Common Threads staffers come from varying backgrounds, but share a concern for children, a commitment to positive social change, and a love of good food and the communities food can create and sustain.
Mimi Chacin
Brooke Glass
Eleanor Leichenko
Allison Liefer
Linda Novick O'Keefe
Linnzie Pandel
Jillayne Samatas
Sarah Stephens
Courtney Treutelaar
Mary Ann Weprin
Jillayne has a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona with a minor in Spanish, and has her Masters in Child Development from Erikson Institute in Chicago. Before joining the Common Threads team, Jillayne taught children in various academic settings in Arizona and Chicago including after-school programs, pre-schools and elementary schools. She also completed a year-long internship at Children’s Memorial Hospital where she coordinated the education of their patients. As Common Threads’ Education and Outreach Manager, Jillayne builds partnerships with Chicago schools and other non-profit organizations, trains the chef instructors on the curriculum and teaching techniques to conduct successful classes and continues to develop the curriculum lesson plans used in the after-school classes. Another part of her role is to evaluate all aspects of the program and continue parent outreach initiatives in the various low-income communities served by the organization. Her hope is to see the organization grow by going deeper in the neediest communities where work is being done to encourage one child, one family, one school and one community at a time to lead healthy lives.