Thank you for making this year’s Seeds of Change: Strength in Community a powerful gathering, whether you attended in person or supported from afar, you joined us in celebration, solidarity, and remembrance.
watch the program segment of the event Now on demand!
REVISIT THE JOYFUL EVENT IN PHOTOS
NOTHING BROUGHT US MORE JOV THAN HAVING OUR COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER.
Don't forget to tag @crossroadsfund Photos by Ying Mai
WON AN AUCTION ITEM?
Reach out to Katie Madden: katie@crossroadsfund.org to coordinate pick up of the item you won.
Ron Sable Award for Activism
The Ron Sable Award for Activism is a living memorial to a man whose leadership and vision continue to inspire others to take up the hard work he left behind. Ron worked across issues and communities, fighting for the rights of gays and lesbians, women and reproductive rights, just treatment of prisoners, and national health care. He helped develop services for individuals with HIV/AIDS at Cook County Hospital, he was an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America, he was a founder of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, and he pioneered as one of the first openly gay candidates for alderman in Chicago. Ron also served on the Crossroads Fund Board of Directors for ten years.
Each year, Crossroads Fund honors an exceptional individual or group that reflects Ron’s commitment to progressive change and the interconnectedness of issues and struggles across communities.
OBAMA COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT COALITION (CBA)
The Obama Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Coalition took action when the Obama Foundation announced in 2016 that Jackson Park would host its presidential library. While this news excited locals, it also raised concerns about excluding low-income residents from jobs and benefits, and fears of rising rents displacing Black families. The Coalition sought commitments from the Obama Foundation, the University of Chicago, and the City to ensure the development's benefits reached Woodlawn's long-time residents. They wanted job opportunities and housing protections for the neighborhood. The Obama CBA's success shows grassroots organizing works and offers a blueprint for other neighborhoods facing displacement and gentrification.
DONALD F. ERICKSON SYNAPSES AWARD
The Donald F. Erickson Synapses Award recognizes the founder of the Synapses Foundation, which was dissolved in 2007, with the assets serving as an endowment gift to Crossroads Fund. The annual endowment payout helps to support grantmaking.
Don taught geography, history and social studies at Calumet High School. He was a committed activist for social justice, and worked to end human rights violations across the globe. Don was also an avid supporter of Christian Peacemaker Teams, and specified that the Synapses Foundation continue to fund that organization for as long as they exist. Don had a great sense of humor, and additionally requested that the Synapses Foundation money support political sketch comedy. Crossroads Fund is grateful and honored to remember Don and his work for social change by presenting this award in his memory.
FIRST DEFENSE LEGAL AID (FDLA)
First Defense Legal Aid (FDLA) mobilizes lawyers and over-policed community members to fill gaps in public defense and create, protect, and engage replicable alternatives to the criminal system starting with its entry points. Their 24-hour hotline, Know Your Rights trainings, in-house Civil Rights Legal Aid Program, and ongoing policy advocacy secures the civil and human rights of those detained by police. In 1995, FDLA created a hotline that connected anyone arrested or detained by the Chicago police with an on-call attorney who could provide free police state representation. Because of FDLA’s advocacy, this critical service was adopted by the Cook County Public Defender’s office in 2019 and universalizing access to a basic civil and human right.
Lynda J. Tipton Memorial Award for Social Justice
Crossroads Fund is proud to present the Lynda J. Tipton Memorial Award for Social Justice, which was funded by Lynda’s family and friends in celebration of her life.
Lynda Tipton leaves a deep and rich history advocating for workers’ rights and racial justice. She was an early staff member of the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union and a union representative for SEIU Local 73, where she represented clerical, janitorial, and technician staff for ten years. She was a founding member of the Interracial Family Network, a group to support the biracial identity of youth and their parents. Lynda was also a grassroots activist who marched for civil rights, women’s rights, and against the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Crossroads Fund honors Lynda and celebrates the intersectionality of issues for which she so fiercely fought.
