Ron Manderschied - President

Ron Manderschied has been President of Northwestern University Settlement since 1981.  He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Settlement, Rowe Elementary School, and House In The Wood camp.  He co-founded Noble Street Charter School in 1998 and also served as President & CEO of the Noble Network of Charter Schools through 2008.  Under his leadership the Settlement’s budget has grown from $200,000 to $6.2 million, Project YES! has become one of Illinois’ largest and most successful AmeriCorps programs, facility space and attendance at House In The Wood has doubled in size, the national award-winning Adventure Stage Chicago was founded, and the Settlement’s charter grammar school, Rowe Elementary School, was launched. Before coming to the Settlement, Mr. Manderschied served as director of Pillsbury House, a neighborhood-based social service and fine arts agency in Minneapolis, from 1972-1981.  Manderschied received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Sociology from the University of Minnesota and has completed graduate studies in social work.  He currently serves on the board of the United Neighborhood Centers of America (UNCA), a national association of settlement houses and chairs UNCA Chicago.

Tom Arvetis - Producing Artistic Director Adventure Stage Chicago

Tom Arvetis has been with the Vittum Theater since 2000.  He is responsible for defining and pursuing the artistic and educational goals that the Vittum Theater uses to serve the Settlement community. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the theater, the implementation of all programming, including the Season for Young Audiences, which serves over 12,000 elementary and middle school students annually from Chicago, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, and the supervision of the theater staff.  Prior to taking this position, Arvetis served as the theater's Marketing Coordinator. As an arts educator, Mr. Arvetis has taught drama and playwriting to teens as part of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, and developed a summer theater workshop for teens at the Vittum Theater. Mr. Arvetis has performed, produced, co-directed and done sound design at a number of Chicago theater companies, and is an emeritus company member and classroom teacher with Barrel of Monkeys. He is a founding member of both the Chicago Family Theater Alliance and Chicago Artists Waging Peace, an artist collective that advocates for peace, justice and public awareness. Arvetis attained his B.S. in Theater Performance from Northwestern University in 1996.   He joined the board of The League of Chicago Theaters in 2007.

Susie Diaz - Executive Secretary

Susie Diaz began employment at the Settlement in October 1981.  She is Executive Secretary  to the President and serves as Clerk of the Board for Noble Network of Charter Schoos.  Her responsibilities include working in direct communication with the board of directors, central committee and auxiliary boards.  Ms. Diaz assumes responsibility for organizing and preparing monthly board meetingsfor the Settlement and the School, handling secretarial and administrative work, recording incoming contributions and contractpayments, maintaining and providing the scheduling of room reservations for the entire facility, and providing direct supervision of the Settlement receptionist.  Diaz attended Holy Trinity Grammar School and is a graduate of St. Columbkille Business School.

Antonio "Tony" Feliciano was born and raised in West Town community where he attended Peabody Elementary and Wells Community Academy High School.  Mr. Feliciano began working full-time at the Settlement in 1982 in the security and maintenance department.  In 1985, after graduating from Devry Institute of Technology, he accepted the position of Director of Facilities and Communications at the Settlement at which time he developed the Settlement's first computer network.  In 1988, under the Chicago School Reform Act, Feliciano was elected by the community-at-large to be the Community Representative for the Local School Council at Peabody Elementary, and served two terms in that capacity.  He was elected to the school council at Wells Community Academy in 1990.  Mr. Feliciano was promoted to Chief of Staff in July 2000 with the principal responsibilities of facility oversight, security programs, IT network development, and providing direct assistance to the president.  From 1999 through 2009 he also managed facilities development for the Noble Network of Charter Schools, overseeing the construction and rehab of six high school campuses.

Ana Martinez - Principal, Rowe Elementary School

Ana Martinez was born in El Salvador and raised in Los Angeles from the age of four.  Since July 2008 she has served as principal for the new Settlement Grammar School, set to open in August 2009, with primary responsibility for its development and success. Ms. Martinez taught elementary school for four years, during which she received her administrative credentials for California.  She left teaching in June of 2006 to work at Teach for America to further build her management and coaching skills. At TFA, one of her primary roles was facilitating the professional development of the 100-member teaching corps in Miami, Florida.  After this, she returned to California to serve as Director of Talent Recruitment for TFA.  Ms. Martinez has a bachelors degree in Political Science from UCLA and a Masters in Elementary Education from Loyola Marymount.

Belna Reyes - Director of Emergency Services

Belna Reyes has lived in Chicago since 1981. As Director of Emergency Services, Ms. Reyes coordinates the Settlement's food pantry, crisis counseling, emergency services, Christmas basket, and school scholarship programs. Prior to coming to the Settlement, Reyes spent seven years at Chicago Commons/Taylor House as a pre-school and after school teacher. She earned an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Development and began working at the Settlement in 1991 as Lead Teacher in the Head Start program. In this position Reyes gained a deeper understanding of the needs of Settlement families. She continued her studies, changing her major to Social Services, and accepted the position of Family Worker for Head Start in 1998. Ms. Reyes received her Bachelors Degree in Social Services in 2003 and became Director of Emergency Services in 2004.

Edison Ureña serves under contract as the Settlement's Business Director and has overseen all financial and human resources activities since 1995.  From 1999 through 2009 he also served as Business Director for the Noble Network of Charter Schools during which time he provided key financial leadership in the replication of six new high school campuses.  Prior to coming to the Settlement, Mr. Ureña worked at Latino Youth, Inc. in Chicago as comptroller/business manager/bookkeeper for six years.  Ureña received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago with a dual major in accounting and business and his Master's in Public and Non-Profit Administration from DePaul University in 2005.  Ureña has completed a certificate program at the University of Illinois in Non-Profit Management, is a member of the National Council of la Raza, and has been a member of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials since July 1999.  He is currently a board member of Erie Charter Elementary School and was a board member at Mujeres Latinas en Accion from July 1999 to June 2000.

Val Wright - Director House In The Wood Camp

Val Wright has been the camp director at House In The Wood since 1984. She is responsible for the year around operation of the camp and oversees all aspects of the operation including programs, facility and support services like food, health, and transportation. The programs include an eleven-week summer resident camp, Settlement and Noble School weekends and our rental groups. The camp facilities in Wisconsin include 23 acres and twenty buildings. She has been a member of the American Camping Association, Wisconsin Section since 1985, and a board member since 1999. She is on the advisory board for Camp America, an international camp staff recruitment agency. She has a BA degree from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio in elementary education with a concentration in outdoor environmental education.