Our team
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Aleksa Hacker, MA
Executive Director
Aleksa has over ten years of nonprofit management and consulting experience. Her background includes the leadership of a nationwide nonprofit organization with offices in eight states. She passionately believes in the importance of equipping pantries with the food and resources necessary to provide safe foods to those living with a restricted diet. Aleksa holds a Master of Arts in Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts from Lake Forest College. |
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Dr. Myra Dutko, PhDAssociate Director
Dr. Dutko has worked with a variety of non-profits in capacity building, fundraising and partner connections. As a consultant she has worked to strengthen nonprofit organizations by developing seminars, workshops, and other learning opportunities that serve the nonprofit sector. Dr. Dutko is also a professor of psychology working with non traditional college students including returning and older adult students. Dr. Dutko has an earned PhD in Community Psychology from National Louis University in Chicago. |
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Tanya Dutko, MBA
Director of Operations and Partnerships
Tanya is responsible for growth strategy, cultivating relationships and connecting gluten-free food with as many clients as possible at Mend Hunger. No stranger to nonprofits, Tanya designed the fundraising program for Faces of Compassion, an event to fund indoor heating for a special needs orphanage in Eastern Ukraine with Ukrainian Women in Business. Tanya holds a BA from Roosevelt University, and an MBA from National-Louis University in Chicago. |
Board of directors
Joseph Roeges, M.A
Joseph Roeges has dedicated his life to understand the societal barriers that lead to and catalyze social inequality, racial discrimination, and injustice. His master’s thesis focused on the limited facilities for mental health care in Chicago for those who were uninsured, underinsured and/or lived below the poverty line. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and mathematics, with a concentration in statistics, at Roosevelt University and earned his Master of Arts degree in the social sciences within the highly competitive MAPSS cohort at the University of Chicago. Committed to data analytics and higher education, Joseph left the manufacturing sector to begin work, in 2017, to work as a Research Analyst at Roosevelt University. Since September 2020, he has been the Associate Director of Student Success Research at Roosevelt University. His role has been to strategize ways to improve equity in student outcomes with hands-on analysis of student data from multiple platforms. He was also directly involved in the creation of and editing for the University’s Equity Plan. He is sensitive to the dietary restrictions and food allergies of others, himself being a vegetarian for more than 19 years. He believes in the mission of Mend Hunger and the accelerating importance of access to allergy safe foods, given that he has numerous close friends with either a food intolerance or a potentially life-threatening food allergy. With years of statistical and data analysis experience with programs such as Excel, Blackboard Analytics, Python, SQL, Stata, and SPSS and awareness of the dietary challenges of others, Joseph aspires to help Mend Hunger flourish.
Becky denison
Becky has spent over ten years working in the financial and insurance industries, giving her insight into the number of people in need of assistance nationwide. She spent two years working to help the uninsured and underinsured access medical programs, and has a history of volunteer work with shelters, food pantries, and soup kitchens. As someone who cannot eat gluten herself, and with a personal history of food insecurity, Becky has been a huge supporter of Mend Hunger since its inception. She feels the potential to support others like herself is unlimited and is excited to be part of the Mend Hunger Team.
DR. MYRA DUTKO, PHD
Dr. Dutko has worked with a variety of non-profits in capacity building, fundraising and partner connections. As a consultant she has worked to strengthen nonprofit organizations by developing seminars, workshops, and other learning opportunities that serve the nonprofit sector. Dr. Dutko is also a professor of psychology working with non traditional college students including returning and older adult students. Dr. Dutko has an earned PhD in Community Psychology from National Louis University in Chicago.