THE TRIIBE
The TRiiBE is an award-winning digital publication and production company founded in 2017 by Morgan Elise Johnson, Tiffany Walden, and David Elutilo, aimed at reshaping the narrative of Black Chicago. The TRiiBE addresses racism and systemic harms while uplifting Black creativity and resistance. Its team has produced thousands of articles and artworks, reaching millions globally. Co-founders Johnson and Walden established the platform to tell nuanced, solutions-driven stories about Black lives, countering harmful media portrayals. Since launch, The TRiiBE has published a magazine, maintained a local business database, issued newsletters, and hosted outreach events. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 uprisings, they continued the tradition of the abolitionist Black press, amplifying community demands.
SPONSORSHIPS
Thank You to our Sponsors!
(As of 1/3/26)
Trailblazer: $10,000 and BEYOND
Anonymous Woods Fund Chicago Julia Klein
Changemakers: $7,500 - $9,999
Mainstream Media
Catalysts: $5,000 – $7,499
Grand Victoria Foundation
Visionaries: $2,500 – $4,999
CIBC Bank James & Megan Murray Cusick Susan Eleuterio & Tom Sourlis Joseph & Bessie Feinberg Foundation Irving Harris Foundation Jani Hoft & Linda Wagner Nova Collective
Movers AND Shakers: $1,000 – $2,499
Gary Arnold Kay Berkson & Sidney Hollander Missy Carpenter Evette Cardona & Mona Noriega Mardge Cohen & Gordy Schiff Alice Cottingham & Dave Beard Denise Ferguson Illinois Community Power Fund Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Nora Kyger & Bill Foster ONE Northside Patricia O'Brien Paul M. Angell Family Foundation Barbara Ransby & Peter Sporn Ala Salameh Misuzu Schexnider Third Wave Fund Robin Semer & William Lamme
Stewards: $750-$999
AMPT Advancing Nonprofits Martha Biondi Megan Carney Shelley Davis & Omar McRoberts Skyler Larrimore Gordon Mayer & Kate Graham Joey Mogul NAKASEC Mary Pounder Gordon Quinn
Sponsors: $350 – $749
Molly Armour Chicago Foundation for Women Jessyca Dudley Sue Foran Aviva Futorian caronina grimble HANA Center Mia Henry Kheira Issaoui-Mansouri Terrence Keleher Sharmili Majmudar Alma Rodriguez jan susler Tom Wilson
INSPIRATION, INFLUENCE, IMPACT
Susan Eleuterio would like to honor Lucy Ascoli for "her advocacy for Crossroads and the communities it serves"
Emmanuel Garcia would like to honor Denise Ferguson “whose tireless work, both seen and unseen, moves us all foward. The path towards justice and progress is stronger because of you.”
THANK YOU TO OUR AUCTION DONORS!
18th Street Casa de Cultura About Face Theater Xochitl Adame Tim & Bindu Alexander American Friends Service Committee Annette's Italian Ice Anticonquista Cafe Antique Taco Avondale Bowl William C. Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn Barbaro Taqueria Martha Biondi Diego Bleifuss Prados Laura Botwinick/SoNa Chicago Dr. Rabia Boundaoui Dan Boyd The Brewed Busy Beaver Button Company Evette M. Cardona and Mona Noriega Cedar Palace CH Distillery Chicago Architecture Center Chicago Bears Chicago Fair Trade Chicago Mahogany Tours Chicago Mosaic School Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Mardge Cohen Concern America Olly Costello Ying Dai Lee Dewey Shannon Downey The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center Early to Bed Hanan El-Youssef Eris Brewery and Cider House Estereo William Estrada Natalie A. Evans Fat Cat Cabaret First Ascent Jean Fishbeck Five Point Holistic Health Fleur Chicago Fred Follansbee Foursided Lizzie Fowler Iva Freeman Teresa Garcia Gethsemane Garden Center Glacier Outfitters Gnarware Good Omen Mac Grambauer Great Lakes Tattoo Jillian Gryzlak Patricia