2024 Annual Conference Speakers

Lindsay has been working with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in the Nutrition Department for 18 years.  Lindsay attended Illinois State University where she earned her Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics.  Then she went on to complete her Dietetic Internship at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.  During her time at ISBE, she has worked in a wide variety of subject areas related to the administration of the school nutrition programs. Most recently she has transitioned to the role of Farm to School Administrator and has been able to focus her time on local procurement, sourcing local foods and the administration of the Local Foods for Schools (LFS) Cooperative Agreement.

Diane Chapeta is the Manager of the Illinois Farm to School Network at Seven Generations Ahead. Her career in food service spanned thirty-two years. She committed the last fifteen to school nutrition, working in Wisconsin school districts. Diane developed successful and prosperous farm to school programs building relationships with Wisconsin farmers and processors. She assisted over sixty school districts working to create sustainable farm to school programs. Later, Diane acted as the first Operations Manager for the newly created Fifth Season Cooperative, in Viroqua, WI. She built the six-member class co-op from the ground up, aggregating products from twenty-eight individual farms, three farm co-ops (totaling two-hundred farms), two mainline distributors and thirteen processor members. She now works at Seven Generations Ahead managing the network and assisting schools, early care and farmers with local procurement and farm to school programming. She lives, and is an active artist, in Madison WI. 

Connie Crawley is the Food Service Director for Lincoln Elementary School District 27 in Lincoln, Il. She holds a bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Illinois State University. She and her staff prepare and serve made from scratch meals for the 5 schools that make up the district along with four out of district K-8 buildings, totaling 1800 students. She holds the responsibilities of many FSD: creating the menu, ordering and managing staff to name a few.  With the initiative Lincoln 27 & Beyond, the school district has transitioned their breakfast/lunch program by preparing meals made from scratch.  She does not limit her menu to USDA standardized recipes.  Based on what the students want, she creates new recipes that follow the USDA & ISBE nutritional guidelines.  Connie has gone the extra step in creating working relationships with local farmers to purchase ingredients for menu items.

Leah Erke has been with the ABCs of School Nutrition for 8 years. She has over 30 years of experience in food service management. She was the department chair of the hospitality management program at John Wood Community College from 2007-2016 where she taught courses in food safety, restaurant management and professional cooking. She was also the director of food and nutrition at Hannibal Regional Hospital for 8 years prior to her time as a college instructor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Restaurant Management from the University of Illinois and an associate degree in Dietetics from St. Louis Community College.

Leia Flure is a registered dietitian and has worked with the ABCs of School Nutrition program since 2017. She completed both her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master of Nutritional Sciences degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In her role, Leia combines 15 years of nutrition education experience and flair for design and technology to create training materials, build online courses and manage the program’s communication outlets. Previously, Leia has worked as a University of Illinois Extension nutrition educator, agricultural communications instructor at the University of Illinois and as an outpatient cancer dietitian. She is a past winner of Central Illinois Business Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” award and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Anita Owen Award of Recognition for Innovative Nutrition Education. 

Meryl Fury is a registered nurse and President/CEO of Plant Based Nutrition Movement (PBNM), a 501c3 non-profit based in the Chicago area. As a Masters Prepared public health nurse with a deep-rooted passion for promoting health among vulnerable populations, Meryl has dedicated her life to transforming the way people perceive and approach their dietary choices. In 2021, she founded the 6 Million Seeds Child Nutrition Project, a national grassroots initiative to transform the way we feed our children with the goal of protecting their health well into adulthood, elevate compassion and protect the planet. Meryl is a Food For Life instructor, a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and is on the medical advisory board of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. Meryl leads webinars, discussion groups and provides community education for people of all ages.

Stas was born into foodservice. He was on the family restaurant’s payroll at just 7 years old. After receiving his degree from Ohio State, Stas returned to the family restaurants and quickly quadrupled the business. After serving as president of the local NRA chapter, he started his 17 year distribution career touching almost all aspects of the business. For the last 10 years, Stas has been president of Advanced Purchasing representing, bidding, training and consulting for child nutrition programs.

Mike Gogerty is part of the two-person team that monitors Child Nutrition Programs Resource Management reviews throughout the state, as well as assists in Procurement reviews. Mike is one of the original members to start Resource Management reviews in the State of Illinois.

Kevin has been involved in school food service for 35 years. Over those years, he has managed different accounts ranging from less than 400 students to being a District Manager of 12 separate school districts.  Kevin has also been very involved in the school food service industry. He is a member of his purchasing cooperative’s board, a past president of ILSNA, and is currently serving as ILSNA secretary/treasurer.

Harley Hepner is an ISBE Nutrition Field Monitor in the northwestern part of the state who conducts Child Nutrition Program Administrative Reviews and monitoring visits as well as procurement reviews. 

Yvonne Jablonski has been a Field-Based Program Compliance Monitor with the Illinois State Board of Education since 2021.  Yvonne holds a Business Degree from Benedictine University, a Masters in Teaching from Aurora University, and a Masters in Educational Leadership from University of St. Francis.  She is enthusiastic about nutrition and providing education about the National School Lunch Program to help support districts in understanding the requirements and being successful in running their programs. 

Dr. Jacoby has been an educational leader for over 40 years. 16 years as a school business official, 4 as superintendent and 18 as the leader of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials. He also serves as the current Executive Director of ILSNA. 

