Our Team

Mackenzie serves as Senior Specialist for Delta's Finance and Operations Department, and provides interdepartmental support to Delta staff, specializing in HR, accounting, operations, and executive assistance. Prior to joining Delta, Mackenzie worked for a financial management services company that specialized in real estate investment. She has a B.S. in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sciences with a certification in Professional Event Management from Texas A&M University. In her free time, Mackenzie enjoys camping and tries to visit at least one national park a year. She also enjoys hanging out with her dog, Quincy, eating Mexican food, and traveling home to visit her family in Texas.

Mélina joined Delta Institute in November 2022 and serves as Lead for the Nature-Based Climate Solutions portfolio. Mélina came to Delta with a wealth of experience as a multicultural program manager and policy maker with specific expertise in climate resilience and sustainable agriculture. She has worked for various international and national entities dealing with climate, agriculture, water and community development projects. Mélina graduated from Sorbonne University and Nanterre University in France and has Master’s degrees in agronomy, international relations, and ethnology. In her free time, Mélina enjoys hiking and travelling with her family.

Lucas Chamberlain serves as Senior Associate, Programs. Prior to joining Delta Institute, Lucas worked as a farm manager and a soil ecologist for the Chicago Botanic Garden and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also served as a Science Communications Fellow and volunteer research assistant for the John G. Shedd Aquarium. Lucas is an adjunct faculty member of SAE Institute – Chicago where he teaches Environmental Science. He is also a member of the Soil Science Society of America. He earned his BS in Anthropology from Illinois State University and his MS in Plant Biology and Conservation from Northwestern University. His soil health research was recently published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. Lucas loves to play music and spend time at Lake Michigan with his wife and their dog, Dottie.

Claire supports programmatic work across Delta’s objective areas, inclusive of GIS, mapping, analysis, and conducting assessments. Claire attained her LEED Green Associate credential in 2021. Prior to working for Delta, Claire worked for a community development financial institution, supporting its impact measurement and research work. Claire holds bachelor's degrees in Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of Chicago. In her free time, Claire enjoys reading, doing crossword puzzles, and running on the Lakefront Trail.

Sidney (Sid) serves as Delta's Chief Development Officer, and has 19 years of resource development experience with expertise in individual giving (annual fund, major gifts, and planned giving); board relations and recruitment; grant writing and prospecting; corporate sponsorship; event planning fundraising strategy; and marketing. Sid previously served as development director for a small regenerative farming and food safety nonprofit, a gifts officer for Heartland Alliance for Human Rights & Human Needs, and in steadily increasing development roles for multiple Chicago-based social service agencies since 2006. He is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Mongolia; was adjunct faculty at Loyola University Chicago; and has been a presenter for the Axelson Center since 2014. He is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), and a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Chicago Area Peace Corps Association. He is frequently exhausted from attempting to keep up with his kindergartener. 

As Chief Financial Officer for Delta Institute, Helen is responsible for all of the financial, administrative and operational aspects of the organization as well as C-suite level leadership. She brings more than 15 years of experience in a leadership capacity in accounting and administration in the nonprofit, government, and private sectors. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Helen holds a B.S. in Accounting from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee and M.S. from Keller University in Accounting and Financial Management. In her spare time, she loves football and traveling.

Malcolm serves as Lead, Programs in the Nature Based Climate Solutions portfolio, providing on-the-ground community engagement, technical facilitation, and project management and planning via our Green Infrastructure, municipal collaboration, and community inclusion efforts. Malcolm has extensive experience managing environmental programs, implementing sustainable community development strategies, and building capacity with partners and stakeholders. His prior work includes consulting, revenue development, and policy/planning efforts—including at Assedo Consulting, REAP North Carolina, and Bluestem Communications. Malcolm is also certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Maha serves as a Specialist, Programs for Delta after joining in 2023. She is a sustainability professional, urban planner and academic researcher. In Chicago she served as Chair of Professional Development and board member on the Women in Planning and Development (WP+D). She served as a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee advocating on the American Planning Association (APA). When Maha previously lived in the Middle East, she was academic researcher, and the chair of Spatial Planning Department in the University of Kurdistan- Iraq. Her duties included coordinating a joint research and exchange program with TU- Dortmund- Germany, applying sustainable green approaches in planning, design and construction for projects impacted by climate change. She also was an assistant professor at the University of Duhok-Kurdistan. Maha is a Fulbright Scholar in Urban Studies from MIT and has her PhD in Urban Planning from Baghdad University. Maha likes the natural systems combining both great lakes and great plains in the Midwest as it resembles the old water marshes and plains of Mesopotamia!

Patrick serves as Delta’s Director of Donor Stewardship, a role in which he leads and supports individual giving, events management, digital marketing, earned revenue development, and the Delta Emerging Leaders associate board. During his tenure, he has quadrupled revenue for Delta’s annual BOOST event, saw year-over-year growth for Delta’s holiday giving campaigns, doubled email marketing performance metrics, and co-chaired Delta’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. Patrick previously served as the development and alumni relations director for the George M. Pullman Education Foundation and as associate director for communications at the Midwest Augustinians. He holds an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Spertus College, a Certificate in Nonprofit Board Education from BoardSource, and a Certificate in Organizational Leadership in DEI from Rice University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Adler University.

Jenny B. Par serves as Associate, Programs, for Delta after previously working as a lead (Pb) risk assessor for the Milwaukee Health Department, conducting lead inspections and assessments to prevent childhood lead poisoning in the city. Jenny has a B.S in Environmental Science from Loyola University Chicago and a M.S in Sustainability Management from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. During her free time, Jenny enjoys hiking, camping, listening to podcasts, and collecting postcards and stickers from her travels. She also loves spending time with her two dogs.

As CEO, Bill drives strategy behind Delta’s collaboration with more than 180 communities in Chicago and throughout the Midwest to solve environmental challenges and spur economic development. He balances high-level decision-making with tactical implementation. Further, he sets an authentic and inclusive culture, including personally engaging with all staff consistently. Bill’s accomplishments include: Working with 1,400 farmers and foresters to reduce climate change impacts; Implementation planning for the Chicago Climate Action Plan—focusing on residential and commercial energy efficiency mitigation strategies that most impact greenhouse gas emissions; Helping establish the Michigan Saves program, an energy efficiency loan program that has $160M in its loan portfolio; and incepting a venture decision framework to spin off and scale initiatives. He has over 20 years of experience in systems analysis, environmental science, and consulting. He earned his BS in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and Environmental Studies from Tulane University and his MS in Environmental Analysis and Decision Making from Rice University. He is a 2019 Notable LGBTQ Executive for Crains Chicago Business.

Katherine is responsible for administering the financial and operational aspects of the organization and assisting with grant management and I.T. She has worked in non-profits for her entire career, including a family foundation, a university, and smaller programmatic organizations, totaling 22 years of experience in the field.  Katherine grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and stayed in Chicago after receiving her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Chicago. She loves spending time with her husband, doing DIY projects, and catching up on TV and movies.