Board of Trustees

The Illinois Metropolitan Investment Fund (IMET) is governed by an eight member Board of Trustees that have full control over the business and affairs of the Fund and the Fund’s assets, subject to the rights of the Participants as provided by the Declaration of Trust. The names and affiliations of the Trustees are set forth below.

Elizabeth Holleb - Chairman

Elizabeth Holleb is the Finance Director for the City of Highland Park since joining the City in October of 2003. A Certified Public Accountant, she brings more than 19 years of work experience in municipal finance with employers that include the Government Finance Officers Association, the Village of Northbrook, the Village of Oak Park, and the City of Highland Park. Public and professional contributions have included serving on the Coverage, Claims, and Litigation Committee of the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency and as Highland Park's Delegate to IRMA's Board of Directors, as well as various officer roles with the Metro Chapter Board of the IGFOA. She is a member of the Government Finance Officer Association (GFOA) and the Illinois GFOA. She is currently serving as Chair of the IMET Board of Trustees.

Robert Nowak - Vice Chairman

Robert Nowak is the Finance Director for the Village of Skokie. He joined the Village of Skokie in 1984 and has held the position of Finance Director since 1991. Previously Nowak served as a Certified Public Accountant with a small CPA firm and earlier served as accounting manager for a medium-sized office products manufacturing firm in Chicago. Mr. Nowak has an M.B.A. from the Keller Graduate School of Management, a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and is a CPA. Professional memberships include the Government Finance Officers Association and the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association. He also is a trustee of the Village of Skokie Fire Pension Fund and serves on the governing board of the High Excess Liability Pool (a public entity risk pool).

Gary Szott - Treasurer

Gary Szott is the Finance Director/Treasurer for the Village of Bloomingdale, having held this position since May of 1991. Prior to this, he had attained the Assistant Finance Director position for the City of Wheaton after working in various other capacities for Wheaton since 1985. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Public Finance Officer and holds a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from Rockford College, Rockford, IL. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Illinois Society of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAS), the Governmnent Finance Officer Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) and the Illinois Government Finance Officer Association (IGFOA). He has served as Chair of the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA) and has served as Chair and committeee member of IRMA's Finance and Administration Committee. He is a Past President of IGFOA and has served IGFOA in a number of various other capacities including leading the IGFOA's Career Development Revenue team in developing and providing educational seminars for its members. Mr. Szott has been a speaker and made presentations at IGFOA, Illinois Municipal League and DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference seminars and conferences.

Sue Stanish - Secretary

Sue Stanish is the Finance Director for the Village of Willowbrook, and has held this position since 1998. Prior to this, she served four years as the Accounting Manager for the City of Naperville, and she also held positions with KPMG/Peat Marwick. Sue has a Bachelor's Degree in Accountancy from DePaul University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Professional memberships include the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association (IGFOA). She currently serves as the Secretary on the IGFOA Executive Board, and she is a Past President of the Chicago Metro Chapter of the IGFOA.

Kevin Barr - Trustee

Kevin Barr is the Village Manager for the Village of Schiller Park, and has held this position since 2000. Prior to Schiller Park, he served for seven years as the Assistant Village Manager for the Village of Bensenville and served six years with the Village of Northbrook. Kevin has significant familiarity with intergovernmental agencies, including serving on the executive boards of the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA) and the West Cook County Solid Waste Agency. Kevin holds a Bachelor Degree in History and Political Science and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana.

Jerry Ducay - Trustee

Jerry Ducay is the Village Administrator for the Village of Frankfort. Befroe joining the Village of Frankfort in 1999, Jerry was the Village Administrator for the Village of Crete where he served for five years. Prior to Crete, Jerry served as the first-ever Village Administrator in the Village of Dolton, serving that community for four years. Jerry has Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Illinois State University, and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Governors State University. He has served as the Chairman for the Southwest Agency for Risk Management (SWARM, a municipal risk insurance pool) and was recenly appointed to the Special Review Committee for the Illinois Government Finanance Officers Association CAFR program.

Christy Powell - Trustee

Christy Powell is the current Superintendent of Finance and Personnel for the Geneva Park District. Befroe joing the Geneva Park District in 2006, Christy was the Director of Finance and Village Treasurer for the Village of Riverside. She has also served as the Assistant Finance Director for the Village of Oak Park and previously served as an Accountant for the City of Peoria. Christy is a Certified Public Accountant. She holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Oklahoma State Univeristy. Christy has been a member of the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association (IGFOA) and the national GFOA since 1997. From 2004-2006, Christy filled a vacancy on the IMET Board that was created by the resignation of former IMET Chair Grace Turi of Western Springs. Beginning in 2008, Christy rejoined the IMET Board as an elected member at large and currently serves as a member of IMET's New Products Committee.

John Marquart - Trustee

John Marquart (Trustee) is the City Administrator for the City of Oak Forest. He joined the City of Oak Forest in 2008. Prior to coming to the City of Oak Forest, John served four years as the City Manager of the City of Iron Mountain in Michigan. Previous experience includes both public and private sectors, including municipal management, private business and vice president of national sales. John holds an M.A. in Political Science/Public Administration and a B.A. in Political Science/Local Government, both   from Western Illinois University. He has been an ICMA Credentialed Manager since 2003.  Professional memberships include the International City/County Management Association, Pennsylvania Municipal Management Association, Michigan Local Government Management Association, National Main Street and the Illinois City/County Manager Association. John was appointed to the IMET Board of Trustees in January 2010, representing the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association.