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 Chair

Robert Nowak (Vice Chair) 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.

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.

Chris Minick - Trustee

Chris is currently the Finance Director for the City of St Charles, Illinois and has served in this capacity since April of 2008.  Chris has over 20 years' experience in municipal accounting and finance.  Prior to his tenure in St Charles, Chris served as the Village Administrator and Director of Management Services for the Village of Plainfield, Illinois.  Chris also served as the Senior Accountant for the Wheeling Park District for approximately two years.  He began his career performing audits of local governmental units for CPA firms in the Chicago region and spent approximately six years performing various financial statement and compliance audits for units of government in Illinois.  Chris has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Finance from St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, IN.  He has served as the Chairman for the Southwest Agency for Risk Management (SWARM, a municipal risk insurance pool), Chairman for the Southwest Agency for Health Management (a municipal health insurance pool), the Membership Committee of the Intergovernmental Personnel Benefits Cooperative, and the Chairman of the Audit Committee for the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association. 

Eileen Santschi - Trustee

Eileen Santschi (Trustee) is the Accounting Manager for South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, having served in the position since 1991. As part of her duties she serves as the Program Administrator for the SSMMA Bond Bank, a $50M bond pool used to make loans to member municipalities for financing of infrastructure improvements, purchase of equipment and most recently, issuance of tax anticipation warrants.  Additionally, she provides accounting support services to two SSMMA affiliated organizations, Diversity, Inc. and Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation.  Prior to her tenure at SSMMA, Eileen worked as a staff accountant for a mechanical contracting firm, a Chicago area hospital and a surplus lines insurance brokerage.  She earned a Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN.