently fill five of eight occupied seats on the Board and serve on all grantmaking and management committees. While member participation is essential to our identity as a family foundation, our members value involving others whose expertise and knowledge support the achievement of Foundation goals. Three independent (non-family) trustees currently serve on our board and a number of non-family members participate on our grantmaking committees.
Our staff works from Mattoon and Chicago, IL to facilitate the work of the Lumpkin Family Foundation and support the philanthropic engagement of its members.
Adrienne Cole
Assistant Treasurer
About Adrienne:
Adrienne Cole serves as the Assistant Treasurer at the Lumpkin Family Foundation, where she provides essential financial services and coordinates back-office processes with SKL Investment Group, LLC. She hails from Iuka, Illinois and is a proud graduate of Salem High School. She earned her BA in Accounting from Murray State University in 2001, establishing a strong foundation for her career.
Adrienne is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and has been a key member of SKL since 2006, where she now serves as Head of Family Office. Prior to SKL, she honed her skills at Doehring, Winders & Co., LLP, a local Mattoon accounting firm where she worked from 2001 to 2006. With her extensive experience and dedication, Adrienne plays a vital role in ensuring the financial integrity and efficiency of the Lumpkin Family Foundation.
Richard Dewyngaert
Treasurer
About Richard:
Richard is a small-business owner and artist in Philadelphia. A graduate of Georgetown University, he has a background in fine art and business; he has served as a collector, appraiser, and Senior Vice President & Director of Fine Arts at Freeman’s Auction House. He is currently owner of Head House Books, an independent bookstore central to Philadelphia’s literary life, and has served as a trustee and officer on various Philadelphia-based nonprofit and school Boards. He believes “strongly in the foundational importance of vital, connected communities and the umbilical role we play in their future prosperity and resilience, or their shuttered decay and blight”. He is grateful and proud to serve the Lumpkin Family Foundation in any capacity needed.
Christina Duncan
Secretary
About Christina:
Christina is a longtime Board Member and past President of the Foundation. She is grateful for the learning opportunities her involvement with the Foundation has given her and that a prompt from her uncle, Dick Lumpkin, set her on a path of volunteering and community involvement. Christina has long been interested in environmental and sustainability issues. She volunteers with local organizations working on land preservation, watershed protection, native plants for pollinators, reduced pesticide use, waste reduction, recycling and getting food scraps out of the trash and composted. She lives in Connecticut and enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, walking the wooded trails near her home, and baking pies.
Ila Duncan
President
About Ila:
Ila is excited to be the first “next gen” president of the Lumpkin Family Foundation after more than 10 years of committee and board participation.
Ila developed a broader understanding of philanthropy working with Resource Generation to organize fellow young people with wealth and class privilege to redistribute land, wealth, and power in partnership with social justice movement work. Now based in Connecticut, Ila works with Support Organizing Work CT, a project of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, and serves on the boards of the Connecticut Mirror and the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders Network.
Outside of philanthropic work, Ila keeps a creative practice with crochet, writing, and comic art.
Christina Krost
Program Officer
christina@lumpkinfoundation.org
217-234-2076
About Christina:
Christina is a dedicated leader with a passion for fostering healthier and more equitable communities in rural Illinois, emphasizing sustainability and environmental justice. As the former Illinois Policy Senior Coordinator for Faith in Place, she worked collaboratively with Houses of Worship and stakeholders on initiatives such as anti-racism, energy efficiency, and climate justice.
Her academic background includes a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from Marygrove College and a Bachelor’s in English/Elementary Education from Albion College. Christina is deeply involved in leadership roles within the IL Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Mattoon, IL.
Monique B. Schlichtman
Senior Program Officer, Chicago
monique@lumpkinfoundation.org
773-420-7047
About Monique:
Monique Bobb Schlichtman has had an extensive career in the public and nonprofit sectors. She’s worked for large social service agencies, city government, higher education, and various nonprofit organizations throughout New York City, Southern California, and Chicago. She most recently served as the Executive Director of a Chicago nonprofit organization that provided mental health supportive services to women and families. Prior to that role, Monique worked as an independent consultant, helping organizations to build internal capacity, develop efficient systems, and deliver impactful programming. Monique has significant experience in program design and evaluation, budgeting, management, and strategic planning.
Monique is currently in the process of completing her doctoral studies in Public Administration with a concentration in public and nonprofit management within the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Brown University in Rhode Island and received her master’s degree in Public Administration as a National Urban Fellow from Bernard M. Baruch College in New York City.
Outside of professional and educational pursuits, Monique spends her time raising two amazing girls, traveling around the world, and connecting with family and friends. As a native New Yorker, Monique often finds time to return home to consume real pizza.
Lindy Wheatley
Grants & Operations Manager
lindy@lumpkinfoundation.org
217-234-2095
About Lindy:
Lindy is a 4th generation East Central Illinois native. Before joining the Foundation, she owned and operated a diversified farm-based business in Effingham, IL while also advocating locally and regionally for small farmers and sustainable farming practices. Educated at Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a degree in communications, Lindy has a wide range of work experience from office management to mass communications and media production to small engine maintenance and repair.
