Elder Board Slate
Vote to approve our slate of elder board candidates!
Each year we have the privilege of prayerfully discerning whom God is calling forth as leaders in our congregation by serving on the board of elders of our church. It is a collaborative process among God, the congregation, the current board of elders, and the nominating committee.
We want to thank the nominating committee for putting together this excellent list of elder board candidates! Please review the bios of each candidate below and consider voting to approve them at the congregational meeting this Sunday, June 26 (or vote via the online form now).
Allan Abinoja (Nominating Committee Chair)
Allan Abinoja and his wife, Lisa, have been attending LaSalle Street Church since 2009. From 2017 to 2019, he served on the Elder Board as Assistant Moderator. He is originally from St. Louis, Missouri (making him a Cardinals fan living in hostile territory). He currently works as a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, where he focuses on administrative and employment law. He has spent the majority of his career as a government lawyer, first with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and next with the Illinois Department of Public Health (where he served as the agency’s Ethics Officer). He and Lisa were married by Pastor Laura, and their daughters, Maya and Morgan, can often be found in the pews on Sunday wearing very fancy dresses. Among the many things that drew him and his wife to LaSalle were the accepting nature of the Church and its focus on social outreach and justice.
Jason Baker (Nominating Committee)
Jason Baker has been a member here at LaSalle for 10 years, attended for 20 and loved it for 26 years when he and his wife Adrianne had their wedding ceremony here back in 1996. Jason has been engaged in numerous activities over the years, from singing to Shakespeare, liturgy, to Breaking Bread. He and his wife Adrianne have two children Jacob (21) Bella (19). This coming year will mark his third time on the nominating committee.
Allison Bethel (Nominating Committee)
Allison K. Bethel has been attending LaSalle off and on since 2008. Since 2015, she has become more involved and has enjoyed participating in a small group, the Women’s Retreat, the RRJLT and serving at the Welcome Table. She is lawyer and has focused on civil rights and housing justice work since 1992. She has been on the faculty at UIC School of Law ( FKA The John Marshall Law School) since 2008 as a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of its Fair Housing Legal Clinic. She is a Chicago native, a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Florida College of Law. She is single with an adult son and enjoys deepening her faith, traveling, yoga and spending time with family and friends!
Chris Campbell (Treasurer)
Chris grew up in Omaha, Nebaska in the Episcopal church. He began attending LaSalle Street Church with his wife, Ami, in 1997, where they were married and raised their daughters, Helen and Lydia. Over the years, Chris has served on the altar guild and as an usher, chaired the LaSalle Foundation, assisting in the financial restructuring of Maple Pointe Tower and Cornerstone Center, and most recently co-led the Bones & Beauty Capital Campaign.
Professionally, Chris has close to 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently serving as President of eFinancial, one of the nation’s largest direct-to-consumer life insurance agencies, where he completed an Initial Public Offering in 2020. Chris holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Chris currently serves on the Life Insurance Direct Marketing Association Board and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Board. His family actively supports World Vision’s efforts in Tanzania. For fun, he avidly reads science fiction, and during his last five years living in Seattle, picked up cycling and SCUBA diving.
Christine Evans (Elder-At-Large)
* Christine is a new LSC member in process
For nearly 20 years, Christine Evans has worked as a public interest attorney, with a focus on gender rights and child protection, both in the United States and internationally. She currently teaches on gender and human rights as an adjunct professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and regularly provides legal advice and consultation on issues related to sexual harm and crime victims’ rights to non-profit organizations, businesses, and foundations. From 2014-2019, Christine worked with Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, most recently as the Senior Director of Programs, providing strategic oversight of CAASE’s Legal, Policy, Prevention, and Communications Departments. She also has significant experience as a human rights attorney in India and Zambia and as a certified mediator and educator. Christine first came to Lasalle in the summer of 2015 with her husband of 22 years, Michael, and they were soon joined by their now six-year-old daughter Evangeline (Evie). Having learned of the church when Christine served as a legal intern at Cabrini Green Legal Aid in 2003, they decided to make Lasalle their church home because of its history and commitment to social justice issues and as an inclusive and welcoming place to raise Evie. Christine is grateful to be considered as a member of the LaSalle Elder Board and is excited to continue growing in her gifts of teaching and leadership through this opportunity.
Sandi Hoogland (Elder-At-Large)
On the recommendation of my college InterVarsity small group leader, I started attending LaSalle in the fall of 1983 when I started medical school at Northwestern. I would walk over every Sunday from my dorm on Northwestern’s downtown campus. The walk to and from church was a nice break from the busyness of school. Jim Melia and I were married at LaSalle in August, 1986 with my father and Bill Leslie sharing the ceremony. Our kids were born into and baptized at LaSalle: David in 1993, Stephen in 1995, and Hannah in 1999. I can usually be found doing things behind the scenes, like helping with potlucks and baking communion bread. Over the years, I’ve also been involved with things like keeping in touch with LaSalle missionaries, the “Social Concerns” committee in the 90’s, Bread for the Journey class, Mom’s group when my kids were young, and accompanying the Youth Group on 2 trips to El Salvador. I still gather almost weekly with 3 other women from that early Mom’s group.
