Board of Directors

Laurie Williams

Laurie is the founder and president of Collaborative Community Housing Initiative. Laurie and her husband Rick have one adult son Zachary, who inspired them to form CCHI. Laurie is leading this grassroots movement for inclusive living options with a group of volunteer families and stakeholders throughout the country.   By collaborating with educators, organizations, housing specialists  and urban planners, CCHI is encouraging public dialogue regarding inclusion, as well as creating space for community problem solving regarding affordable housing for people with IDD.   By researching and visiting various living models around the world, they learned that creating neighborhoods where everyone can thrive is possible!  Laurie is committed to building a more equal, diverse, inclusive and welcoming community for people of all abilities.  In addition to working full time as an Executive Corporate Recruiter, Laurie is involved in the National Fragile X Association as an event organizer, speaker and mentor.  

Anthony Bilotti, Ph.D.

Anthony has advised government and private sectors in the planning and implementation of health and environmental initiatives, property redevelopment, and educational curricula during his professional career of 40 years. He is an Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. He was also Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has served on municipal and county planning commissions, and boards of professional societies. Anthony and his wife Emma Kowalenko enjoy involvement with the community and have been active volunteers in civic and community organizations. 

Carole Rosen, MAID, CAPS

Carole served on the Community Housing and Inclusion and Executive Committees of the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. Her diverse background in advocacy includes serving on The Going Home Coalition, The New Trier Township Funding Committees and organizing community wide events promoting affordable community supported housing. Her driving belief is that Community is strengthened by diversity and whether the issue of community housing and inclusion is analyzed from an ethical or economic viewpoint, it is crucial that current living situations for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities innovate and change.  In addition to her Masters of Interior Design degree, she is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist with additional coursework in Universal Design.  She is an award winning photographer with work shown in numerous regional and national photography exhibitions. Carole and her husband, William, have a daughter who has developmental disabilities and a son.

Colleen Kelty

Colleen was a Managing Director at CIBC US running the Treasury Management Sales Department.  She graduated with honors from University of Illinois and received her MBA from Northwestern’s University’s Kellogg School of Management with a concentration in Marketing, Management and Organizational Behavior.   Colleen and her family live in Elmhurst.  She owns The UPS Store City Centre in Elmhurst with her husband.  She serves as the Secretary for Autism Speaks Chicago and has been on the board for over five years.  Colleen recently joined Collaborative Community Housing Initiative in 2020.  She enjoys working out on her Peloton, baking and reading.  

Ed McManus

Ed, first and foremost, is the dad of Laura, who has cerebral palsy and lives with a roommate and a live-in caregiver in a condo in Wilmette, a few blocks away from Ed and his wife Ellen.  Ed spent 18 years with the IL Dept. of Human Services—as an attorney, Home-Based Services coordinator and regional manager.  He retired in 2011 and created McManus Consulting, which is one of the six statewide organizations representing providers of services to individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities.  Earlier in his career he was an editor and reporter at the Chicago Tribune, an assistant Cook County state’s attorney, and executive director of the Wisconsin ACLU.  He is the secretary of the New Trier Township Democratic Organization and formerly was national president of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a peace/nonviolence organization; president of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago; a board member of the Chicago Council of Lawyers; and an elected member of the Wilmette Dist. 39 School Board.

Jacob C. Noble (“Jake”) 

Jake is Managing Director & Group Head in CIBC BANK USA’s Commercial Real Estate line of business. He leads a team responsible for executing CIBC’s relationship banking strategy with dynamic and growing middle market companies in the commercial real estate industry. The team currently manages a loan and deposit portfolio in excess of $2.0 billion and primarily focuses on clients headquartered in Chicagoland.  Mr. Noble has worked for CIBC (including via a predecessor organization, The PrivateBank) since October 2007. Previously he was Vice President in the Illinois Commercial Real Estate division with LaSalle Bank where he was responsible for managing relationships with Illinois-based commercial real estate firms and growing a loan portfolio in excess of $300 million. Mr. Noble completed the Commercial Lender Training Program at LaSalle in 2002.  Jake has been involved with Midtown Educational Foundation in a variety of capacities for over 10 years and currently serves on the Midtown Advancement Council board. Jake is also a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow (2017).  He lives in Evanston with his wife, Kate, and their two sons, Matthew (15) and Lucas (12). Jake and Kate are active in their local parish, Saint Joan of Arc, and also with special education advocacy for kids with developmental disabilities.

Laura Fine 

Laura has been working and leading programs for individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities over the past 20 years, supporting students in a variety of ways throughout their high school and transition years in school. Laura has worked tirelessly throughout her career collaborating with outside agencies to help empower families to begin thinking about building a meaningful day once school ends at a much earlier age. Her innovative thinking and passion for preparing students for the future continue to propel individuals with disabilities and their families in living a purposeful life beyond school.  Currently, Laura works for the Exceptional Learners Collaborative at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois where she serves as the Assistant Director of Programs and Services.  Laura and her husband Ken have two children Sara and Ben.  

Jordan Kane 

Jordan is a policy analyst and activist, specializing in aid effectiveness, conflict, governance, and domestic criminal justice reform. She has worked on and in Afghanistan, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Yemen, and believes that better governance and security are inclusive, both at home and abroad. She co-founded Color of Equity, a community collective working for racial equity and criminal justice reform in Lake County. She is a Truman National Security Fellow and serves on the Steering Committee of The Justice Project: The March Continues."  Jordan is looking forward to supporting CCHI in our mission to create inclusive opportunities in our communities and advocate for change in housing for people with disabilities.