J. Handlin and Flint Taylor Harris Theater Haymarket Books Hazel Nina Helstein Daniela Herrera Insect Asylum International Anthem Recording Company IO Theatre Jerry's Sandwiches Katelyn Johnson and Merrill Robinson Jr Just Seeds Abha Kapila Susan R. Kaplan and Len Cavise Kartemquin Films Katherine Anne Confections Keep It Savory Leigh Kelsey Alice H. Kim Danbee Kim Avery Knight La Haciendita Beth LeFauve and Mark Roe Rebekah Levin and Sophie Kaluziak Lillstreet Art Center Cherie R. Lockett Damon Locks Lotus Bahn Mi Katie Madden Liza Madden Lillian McCartin and Brad Thomson Meadow and Mae Linda P. Mellis Yesica E. Morfin The Music of the Baroque National Museum Of Mexican Art Navy Pier Neo-Futurists Nobody's Darling Noodle Bird Zulma Ocampo One Of a Kind Show Chicago Osito's Tap Chandra Palmer Pan Artesanal Perkolator Pie Pie My Darling The Pile Bookstore Pilsen Community Books Pinwheel Records Pixie and the Boy Portage Grounds Production Mode Guadelupe Quiroz Leslie Ramyk Randolph Street Market Raygun Red Light Chicken Rep Chi Sarah-Ji Rhee Rivendell Theatre Ensemble Dianna Rodriguez Roeser's Bakery Runaway Cow Sanctuary Health Misuzu and Alvin Schexnider Seguin Gardens and Gifts Robin Semer and Bill Lamme Silver Room Dick Simpson Skydeck Chicago Sparrow Hair Salon Spicy Taco Steppenwolf Theater Company Superdawg Kathy Swanson Tabeeb Roasters Threadless Trini's Tasty Pastries Jennifer Trok Twisted Scissors Uprising Theater Vichcraft Carrie Vinarsky Vixen's Tassle Titties Rikke Vognsen Wolfbait & B-Girls Chai Wolfman Women & Children First
HOST COMMITTEE
Thank You to our Host Committee!
(As of 3/9/26)
Makkah Ali* La Tony Alvarado-Rivera Gary M. Arnold Jay Brown Evette Cardona & Mona Noriega Missy Carpenter* Michael Collins & Cat Greim Alice Cottingham & Dave Beard James & Megan Murray Cusick Shelley Davis & Omar McRoberts Starr De Los Santos* Cecile DeMello* Lee Dewey* Jessyca Dudley Susan Eleuterio & Tom Sourlis Hanan El-Youssef* Denise Ferguson Sharlyn Grace* Pat Handlin & Flint Taylor Abbey Hambright & Ben Santos Brenda A. Hernandez Alheli Herrera* Jani Hoft & Linda Wagner Gabriel Jones* Susan Kaplan & Len Cavise Danbee Kim Nora Kyger & Bill Foster Skyler Larrimore* Rebekah Levin & Sophie Kaluziak sophie lipman* Mayra López-Zuñiga Gordon Mayer & Kate Graham
Misuzu Miyashita*
Mary Morten & Willa Taylor Zulma Ocampo Gina Olson & Amy Johnson Chandra Palmer* Joanna Preston Barbara Ransby & Peter Sporn Anna Rubin Muhammad Sankari* Robin Semer & William Lamme Roxy Trudeau Tom Wilson
Andrea Yarbrough*
*Also a Crossroads Fund Board Member
THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS
(As of 1/1/26)
Nancy Medrano Kanti Keislar Garvey Madden Bindu Alexander Tammy Woods Lyntrina Broadnax Yazen Affaneh Rick Roque Katie Ragsdale Jaeden Roque Yaritza Aguirre Amy Ellison lorraine sands La Tony! Alvarado-Rivera Adrian Molina Rachel Dukes Syd Haliburton Jordan Myers Deandra Cadet Rebekah Levin Sophie Kaluziak
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Makkah Ali (Co-Chair) Missy Carpenter Starr De Los Santos Cecile De Mello Lee Andel Dewey (Treasurer) Hanan El-Youssef Sharlyn Grace Alhelí M. Herrera Katelyn Johnson (Co-Chair) Gabriel Jones Skyler Larrimore sophie lipman Chandra Palmer Muhammad Sankari Misuzu Schexnider Andrea Yarbrough
STAFF
Michael Aguhar, Program Director
Nouha B, Program Manager
Emmanuel Garcia, Development & Communications Director
Lizette Garza, Program Director
Jane Kimondo, Executive Director
Katie Madden, Development Manager
Joanna Preston, Program Manager
Kristina Roque, Operations Director
Alexis Sanchez-Boyzo, Communications Manager
Makiko Yamauchi, Finance Manager