After graduating from Northwestern’s medical school in 1987 I completed my residency in Family Medicine at (the old) Cook County Hospital from 1987 to 1990. Since 1990 I have worked as a family doctor at Lawndale Christian Health Center. Jim has worked there with me since 1992, and we have lived in North Lawndale within walking distance of the health center since 1996. When I have any free time, I enjoy sewing, cross stitch, and baking.
Chelsea Hosler (Elder-At-Large)
Chelsea Hosler was born and raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. After college, Chelsea moved to Chicago to join Mission Year, a year long volunteer program. Following, she earned a MEd in Special Education from UIC. She taught on the West Side of Chicago with CPS for 5 years and currently teaches 5th grade at Beye Elementary in Oak Park. She has been a member of LaSalle Street Church for almost 8 years. She initially fell in love with the church’s passion for justice and continues to cherish the community she’s found. She currently serves on the board of Cornerstone Children’s Learning Center, and volunteers with ABLE- an acting ensemble for young adults with intellectual disabilities. Chelsea and her husband Todd, along with their two dogs, live in Oak Park. They enjoy traveling and the arts, especially live music and theater.
Kari McGrath (Moderator)
I began attending LaSalle after reading Laura Truax's book, Undone. My curiosity about this female pastor at a church in Chicago was stirred and I decided to check it out. The first time I heard "LaSalle is a place where you can come as you are, engage as you like, and grow into the person God has called you to be," I was hooked. I became a member in May of 2018 and love the way that LaSalle offers both a feeling of belonging, and a steady challenge of how live with bigger impact in the world beyond its walls.
A Wisconsin native, I've been in Chicago now for nearly 20 years. I met my husband, Mike, through mutual friends shortly after relocating to the city. We live in the Lincoln Square neighborhood with our trusty companion, Lima; a true pandemic rescue pup who is very attached to us after two years of together time! I spend my weekdays working as a Leadership Development Coach for Boston Consulting Group, and love the opportunity to help others grow through the work of coaching. The work that I am most proud of along my career journey, has all been connected to leading teams and multiplying the talents of others. Outside of work, I love to travel, to spend time with friends and family, to read great books, and to take walks around my neighborhood and the city.
Dave Metz (Assistant Treasurer)
Dave grew up in Cincinnati, OH attending a Catholic church. In high school, he was also involved with Young Life and continued that involvement after graduation as a volunteer where helped establish the Northern Kentucky Young Life area. He later went on staff with Young Life as the founding Area Director for Southeast Cincinnati, and, after marrying Kristen in 2003, they moved to Western Pennsylvania where Dave was the YL Area Director near Grove City College.
Dave left Young Life staff in 2006 and began working for a Presbyterian church in Jacksonville, FL. It was here that he went back to college to finish his degree at the University of North Florida which led to him applying for, and receiving a scholarship to, McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. During seminary, Dave realized that full-time ministry wasn’t where he was being called and began working in the education and nonprofit field. He has a number of years of experience as it pertains to program development, fundraising, and nonprofit management. He is currently the Director of Virtual Philanthropy for Opportunity International.
Dave is married to Kristen, and they will be celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary in August. They are animal lovers and are currently devoted to loving (and spoiling) their Australian Shepherd, Aspen. They have attended LaSalle Street Church since the Fall of 2009, and Kristen served as the Communications & Projects Manager at LSC from 2010 until 2016.
BJ Parker (Elder-At-Large)
Jeremiah 29:11-12 I know the plan I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
The above passage is my favorite Bible verse. God always has a plan for my life. Was it God’s plan I come to LaSalle? I came to LaSalle Street Church 25+ years ago through an introduction by LaSaller Susan Schaefer to Cornerstone Center. At the time I was looking at office space and interested in some of the programs LaSalle offered and was encouraged to come to LaSalle Street Church to witness a service.
I liked it. It has been quite the journey over the past 25ish years. I have certainly grown as a Christian and am sincerely grateful to God that He allowed me to be in a place of worship in my neighborhood.
Some of the following capabilities along with my natural gifts of insight, candor and wit may be of benefit to the Elder Board as an At-Large member:
Entrepreneurship
Project Management
Customer Relations Specialist
Personal & Professional Image Coach
Instructional Designer
Workforce Diversity Facilitator
Publicity and Special Events Planner
Media and PR Consultant
Podcast Host and Blog Writer