Katherine Keon
Trustee
About Katherine:
Katherine lives in the Bay Area of California. She is a mother of two and is a psychotherapist in private practice working with individuals and couples. Katherine has been involved in foundation work for over thirty years. When not working, Katherine can be found mountain biking or playing her harp.
Amarilis Pullen
Trustee
About Amarilis:
Amarilis Pullen is a seasoned leader with over two decades of experience in social work, nonprofit, and philanthropy. Currently, she is the Founder and Principal of Raíces Coaching and Consulting a practice that centers and supports Black, Brown, Indigenous, Latinx, and People of Color towards purpose, wholeness, and thriving as leaders. In her previous role as Program Officer at the Perrin Family Foundation, Pullen spearheaded grant-making and capacity-building initiatives, cultivated skills in funder organizing, and championed youth-led social justice. Before her philanthropic work, she led and successfully managed youth programs focused on leadership development, college access, visual arts, and social-emotional wellness. Pullen earned a B.A. in English from Temple University and a Master of Social Work from Columbia University.
Steve Shirar
Trustee
About Steve:
Steve Shirar is a retired former executive officer of Consolidated Communications, Inc. (CCI), where he held a variety of senior executive positions in his 23 years of service.
Steve was raised in Edgar County, Illinois, and graduated from Paris High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (1980) and a Master of Business administration in marketing from Indiana University (1989).
Steve and his wife, Kim, have lived in St. Louis, Missouri since 1996, where they raised four children. In addition to his role as a trustee with the Lumpkin Family Foundation, Steve serves on the Board of Trustees of the Missouri United Methodist Foundation; and sits on the Finance & Facilities Committee of the Ladue (MO) School Board.
Since moving to St. Louis, Steve has volunteered in a broad array of community causes including Habitat for Humanity, Kingdom House, Missouri Venture Advisors, the Highland (IL) Entrepreneurship program, and the Skandalaris Entrepreneurship program at Washington University in St. Louis.
Chigozirim Sodeke
Trustee
About Chigozirim:
Chigozirim is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Journalism at Eastern Illinois University. She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies with a concentration in Public Relations and Advertising, an M.A. in Communication Studies with a concentration in organizational and health communication, and a Ph.D. in Communication Studies with a concentration in organizational communication. Her research centers on the organizational potential of dialogue as a means of navigating difference, and marginal organizing and entrepreneurship in the Global South. She is also passionate about helping her students gain the critical thinking skills they need to be self-directed, life-long learners.
In her spare time, Chigozirim writes, plays piano, grows vegetables, antiques, fails at making sublime Nigerian food like her mother and grandmother, and forces her husband and two small children to listen to her spontaneous afrobeat remixes of random songs.
Will Vitale
Trustee
About Will:
Will Vitale is a 6th generation family member and has been an active participant in the Foundation’s work through the Land, Health, Community committee for several years. Will lives in the Pacific Northwest in Washington where he works as a mental health counselor for youth, families, and young adults. Will holds a BA in Psychology from Bard College, a MEd in Education and Neuroscience from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an MA in Child/Adolescent Mental Health from the University of Washington. Will is passionate about working with young people of all ages and helping educators and youth workers implement finds from psychology and neuroscience to enhance education and recreation programs. Will is also a rock climber, runner, chess player, and rugby player.
Heidi Dusek
Executive Director
heidi@lumpkinfoundation.org
217-235-9475
About Heidi:
Heidi Dusek has spent more than 20 years leading cross-sector efforts at the intersection of community development, philanthropy, and systems change. Her background spans grantmaking foundations, research and evaluation, public health, and K–12 education—offering a broad perspective on how lasting change takes root across diverse communities. She specializes in aligning vision with action, helping organizations bring bold ideas to life through thoughtful strategy, operational discipline, and collaborative leadership.
Prior to her intentional pause and consulting work, Heidi served as Executive Director of the J.J. Keller Foundation, a family foundation in Wisconsin, where she led strategic refresh efforts, strengthened the focus on social innovation and capacity building, and evolved collaborative funding models. She brought greater intentionality to the Foundation’s portfolio and infrastructure, while cultivating partnerships across public, private, and nonprofit sectors to advance community-driven solutions.
Widely regarded as a creative problem solver and “uncertainty expert,” Heidi is known for bringing clarity to complexity. She helps leaders navigate ambiguity, embrace mindset shifts, and build the practical pathways needed to implement transformational, equity-centered change. In her upcoming book Audacious Pause, she shares the lessons of her 18-month intentional break to travel North America with her husband, dog, and three kids. She also hosts the podcast Ordinary Sherpa, where she inspires families to connect through simple, authentic adventure experiences that foster deeper connection and intentional living.
