Meet ALSO
Staff Directory
David E.
Bustos,
Youth Organizer
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 11
David is the Youth Organizer for the Safety Net Works program in Logan Square. A graduate of UIC in 2005 with a degree in US History and Latin American/Latino Studies, David is a dedicated individual who has worked in the community for over ten years. His talents have allowed him to work as a Special Recreational Instructor with the Chicago Park District serving people with physical and intellectual disabilities as well as an EL/Civics instructor preparing legal permanent residents to become citizens on the Southwest side of Chicago.
David
Cassel, MBA,
Executive Director
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 15
David Cassel has been the executive director of the Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) since January of 2006. David received his M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his B.A. in Peace & Conflict Studies/Communications from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Before joining ALSO, David held management positions with the National Center for Violence Interruption, The Children’s Guild and the American Academy of Dermatology.
Alma
Cordova,
Administrative Assistant
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 10
Alma Cordova is the Administrative Assistant at ALSO since November 2010. Alma received her Administrative Secretary Certification from Morton College in 2007. She was born and raised in Mexico and moved to Chicago in October 2000. She loves working at ALSO because she feels that in some way she’s helping to end the domestic and community violence.
Lori
Crowder,
Senior Program Director
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 33
Lori Crowder has worked on both local and national initiatives to end violence against women for the past 15 years. Currently she works with the Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) in Chicago to prevent and intervene in community and family violence through training, technical assistance and community-building, both locally and nationally. Prior to her move to Chicago, Ms. Crowder provided national technical assistance on preventing and intervening in domestic violence and was the co-founder of the Safe Return Initiative for the Vera Institute of Justice. Ms. Crowder received her B.S. from the University of Texas at Arlington, and her M.S. from Columbia University’s School of Social Work and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work.
Britnee
Gillis,
Program Coordinator
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 25
Britnee is the Program Coordinator for ALSO's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) National Technical Assistance Project. She received her B.A. in Marketing Communications with a minor in Spanish from Purdue University. Post-graduation, she became Special Events Intern at the Chicago Red Cross. Armed with a new found respect for non-profit organizations, Britnee is enthusiastic about working at ALSO to put an end to violence in the community and violence against women.
Shawna
Hite,
Intern (communications and social media)
Phone: 773-235-5705
During the Spring of 2012, Shawna Hite is the social media intern for ALSO. She is a Junior at Lake Forest College and is completing a double major in Psychology and Communication. Shawna hopes to receive a Master's Degree in Public Health after she graduates from college in 2013. She values the opportunity ALSO presents working in the not-for-profit field and to serve the Logan Square and Humboldt Park communities.
Gerlado
Iglesias,
Outreach Worker
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 26
Geraldo was born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Logan Square community on Chicago’s Northwest Side. He has been a CeaseFire Outreach Worker since December of 2010. He is dedicated to the work of CeaseFire because he “does it for the kids, because I don’t want them to run into the same brick walls that I ran into.”
Marlo
Irizarry-Valadez,
Safety Net Works Program Coordinator
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 11
Marlo joined ALSO as the Safety Net Works Program Coordinator in Logan Square. Marlo is pursuing an undergraduate degree at DePaul University in Liberal Arts with a focus in Entrepreneurship. She looks forward to working with youth in the community to realize their success and future aspirations. Marlo is a resident of the Humboldt Park community where she lives with her husband and six year old daughter.
LaTanya
Lane,
Meeting Planner
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 31
LaTanya Lane is the Meeting Planner for ALSO’s STOP Technical Assistance to Administrators Resource (STAAR) Project. After graduating with a B.A. in English, she moved to Chicago to pursue an M.A. at Chicago Theological Seminary. Ms. Lane has committed much of her life working to empower vulnerable communities and fighting for social change. She is excited to continue her pursuit of justice at ALSO.
Jorge
Matos,
Program and Operations Manager
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 32
Jorge Matos has been an employee for the Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) since February 2006. Since joining ALSO, he has worked as an Outreach Worker and shortly thereafter was promoted to Supervisor for the CeaseFire Logan Square/Humboldt Park communities. Currently, Jorge is the Operations Coordinator and the Manager of the CeaseFire Program for ALSO. Jorge is currently attending Northeastern University to complete his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.
Jenna
Musselman-Palles, LCSW,
Program Director
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 18
Jenna is the Program Director of the STOP Technical Assistance to Administrators Resource (STAAR) Project, and works to meet the training and technical assistance needs of grantees of the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women STOP formula grant program. Jenna is a licensed clinical social worker who received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Master of Social Work degree from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Laura
Reyes,
Contracts Manager
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 24
Laura is the Fiscal Contracts Manager for ALSO’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative and Safety Networks Logan Square Program. She began her position in June 2011 and is excited in her continued journey with ALSO. She is currently enrolled at DePaul University pursuing her degree in accounting. Before joining ALSO, Laura worked with Erie Neighborhood House and Erie Elementary Charter School as their Finance Coordinator. With her employment at Erie, she was able to develop her career goals and skills that initiated her desire to continue pursuing her degree in accounting.
Melvin
Santiago,
CeaseFire Program Supervisor
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 26
Melvin grew up in the Humboldt Park, Wicker Park, and Logan Square communities. Since joining ALSO in 2007, Mr. Santiago has been trained in conflict resolution, mediation, and violence interruption. He has served both as a violence interrupter and an outreach worker. His transition from his past to his current work as a peace maker is an inspiration to many young people in the community looking to change their ways. As an ALSO staff person "I am dedicated to helping our youth change their behavior in the hopes that they will not have to experience the negative and damaging consequences those negative behaviors bring."
Susana
Stoll,
NRI Program Manager
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 19
Susana is ALSO’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (NRI) Program Manager. She graduated from DePaul University with a major in International Studies and a double minor in Art History and Spanish and received her Masters in Art History from the University of New Mexico, focusing on art in Latin America. Susana joined ALSO in June 2009 and is happy to continue her work in the non-profit sector. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and interested in culturally specific services.
Carlee
Taggart,
Program Coordinator
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 30
Carlee joined ALSO in May 2009 as an intern and began full-time after receiving her Bachelors Degree in American Studies from Lake Forest College in June 2010. Carlee is the Program Coordinator for ALSO’s national technical assistance programs, the STOP Technical Assistance to Administrators Resource (STAAR) Project and the Children Exposed to Violence Technical Assistance Project, which provide grantees of the United States Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women in all U.S. States and Territories with technical assistance to implement their federal funds. Carlee has also coordinated the ALSO Recovery TA Program and the Supervised Visitation TA Program. Prior to joining ALSO, Carlee conducted independent research on public education reform.
Silvia
Villeda,
Accounting Coordinator
Phone: 773-235-5705 ext. 13
Silvia has been the Accounting Coordinator at ALSO since 2007. She graduated from the Universidad Michoacán de San Nicolas de Hidalgo (UMSNH) in Mexico with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in July 2000. Before joining ALSO, Silvia worked as an Administrative Assistance at Pemex, a petroleum company in Mexico and as an Accountant for a travel agency for 6 years here in the United States.