Neighborhood Parents Network of Chicago (NPN), formerly the Northside Parents Network, was established in 1980 as a Chicago nonprofit organization. Our founders, a small group of pioneer parents, decided to raise their children in urban Chicago and knew they needed to create a strong network of support in the city. This network has grown into an even stronger community of parents, volunteers, schools, businesses, service providers, and other nonprofits. Please use the links below to learn more about who is involved in creating the NPN we have today.  Thank you to Classic Kids Photography for providing us with these amazing photos!

Please check out the links below to learn more about the NPN family:
Board of Directors   |    Alumni Board   

Board of Directors
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Kelley Ahuja (President) is the Chief Administrative Officer for a Chicago-based international association. As a Human Resources professional, Kelley strives to find or develop employee programs that encourage staff to strike a balance between their work and home lives. Just before the birth of her first daughter in 2006, Kelley discovered NPN’s extensive resources. She joined a New Moms group back then, and has since hosted two subsequent groups. Kelley regularly engages with and contributes to a number of NPN discussion boards. She lives in Roscoe Village with her husband and two girls.

Jennifer Guimond-Quigley (Secretary) joined NPN as a business in 2010 and has really enjoyed getting to know the staff, volunteers, and board through several of the great events that the group sponsors.  Jennifer has her own law practice, located in the Fulton Market District and practices primarily in family law and estate planning.   She graduated from law school and passed the bar in 2008, and, after getting some law firm experience, ventured out on her own in 2009 and hasn’t looked back.  Although not parents yet, Jennifer and her husband know that when that time comes, NPN will be their go-to source for all things parenting.  In fact, they have already gotten some pretty good tips from attending the events so they should be ready to hit the ground running!  In her spare time, Jennifer likes to volunteer for various noteworthy organizations in addition to NPN, including Wills for Heroes and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.

Laurie Nelson is a senior manager for a large public accounting firm.  She has over 14 years of experience in consulting and internal auditing serving a variety of clients across multiple industries.  Laurie has lived in Chicago for the past 14 years and currently resides in the Old Town neighborhood with her husband, 4 year old daughter and 2 year old son.  She loves raising her children in the city and enjoying all that the city has to offer.  She is excited to be a member of the board and is looking forward to assisting in the growth and future development of NPN.

Sarah Davis got involved with NPN through her company Olive.You.Nanny, which she launched in 2005. Since then, the agency has expanded to Atlanta, Portland and Charlotte. Prior to that, she was a nanny for 10 years across the country. Having worked in this field for many years, she has gained knowledge and an understanding of this industry. Sarah lives in Ukrainian Village with her husband and two children.

Cindy McCarthy joined NPN after the birth of her first daughter in January 2008.  In addition to finding NPN's working new moms group to be an invaluable resource for coping with her life as a working mom, NPN has continued to be a reliable guide for navigating everything from finding her first nanny to evaluating preschools.    Cindy is also the founder of onthegoChicago.com, a guide to the kid-sized version of Chicago.  Before starting on the go Chicago, Cindy spent her early career in advertising, and then 12 years doing loyalty and partner marketing at Hilton Hotels Corporation.  Cindy resides in Lakeview with her husband Kerry and two daughters, Grace and Clare.

Victoria Nygren is the Chicago North Agency Manager for COUNTRY Financial. She has been COUNTRY for seven years. She has an MBA from North Park University, a bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University and a Chartered Leadership Fellowship from the American College. She oversees 30 financial representatives in six locations throughout the Chicago market She has been in the financial services industry for 17 years, focusing on new market development. She and her husband Mike have two children: Dylan, five and half years old, and Tyler, two and half years old. They utilized resources from NPN when their first child was born to meet new parents in the area and to find out about local schools. She is excited to be on the board to assist with future growth and new corporate sponsorship development.

Kristin Myers was first introduced to NPN in 2009 when she purchased the School Directory.  She was impressed by the comprehensiveness of the publication, and soon realized that it was a true reflection of the valuable resource that NPN is for parents as a whole.  Since joining in 2010, Kristin has benefited from meeting other business professionals at the NPN Networking events, and has been an active member of the Mom’s In Business group since its inception.   Kristin is the owner of Babies, Tots, n’ More, Chicago’s first and only seasonal children’s consignment event company.  Her business provides parents with an opportunity to sell their gently used children’s and maternity items, while allowing other families to buy great products for a fraction of the original price. Kristin is a Chicago native and received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She resides in the North Kenwood neighborhood with her husband and two toddler aged boys.

