Skokie Valley Rotary Club grant recipients Phyllis Nutkis from the Ark, Sharon Caldwell and Haley Hansen from Metropolitan Family Services, and Joseph Gackstetter from the Mitchell Museum discussed their organizations and described how the funds will be used.
Phyllis Nutkis has been the Grants Manager at The Ark since 2004, and oversees a portfolio of 50 grants annually. Prior to joining The Ark, she taught preschool and kindergarten in Milwaukee and Buffalo Grove. She has a B.A. in music education and an M.S. in Jewish studies, and is the author of a children's book and of several magazine articles and stories. She is a native of New Jersey but has lived in the Midwest for many years. She and her husband have three married children and eight grandchildren.
Sharon Caldwell is a Senior Grant Writer at Metropolitan Family Services. She earned a MSW in Social Work from University of Illinois Chicago. Sharon formerly worked as the Director of Institutional Giving for Housing Opportunities for Women (HOW) preparing grant applications to Foundations and Corporations, requests for new and renewal funding for services for homeless individuals and families, researched new prospects, prepared reports for existing funders, and coordinated site visits. She's lived in Skokie for six years now and her oldest child is a Niles West graduate, and her youngest is a senior in the city.
Joseph Gackstetter, Development and Collections Manager at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, is an experienced Collections Manager with a demonstrated history of working in museums. He's skilled in museum and collections management, exhibit development, donor management, and conversations with cats. He earned a Master's Degree in Museum and Artifact Studies from Durham University.