Josephine Lauer is a Food Service Consultant and Program Manager at Beyond Green Partners (BGP) and the Sustainable Food Institute of America (SFIA). With 20 years at BGP, she has focused on transitioning cafeterias to scratch cooking with fresh, local ingredients and has provided training to public schools, hospitals and institutions nationwide. Before consulting, she held management roles at Spago, Starwood (W Hotels) and Park Hyatt. Josephine holds a BA in Government from Dartmouth College and an AAS in Culinary Arts and Patisserie & Baking from The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. She lives in Chicago with her three sons.

Jeanine Lopez is a dedicated and passionate individual with a strong background in School Nutrition, Procurement and Customer Success. With over 25 years of experience in kitchen operations and 15 years in the School Nutrition segment, Jeanine has successfully managed various projects in these areas, demonstrating her organizational and leadership skills. She is committed to delivering high-quality results and excels in dynamic, fast-paced work environments. Jeanine is also known for her excellent interpersonal abilities and her proactive approach to problem-solving. Her strong work ethic and positive attitude make her a valuable team member in any professional setting.

Michael Marsh is a Midwest native with over three decades of experience in foodservice. He is always dedicated to the art of cooking, the unique systems that make it successful and how those apply in other operations. He has also extended his influence beyond the kitchen, leveraging his knowledge to provide consulting services and culinary support to various foodservice operations and equipment manufacturers within the industry. Michael has been a part of the IRINOX team for the past five and a half years as a Regional Director of Sales and Chef. At IRINOX, the core of what he does is help foodservice operations find the best solution to their problems. 

Kara Rissmann is the Assistant Director of Food & Nutrition Services for Arlington Heights School District 25, which is located about 15 miles outside of Chicago. The district serves approximately 5,600 students in kindergarten through 8th grade. Kara holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Illinois State University and a Culinary Certificate from Le Cordon Bleu. She is a proud mom to 3 daughters and brings 13 years of restaurant industry experience to her role. Kara is a 2024 Graduate of Produce Safety University and a Certified ServSafe instructor and proctor.

Michelle Saletan is the Institutional Support Specialist at Balanced, where she brings a wealth of experience in school nutrition. She is passionate about fostering health and wellness in children's lives and advocates for inclusive, collaborative strategies prioritizing nutrition security and public health advocacy. Michelle works closely with schools to introduce and expand plant-based meal options on their menus. Her collaborative efforts with school administrators, nutritionists and food service providers have led to successful partnerships with numerous educational institutions, resulting in a significant increase in the availability and popularity of plant-based meals in school cafeterias.

Tanya Sieber grew up in the Southern US and completed her college education at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. She is also a graduate of the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin and has worked in many segments of the food service industry over the last 25 years, from flagship hotels to college dining programs. She has worked for Burlis Lawson as the K12 Market Specialist since 2017. Throughout her education and career, she has studied how people are motivated – what makes them tick – what makes communication successful. She has found the DISC system to be the simplest and most powerful tool for building strong relationships and teams. 

Janna Simon, MPH, is the Director of the Center for Policy & Partnership Initiatives at the Illinois Public Health Institute.  Her work focuses primarily on policy, systems, and environmental changes for chronic disease prevention, improving nutrition and physical activity opportunities across the lifespan. She leads the Illinois Alliance to Promote Opportunities for Health (IAPOH), a statewide coalition focused on identifying urgent chronic health needs in Illinois and advocating for policy and systems changes to address them. She was a Senior Policy Analyst at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group from 2008-2013 and adjunct lecturer at the UIC School of Public Health from 2013-2018.

Jessica Smith has been a Field-Based Program Compliance Monitor with the Illinois State Board of Education since 2015. A Chicago native, Jessica holds a degree in Nutrition from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) and a Master's in Public Health. She is passionate about attending nutrition conferences and delivering technical assistance presentations to support schools in achieving compliance and success in school nutrition programs.

Beth Tanner is a registered dietitian who has worked in the Illinois State Board of Education’s Nutrition Department for six years focusing on the School Nutrition Program meal pattern requirements, menu planning and local wellness policies.

Katie Treece is the Assistant Director of Nutrition Services at Valley View School District serving the Bolingbrook and Romeoville communities. Katie is a proud University of North Carolina graduate, where she studied public health nutrition and found her niché in school nutrition. She’s a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and a School Nutrition Specialist. She has worked in school nutrition for five years and is passionate about improving the current and future health of students through school meals.

Sandy Voss is the Director of Food & Nutrition Services for Arlington Heights School District 25. The district serves approximately 5600 students in Kindergarten through 8th grades.  Sandy has 18 years of experience as a Food & Nutrition Service Director and is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Sandy also holds her School Nutrition Specialist credential and most recently completed schooling for her certification as a School Business Official. Sandy has had the pleasure of serving in multiple volunteer positions with the IL School Nutrition Association as well as being a trainer for the Institute of Child Nutrition in the past.

 Paula Williams has been administering the Food Distribution Program at the Illinois State Board of Education for eight years. Prior to that, Paula worked with the Nutrition Programs monitoring team and with the Child and Adult Care Food Program.  

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a true pioneer in leadership development and emotional intelligence, Joe Pettit. With over two decades of hands-on leadership experience, Joe has not only authored the impactful book 'Seeds to Success,' which has sold thousands of copies, but he has also personally impacted the lives of over 10,000 leaders in the past four years. His unique approach is grounded in real-world application, and his sessions are renowned for their activity-based, tangible takeaways. Today, Joe will inspire us with his insights and empower us to become better leaders in our own right.