Laura Gerstner of Western Springs and Bill Hoekwater of Oak Park have joined the Board of Directors at Oak-Leyden.  Bill and Laura will help provide oversight and guidance to the organization through their new roles.

Laura Gerstner is the family member of a participant who attends an Oak-Leyden Lifelong Learning Center and who receives 24-hour supportive housing through the organization’s Community Living Services. Gerstner currently is employed in the financial services industry at Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance. Formerly, she was a contract analyst for General Electric Capital Corporation.

Bill Hoekwater has been living in Oak Park since 2017.  He currently works in commercial lending with Byline Bank and was previously a trader at the CME Group (Chicago Board of Trade).  In the interim, he worked with special education professionals to help support students and teachers in special education settings.  He has worked with students with a variety of disabilities including learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, developmental disabilities, and intellectual disabilities in special and general education classrooms.