Our Team

 

Adela Carlin, Interim Executive Director​

Adela Carlin believes that lasting systems change happens when communities and organizations come together to build collective power and advocate for an equitable future. Since joining Illinois Partners for Human Service in 2021, Adela has worked alongside coalition partners across Illinois to strengthen the human services sector through partnerships, training and collective advocacy. 
 
As Interim Executive Director, Adela is honored to lead Illinois Partners during a time of transition while continuing the organization’s work of building power across the sector and advancing policies that help communities thrive.
 
Adela has led key initiatives including developing strategic partnerships, launching Illinois Partners’ training program, and co-leading the Living Wages, Thriving Communities Campaign to push for sustainable investments in the human services workforce.
 
A bilingual Latina community lawyer, Adela brings more than 20 years of experience advancing equity, racial justice, and community-centered systems change. Prior to joining Illinois Partners, Adela held leadership roles with the Legal Assistance Foundation and Catholic Charities Legal Assistance. She is a Racial Justice Institute Fellow, national facilitator for Reframing Aging, and serves on the boards of Solutions for Care, Forefront, and AMPT Chicago. Adela grew up in Little Village on Chicago’s Southwest Side and earned her law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

 

Adela Carlin portrait.
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Katherine Cavanaugh, Training Manager

Katherine began her career in human services working as a sexual assault survivor advocate and behavioral health counselor with children and families. After a few years working in direct service, she was drawn to work on a systems level towards upstream solutions, and went to Baltimore to get her Masters in Social Work focusing on Community Action and Social Policy. During that time, she learned the power of community organizing and listening to the people most affected. Her work in Baltimore and later, nationally was focused on organizing with people experiencing homelessness in health care organizations and systems towards more effective services and health care justice.

As the Training Manager (based in Central Illinois), Katherine hopes to foster environments where people can take time and space to reflect on how we approach our work and more effectively create relationships, community, and momentum for equity and justice. In this role, she will support the launch of Illinois Partners statewide training initiative for health and human service professionals focusing on reframing conversations about aging and older adults. Katherine is excited about the opportunity to ground this knowledge in the expertise of the Illinois human service community and discuss how these topics incorporate intersectionality, equity, and social determinants of health.



Katherine Cavanaugh portrait.
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Kate Fakhoury, Southern Illinois Community Organizer and Data Manager

Kate joined Illinois Partners in 2017 as a Community Organizer for Southern Illinois.  Over the years, she has incorporated constituent management and research into her updated role as Community Organizer and Data Manager.  Kate believes in getting things done from the ground up and is actively involved in volunteer work, including service on several boards in Carbondale, IL.  She is an alumna of Purdue University with both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees.

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Evan Finamore, Senior Director of Grants, Research & Strategic Communications

Evan brings a multidisciplinary background to her role, combining strategic thinking, creative design skills, and a deep commitment to advancing human services in Illinois. She began her career in children’s museums, working in exhibit development and later in museum evaluation, roles that sparked a lasting interest in research, learning, and communicating complex ideas to diverse audiences. After years of volunteering and skill-building across the nonprofit sector, including strategic planning and design projects, she discovered a love for grantwriting and has made it a cornerstone of her professional work.

Evan raised her family in Evanston, Illinois, where she served on the boards of multiple grassroots arts and educational organizations and was a devoted community volunteer. She now lives in Chicago and has been with Illinois Partners since 2018.

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Jasmine Steele, Communications & Operations Coordinator

Jasmine has been in the Human Services field since 2015 beginning their service in direct service. After graduating from St. Xavier University with their BA, Jasmine has worked with several populations including, elders, youth, infants, pregnant persons, domestic violence survivors, individuals with mental illness, individuals battling addiction, and individuals experiencing homelessness. Jasmine found a passion in organizational and community development so, pursued a Master of Social Work degree with a macro focus to expand their reach in the Human Service sector. Jasmine completed their Master of Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work in May 2020, is a Licensed Social Worker in Illinois, and was honored to become a part of the Illinois Partners of Human Service team as the Communications and Operations Coordinator.

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