About Us

Who We Are

What kind of world do you wish for? The Delta Institute works for a world where the air is clean and the water is pure—where all communities and children thrive, not just those with higher incomes—where businesses are green, and the future is sustainable.

Delta means change. The Delta Institute is a nonprofit organization formed in 1998 to develop and test fresh ideas for bringing about sustainable communities. We are re-thinking the disciplines of environmental protection and economic development—and doing our best to integrate them.

We create new models for development that won’t harm the environment, and that will benefit disadvantaged communities. We’re entrepreneurial about preventing pollution, conserving energy, and helping blighted communities recycle industrial property. And we advocate for policies that protect and make the most of the region’s human, natural, and economic resources.

How We Work

• We collaborate
  We analyze environmental and development challenges, then bring diverse interests together to plan solutions. We focus public attention on critical issues, developing and demonstrating new tools and policies for ensuring a sustainable future.

• We finance
  We find and secure the capital needed to finance programs on the ground, from preventing pollution to redeveloping brownfields.

• We train
  We create and strengthen community organizations and train local and regional leaders to make an impact on key sustainable development and environmental issues.

• Our Staff
  Ryan Anderson, Associate
  Timothy H. Brown, Co-Director
  Donna Ducharme, Co-Director
  Abigail Corso, Senior Associate Director
  Kevin Dick, LEED AP, Associate
  Pearon Hampton, Office Manager
  Lisa Hassler-Thomas, Associate
  Kindy Kruller, Associate
  Todd Parker, Associate
  William Schleizer, Associate
  Joe Skvara, Director of Development
  Christine Slattery, Senior Associate Director
  Jennifer Wang, LEED AP, Associate
  Elise Zelechowski, LEED AP, Associate Director
  

• Our Board
  Timothy H. Brown
  Co-Director
  Delta Institute
  
  Terry Bulger
  Executive Vice President
  LaSalle Bank Corporation
  
  Lisa M. Derezinski
  Vice President and Relationship Manager
  Fifth Third Bank
  
  Donna Ducharme
  Co-Director
  Delta Insitute
  
  Jeffrey Fort
  Attorney
  Sonnenschein, Nath, & Rosenthal
  
  Peter Freeman
  Civic Leader
  
  Jodi Gingiss
  Vice President Civic & Community Development
  LaSalle Bank
  
  Milan Kluko
  President
  Fountainhead Engineering
  
  Dr. John Kretzmann, Board Chair
  Co-Director
  Asset-Based Community Development
  School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
  
  Michael S. Marcus
  Principal
  Consultants for Community Resources
  
  Sri Ramamoorti, PhD
  Partner, Corporate Governance
  Grant Thornton
  
  Bill Stough
  President
  Sustainable Research Group