Dr. Andrea Bacon is a child psychiatrist in private practice. She is also the medical director for Metropolitan Family Services. Andrea attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville and completed residencies at both Ohio State University and Northwestern University. She is board certified in psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. Andrea lives in downtown Chicago, and is a member of Chicago Tabernacle church.

Andrea first came to New Moms as a volunteer, and she enjoyed spending time with the mothers and their children. She immediately felt a connection with the mothers, since most of her work involves underserved populations. When Andrea heard that New Moms' board was looking for a psychiatrist to join them, she knew it would be a good fit. She felt this would be a great way to exercise her training, gifts, and faith.

Andrea is the current chairperson of the New Moms board and is thrilled to be involved with New Moms at this time. Exciting new opportunities are developing for New Moms to expand its ministry, and her goal is to position the board to help New Moms take advantage of every opportunity it has to accomplish its mission and vision.

Lynell Oyen is an account executive at MDC Wallcoverings, with a background that includes advertising, real estate, education, and interior design.

Lynell received her diploma from Trinity College, and spent time at the Harrington Institute of Interior Design. She has also served on the board of the Network of Executive Women in Hospitality.

Even before becoming a board member at New Moms, Lynell has been dedicated to serving those less fortunate than herself. She has worked with Friends, taking kids from the Cabrini-Green area on field trips, and Santa Claus Anonymous, providing Christmas parties and outfitting Cabrini-Green children with much-needed winter clothing.

Lynell began serving New Moms by doing various volunteer jobs, including decorating for the New Moms Christmas party each year. After volunteering at New Moms, Lynell noticed a need: with moms and children moving around so often, decorating can be difficult, so homes do not feel permanent. With the help of several area interior designers, Lynell began the "Designing on a Dime" program, teaching moms how to make spaces feel like home, with projects including quilts, pillows and pictures.

For many years a single mother herself, Lynell dedicated her energy to her son Blake, who is now grown. She now wants to channel that dedication toward others in the same position, and New Moms is the best place for her to do that.

Karen Allen is a Realtor with Baird & Warner. Recently she earned the Accredited Staging Professional Realtor designation. She is a graduate of the Baird Warner Career Institute and specializes in excellent client service. Karen has been honored with the President's Club Award from the Illinois Quad Cities Realtor Association and the Mel Foster Co. While working for Younkers, she broke a 20 year record for one day sales.

In the past Karen served on the boards of The Jr. Board of the Quad City Symphony, Christian Women's Club Board and many others. She is founder and past president of GoMinistries QCUSA, and currently serves as CEO of Contemporary Initiatives.

In addition to serving on the New Moms Board of Directors, Karen is a member of Elim Evangelical Free Church in Oak Lawn where her husband is pastor.

Hector Tellez is an administrator in the Community Health & Prevention department at the Illinois Department of Human Services. He lives in Chicago, and currently serves as treasurer of the New Moms board.

Randy Johnson is a founder of Harbor Solutions and Services, an entity designed to equip, encourage and enable individual, organizational and public policy initiatives that result in holistic living.

Prior to forming Harbor Solutions and Services, he served Motorola as Director of Human Resources Strategic Initiatives with responsibility for representing Motorola on human resources matters such as health care, retirement programs, Social Security and Medicare reform, education, compensation and stock programs, flexible workforce and immigration.

He has served as a member of the American Benefits Council (ABC) Board of Directors, Retirement Policy Committee, of which he has served as the Chairperson, and Health Care Policy Committee. He currently serves the Council as Senior Advisor.

He served as the AQA Reporting Group Co-Chairperson. He has served on the Business Roundtable Health and Retirement Coordinating Committee and the Education and Workforce Coordinating Committee as well as the Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project Leadership Team. He has served as Vice Chairman of the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) Board of Directors and a member of the ERIC Retirement Committee and Health Policy Committee, of which he served as the Chairperson. He currently serves on the eHealth Initiative Employer and Purchaser Advisory Board.

