Candidate information - 2020 Phoenix Illini Board of Directors election
Candidates for President and Board Member (Alphabetical Order):
Michelle Bergman - Candidate For President and Member, Board of Directors
I am a proud 1995 graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with a B.A. from LAS - History. While attending UIUC I was an active member in Phi Mu Sorority, a student worker in the UI Foundation and LAS offices as well as waited tables at several location bars and restaurants to pay for my college education.
As a local alum in the Champaign area I served as the Phi Mu House Corporation President, a member of the Champaign County United Way and board member for their annual funding drive, a member and social event organizer of Champaign West Rotary, a fund raiser for the Champaign County Heart Association, YMCA and Provena Hospital.
I joined the Phoenix Illini Club in 2019 when I relocated from South Carolina to Arizona. I attended several game watch days last fall and enjoyed the time spent with local UI alumni.
As a Board member my goals are to increase club membership, host diverse events at different locations to improve networking, connections, friendships and the Illini Spirit throughout the greater Phoenix area.
Charles (Chuck) Patti - Candidate For President and Member, Board of Directors
I have three degrees from the University of Illinois (B.A., M.S., and Ph.D.) and I’ve been a Phoenix Illini member for several years and I’ve helped the Illinois Development Office with various activities in the Denver area. I’m Emeritus from two universities—Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia) and the University of Denver where I was the Interim Dean of the College of Business.
While I’ve had limited involvement in the Phoenix Illini group, I have a lot of experience in organizing alumni groups, speaking with them, recruitment, fund-raising, etc.
I believe alumni groups are vital to the success of every university and they are a great way to extend the loyalty to the university. While most alumni groups tend to rely on sports events to bring people together, my vision is to get to know the alumni more deeply in order to create activities that will serve them more broadly. I lead a consulting business in the customer experience area, but I’m available, experienced, and willing to help Phoenix Illini in any way I can.
Candidates for Board Member (Alphabetical Order):
Lindsey Barnard - Candidate For Member, Board of Directors
I am a 2004 graduate from the UIUC College of Education. I have been living in the Phoenix area since 2006 and have loved being a part of our Phoenix Illini Club. Meeting other members and fellow Illini fans through some really amazing events has been so much fun and provided both my son and I some unforgettable memories.
I hope our club can continue to expand our membership and bring fellow alumni and fans together for a variety of fun events and activities. There are a lot U of I alumni that move to the valley area and I’d love to be able to help get more involved in our club. I think we have a lot to look forward to with our athletics program and I can’t wait to hear our club’s loud Illini cheers in the near future.
Jared Bosch - Candidate For Member, Board of Directors - Incumbent
I am a 2010 graduate of the University of Illinois in Mechanical Engineering as well as a member of the football team during my time in Champaign. I have been actively involved in the Phoenix Illini group since moving to Arizona in 2011 assisting with club activities and trying to help grow the club. I thoroughly enjoy all of the club events and networking with fellow alumni, and would love to see us continue to expand, by having an open, welcoming environment and attracting alumni of all ages.
I think we are doing the right things to accomplish this, but can always get better with new event types, diverse event locations around the valley, and continuing to recruit new members and show them an Illini home in the desert!
Mike England- Candidate for Member, Board of Directors
1969 BS in Agriculture (now Aces). Was editor of the College of Ag Weekly newspaper. Very active in Ag clubs including many officer positions.
I’d like to see the club continue with game watching gatherings, as Covid safety allows and have activities that highlight what our members are doing in their lives that may have been initiated from their Illinois campus experience.
As a board member I’d like to help getting these activities done.
Teresa Ives - Candidate for Member, Board of Directors
Masters degree in Educational Administration from ASU. Substitute teacher for over 25 years. Two children grown and gone.
Phoenix Illini club member for 20 years, also serve as the Illinois representative on the big 10 golf board.
My vision for the club is to increase membership and get our many alumni across the valley involved with a variety of sporting, cultural & community activities.
Corinn Klues - Candidate for Member, Board of Directors
My name is Cori Klues and I would love to be a member of the Phoenix Illini Board. I am a 2006 graduate of the College of Education.
I have been an active part of the club since 2008, and have seen many exciting changes through the past decade of events. My favorite club events are the Cubs Spring Training games and the trips we have taken to Tucson and Las Vegas to watch the basketball team.
In the future for the club, I would love to see more social events (like BBQs, Happy Hours, or a Big10 event such as Bar Golf) and a permanent home, such as El Hefe, for football game watches or Half Moon Windy City for basketball game watches. I believe the future of the club is in getting and retaining young members with fresh ideas and would love to be a part of recruiting the next generation of Phoenix Illini alumni.
John Simon - Candidate for Member, Board of Directors- Incumbent
I have served as Treasurer of the Club for six years and would like to continue for another term in that capacity. I have two degrees from the U of I - BA in Education and a Masters in Education.
I pledged to keep our club financially stable (as we are currently) following acceptable accounting principles. I have been in not-for-profit management for a number of years with a strong background in accounting and financial management.
We continue to have a nucleus of younger and older alumni and I would like to see that number increase. In addition to the numerous sports events and outings, I would like to see our group expand it's base adding some social and cultural events as well.