Laura Kinter serves as the Executive Director of Awakenings. She holds a B.A. in Film and English from Vassar College and moved to Chicago from Philadelphia. Her passion for education through storytelling, grassroots community building, and the arts has helped Laura guide Awakenings through exponential growth over the last several years.

Laura is active in the Ravenswood community as both a business leader and a resident, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce. Laura has gone through 40 hour sexual assault crisis intervention training.

Jeri began at Awakenings as a volunteer and has gone through the 40hour sexual assault crisis intervention certification.

She comes from nonprofit and commercial organizations on the administration and production end of theatre and writing. She studied Theater, English, and Spanish at Hope College and holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. Her book You Are Not Lost is published with Finishing Line Press. She has two monsters, deemed to be cats, and an affinity for people, coffee, and motorcycles.

Wes is a textile artist and printmaker with a professional background in community-based art spaces and an interest in mutual aid organizing. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Wes earned his BA in interdisciplinary art from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA before coming to Chicago in 2020. When not working or making art, Wes likes cooking for his friends and riding his bike around the city. Wes has completed a 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training.

Annalise is a visual artist working in painting, ceramics, fibers, and mixed media to explore expressive modalities of storytelling. She creates text-based artwork, vessels, and assemblages that explore themes of memory, lived experience, disclosure, gaze, protection, caretaking, holding, and containment.

Annalise is passionate about the creative process, mental health and wellness, regulatory art practices, and advocacy. She currently works as an Art and Trauma Therapist in Chicago, IL. Annalise has experience from a variety of art-based, advocacy, and clinical sites including community-based art groups, group art therapy, individual counseling, and art-based curriculum development. In addition to art and counseling services, Annalise is also passionate about community event planning to promote awareness on social issues and is involved with training other professionals and the public on issues pertaining to sexual violence, suicidality, harm reduction, and art-based intervention. Her current art practice explores the complexities of interpersonal change with drama, humor, and self-disclosure. Her text-based paintings allow for discussion surrounding the themes of bodily autonomy, catharsis, place-making, identity, and inquiry of the past. Annalise is self-represented and takes commissions on a limited basis. Inquiries for Annalise Castro may be directed to her personal website.

Bryana Bibbs is a Chicago-based artist who works at the intersection of textiles, painting, and community-based practices. Bibbs earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber and Material Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the founder of “The We Were Never Alone Project - A Weaving Workshop for Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence” and serves on the Surface Design Association’s Education Committee. Bibbs has exhibited at galleries such as Chicago Artists Coalition, Praxis Fiber Workshop, Purple Window Gallery, and Tiger Strikes Asteroid. Recent awards and residencies include The Lunder Institute for American Art Summer Residential Fellowship, Surf Point Foundation Artist Residency, and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

Leah is a multi-disciplinary artist with a background in performing arts. She has served on Awakenings’ Art Committee and Volunteer Committee, and has twice been a resident in Awakenings’ artist cohort program. She is excited to lead her first visual art workshop as a Teaching Artist at Awakenings!br>

Christina Bourné is an accomplished arts administrator, educator, and performing artist based in Chicago, IL. She began her career as a public speaker and guest soloist for women’s and youth enrichment conferences across the Midwest before becoming a teaching artist and arts administrator.

During her career she has helped to create in-school and after school programs, facilitated workshops and lectures and even a concert series to discuss social and cultural issues such as race, gender equality, and collective non-violence through the lens of the arts.

Her past leadership roles in arts administration have been Director of Creative Engagement at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University where she grew the department’s program reach to 20,000+ participants per year, Interim Executive Director of Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago, and founding member and Program Manager for Enrich Chicago—an arts led movement aimed at undoing racism and building racial equity within the sector.

When not enhancing lives through arts advocacy or arts and enrichment program development, she can be found performing with her family of nine—comprised of her seven siblings and her mother—The Bournés. Christina is an independent non-profit consultant working with individuals and organizations throughout Chicago and nationally with a focus on fundraising, board development, strategic planning, and organizational leadership.

I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in History from Ohio State University in 2010. After graduation, I joined Dominican Volunteers USA (DVUSA) as a full-time volunteer working with Heartland Alliance as an English Language Training (ELT) Instructor for refugee and immigrant families. Following my volunteer year, I was hired by Heartland to continue as an ELT instructor where I worked, in various positions within Heartland, for the next five years.

In 2017, I was asked to return to DVUSA and have the privilege of serving as the Executive Director today. Dominican Volunteers work for eleven months in full-time positions as educators, healthcare workers, companions for isolated seniors and individuals who are incarcerated, case managers, and advocates for survivors of domestic violence and ecological justice. Our mission is to create lifelong allies and advocates for justice and liberation through accompaniment, kinship, simple-living, and community.

I enjoy engaging my hands through cooking, baking, woodworking, gardening, and knitting. My preferred escapes are reading, playing guitar, traveling, riding my motorcycle, and Harry Potter movie marathons with my wife, Cara, and our grumpy rescue pup, Oscar.

Chase Yeung is the founder and CEO of 7QUBES, an On-Demand/Software-as-a-Service company that brings accessible technology to underserved communities. Chase has a proven strategic and management track record with over 20 years of experience driving innovation and growth in the finance and technology industry. Prior to 7QUBES, Chase was CIO of Basepoint Capital, a private equity firm specialized in capital investments in consumer and small business lending products. Before joining Basepoint, Chase was the Head of Data and Technology at Argon Credit. Chase holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an MS in Computer Science from Northwestern University.