Forest Preserve Foundation Board of Directors
OFFICERS
Theresa Salus, Chair, Program Innovation and Growth Director, Outward Bound USA
Ankur Udani, Treasurer, Director, PwC
Jeffrey Gray, Secretary, Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Dr. Michael Adkesson, President & CEO, Brookfield Zoo Chicago | Chicago Zoological Society
Adam Bianchi, General Superintendent, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Jennifer O’Neill, Senior Vice President/Team Lead
Government, NonProfit, Healthcare and Education Banking, Wintrust Bank
Anngie Richter, Senior Principal, Regional Sales Leader, Stantec
Stuart A. Cohn, Chair emeritus, Attorney, Law Offices of Stuart A. Cohn
Howard A. Learner, Vice Chair emeritus, President and Executive Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center
Tom Livingston, Director emeritus, Vice President, Government Affairs, CSX Transportation
Deborah Walker Johnson, Executive Director
President
Forest Preserve Foundation
Representing the Forest Preserve District
Michelle Uting, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Board news
MAY 2023: Board Visits River Trail Nature Center, Site of CCLC Youth Program Funding
JANUARY 2023: Forest Preserve Foundation 2022 Annual Report Celebrates Fun and Hard Work
JUNE 2022: Rana Lee Shares Memories of a "Bigger Backyard" & Why She Supports the Forest Preserve Foundation
JUNE 2022: Forest Preserve Foundation Awards $130,000 in Grants for Two Youth Conservation Corps Programs
FEBRUARY 2022: Forest Preserve Foundation 2021 Annual Report Offers Hope and Much to Celebrate
SEPTEMBER 2021: Claudette Grant, Rana Lee and Eric Rockhold named to Foundation Board of Directors
MARCH 2020: Debra Walker Johnson named President & Executive Director
NOVEMBER 2019: Theresa Salus and LeeAnn Tomas-Foster named to Foundation board of directors
MARCH 2019: Jim Beck and Stephen Friedman join Foundation board
MARCH 2018: Kerri Daniels, business development director, joins Foundation’s board
FEBRUARY 2017: Two Business leaders join Foundation's board
JULY 2016: Corporate leaders join the Foundation board
Theresa Salus, Board Chair
Theresa Salus is Program Innovation and Growth Director, Outward Bound USA. Theresa has served in a variety of capacities leading local teams, community partnership, brand events, and philanthropy.
After serving as a featured speaker at Foundation symposia for two years, Theresa joined the board in 2019. She served as vice chair for the last two years and is now honored to serve as board chair. “Supporting the mission of the Forest Preserve Foundation, specifically through board service, allows me to share expertise and connect resources in a more intentional way," Salus said.
Salus holds a master’s degree in recreation administration from Aurora University and a bachelor of science degree in environmental education from Slippery Rock University. Before joining REI, she worked for the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago and Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Theresa lives in Chicago with her wife and two sons. In her free time, she enjoys camping, kayaking, hiking, and exploring the outdoors with her family. “The Forest Preserves are the places we go as a family to capture our dose of nature as well as the places we gather to celebrate occasions.”