He has served on the WorldatWork Board of Directors and has been awarded its Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves as an instructor in WorldatWork health care and retirement seminars, and has been honored as a "WorldatWork Lifetime Member".

He currently serves on the Board, and has served as Board of Directors' Chairperson, of New Moms, a Chicago-based ministry providing services for homeless and teenage new mothers and their families. He serves as an Advisory Board Member for Scandia Village, a retirement complex serving senior citizens at multiple levels of needs.

In February 2005 he was appointed by the U.S. Comptroller General to Chair the Citizens' Health Care Working Group, which was required by the Medicare Modernization Act to conduct hearings and make recommendations, to the President and Congress, on potential solutions to the U.S. health care crisis. .

Prior to 2001, he served as Motorola Director of North America Rewards, with responsibility for retirement, health care and insurance benefits planning, development and marketing of Motorola benefits programs in the United States and Canada. He has been a leader in the installation of Motorola's Health Advantage Program, the "stigma-free" Mental Health/Chemical Dependency Program, Centers of Distinction, and Healthy Quality of Life Programs--custom-designed programs and networks designed based on input from Motorola's employee and provider community

He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.

Regan Rohde Friedman has been in the professional entertainment world since the age of 5.

She received some of her education from Oberlin, the University of Michigan, Columbia, and Second City.

A professional classical dancer with Stuttgart and Cleveland Ballet in her youth, Regan has been a working actress for the past 30 years, representing many fortune 500 companies.

She sits on the board of Screen Actors Guild, New Moms and smaller civic boards, and also teaches a business course at Act One for new actors.

Regan has a great passion for the New Moms cause, and has produced, directed and edited a short documentary for them.

Ramiro Medrano serves on the staff of Willow Creek Community Church's Extension Ministries as a Partnership Mobilization Associate. His ministry focuses on three issues at the moment: Education, Incarceration and Vulnerable People. Ramiro has served in this capacity since April of 2007. Prior to this, Mr. Medrano served with the Urban and Multicultural Ministry of Young Life, as both a volunteer and staff throughout various cities in the United States, including Chicago, San Antonio, Atlanta, El Paso and Los Angeles. He is married to Joy Trigueros-Medrano and they have a daughter, Isabel Allegria Medrano.

Mr. Ross is the Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for Creative Printing Services, Inc., the largest African American owned and operated full service commercial printing company in the United States.

He has advised clients in several industries on business development, M&A, and supplier diversity strategies. He is a constant advocate for Minority Supplier Development and also owns Hospitality Solutions Corporation (MBE) in Florida.

Mr. Ross is a native of Boston, Massachusetts and graduate of Williams College. He has completed Executive Management Programs at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan. He has over 25 years of domestic and international sales, marketing and distribution experience with companies like Scott Paper, Central National Gottesman, LP Thebault, and Cristina Foods

Mr. Ross is married to his lovely wife Kristin. He is a Deacon at Park Community Church and is also very active in sports.

He volunteers in the Chicago Public School System at the De La Cruz Math and Science Academy. He is the President of the Williams College Chicago Alumni Association. He also serves on the Boards of New Moms Inc. , Alumni for Chicago Public Schools and the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance (MFHA)

Sheldon Ross serves others for the glory of God.

Lerone Sidberry is the Senior Vice President and Practice Leader of Lockton Companies. He lives in Chicago.

Ellen Kogstad Thompson founded New Moms, Inc. in 1983, after three years of working with single teenage mothers. She had noticed the rising epidemic of "kids having kids," and felt compelled to help, beginning a grass-roots effort to serve the moms in any way she could.

Ellen began by visiting teen moms at the hospital soon after they delivered their babies, giving them someone to talk to who respected them. Ellen expanded her ministry by creating "drop in" groups from her apartment and visiting the homes of consenting moms, who became New Moms' first participants.

In addition to serving on the New Moms board, Ellen now works as a Spiritual Director, and serves as an adjunct professor at North Park University. She lives in Glenview with her husband and son.