Jessica Minahan was introduced to NPN by Olive You Nanny Agency where she has been a placement provider for the past 4 years.  She has loved using her 10 years of nanny experience to connect families and nannies in the Chicago.  Jessica has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UW-Madison and a master’s in counseling from Loyola University Chicago.  Jessica is an aspiring mom and is excited to be part a of NPN’s incredible network and resources for families in the Chicago!

Sucha Sastry Brown joined NPN in 2007 just prior to the birth of her first child.  Over the years, NPN has become an invaluable source of information through its new moms' group, discussion forums, blog posts and educational events.  Most importantly, NPN has introduced Sucha and her family to great friends, unique experiences and a wonderful nanny of almost 5 years.  Sucha is the Director of Strategy for a global pharmaceutical company.  She has extensive experience working with for-profits and non-profits in the healthcare and women’s business communities and is an active volunteer with her children’s school.  Sucha hopes to bring her professional expertise and experience as a working mom to further NPN’s mission and enhance the value it brings to families living in Chicago.  Sucha earned a MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a MPH from The University of Michigan School of Public Health, and a BS in biology from The University of Michigan.  She lives in Lincoln Square with her husband and two children.

Alumni Board of Directors

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The NPN Alumni Board is a very special group of individuals comprised of founding members and former members of the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers. These individuals made significant contributions to NPN since our founding in 1980 and continue to serve as advocates for NPN and its mission.

Nancy Sinclair - Founding Member of NPN - NPN member since 1980.
Nancy grew up in the Chicago suburbs. Thirty years ago she and her husband, Sid Weseman, bought a 3 flat in Chicago and, while remodeling it (several times), raised two daughters, Katy and Emily, now 30 and 27. She has a master’s degree in social work and has worked for non- profits throughout her career. For the past eleven years she has worked at the Ounce of Prevention doing program development and staff training for programs providing home visiting, groups and doula services to young, at-risk parents and their children. For most of the 1980’s she did not work outside the home and became involved in volunteering work with the new Northside Parents Network and then the PTA and LSC at Hawthorne Scholastic Academy. She and her husband live in Lakeview and enjoy traveling and bicycling.

She became involved in the Northside Parents Network shortly after it began. Her involvement dated from 1980 through about 1986. Her first major project was the New Mother Seminars (today's New Moms Groups). She hosted a group of a 6 or so women with new babies in her living room, weekly for 4 weeks. The groups often developed into playgroups and sometimes often initiated lifelong friendships. Next, she served on the Steering Committee and was involved in the beginning of the Babysitting Co-op, the first preschool and grade school forums, and an annual family carnival. She was so ecstatic about her VBAC experience with her second daughter that she wrote a newsletter article and hosted a related discussion for interested NPN members. For Nancy, the Northside Parents Network was a way to meet, learn from and enjoy the company of other new parents. Some of the friendships she made through NPN “Coffees” continue to this day and she enjoys keeping in touch with friends and their now young adults children!n who she first met at NPN “Coffees”.

For the past eleven years, she has worked at the Ounce of Prevention doing program development and staff training for programs providing home visiting, groups and doula services to young, at-risk parents and their children. Nancy and her husband enjoy traveling and bicycling and live in the Lakeview neighborhood.

Nancy would like to share the following other organizations with the NPN community:
Ounce of Prevention Fund
DONA, International

Liz Burgess - Involved with NPN as Interim Executive Director from March to June 2008.
Liz has been a nonprofit executive with fifteen+ years of experience and currently as the Executive Director of the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation. She enjoys working with organizations that promote social change with innovation, commitment, and accountability. She is a lifelong Chicagoan residing in Lakeview with husband, Angus; four year old daughter, Matilda; and dog, Sam.

Daniel Murphy - Board member from 2009-2011 Daniel has been a member of NPN since 2009 and resides on the NW side of Chicago with his wife and three year old son. He is a Director of Sales for a global manufacturing company and is looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to the continued success and growth of the NPN so families throughout Chicago can benefit from the wonderful resources offered.

Lee Haas - Former Board President - NPN member since 2001. She coordinated NPN's Morning Out program and managed the newsletter, Parent to Parent, for several years. Prior to becoming a parent and volunteer, Lee worked in the advertising and PR industry as a project coordinator and print production manager. She currently resides on the Northwest side with her husband and two daughters. Aside from NPN, Lee also volunteers her time to her daughters' school and a woman's philanthropic educational organization.

Susan Pyne-Torres - Former Board Treasurer - Joined NPN in 2005 after the birth of her twin boys. She started her volunteer work as a neighborhood co-chair and has been involved with the Board since fall of 2008. She has a MBA from Loyola University, an IL CPA license and over twelve year of accounting and finance experience. NPN has been an incredible resource for her since the birth of her twins all the way through the toddler years to the school application process for kindergarten. She resides with her family in the Irving Park neighborhood.