Bright Promises Welcomes New Members to the Board of Directors

Bright Promises is honored to welcome four new members to our Board of Directors.

We offer our congratulation to Dean Benson, Ryan A. Biller, Christine Calderon, and Aimee Hilado, Ph.D., LCSW on their appointment to the Bright Promises Board of Directors

These new Directors bring a diverse set of skills and backgrounds to support Bright Promises and the children and youth we serve. We are grateful to them for offering their expertise to support our mission to find, fund, and share creative solutions to the most urgent, underrecognized issues impacting our children and youth.

Read their bios below and get to know our new Directors and learn why these caring and committed leaders have chosen to dedicate their time and talent to help us realize our vision of for a Chicagoland where all children and youth reach their full promise and potential.

Get to Know our New Directors

Dean Benson

Dean Benson is excited to bring their years of experience in marketing, advertising and insights to the Bright Promises organization. Dean believes strongly in what Bright Promises has been able to do for the children and youth in the Chicagoland area that don't have access to resources and support they need. Dean believes driving awareness of the organization in order to gain greater support from people in the Chicagoland area will only make us a better and stronger allies for our children and youth.

"We are helping provide children support and access to resources that they don't generally have access to, which contributes to a brighter future." - Dean Benson‍

Christine Calderon

Christine Calderon has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry providing comprehensive wealth management advice to families, and foundations. Currently, she serves as a Senior Client Strategist at BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Christine prides herself in her ability to make strong personal connections and build long term relationships centered on communication, trust, and confidence.

What Christine loves most about her work is helping families make successful and meaningful financial decisions that allow them to feel secure in their future. Through her work she has enjoyed mentoring many young professionals and as a mother of three daughters, sees the importance of developing and empowering children and helping create an environment where all children have access to the support and resources to ensure a successful future.

"I love Bright Promises Foundation because of its commitment to providing equitable resources to children to better prepare them, physically, mentally and socially, for successful futures. Bright Promises works to identify the most pressing needs children are facing and matches those needs with funding and support, sharing the knowledge that is learned so that the impact can be magnified." - Christine Calderon‍

Ryan A. Biller

Ryan is an attorney in the corporate practice group at Chuhak & Tecson, P.C., where he provides counsel and support to a variety of small and middle market companies. Ryan holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from the Northern Illinois University College of Law.

"Investing in the healthy growth and development of children and youth ensures a strong foundation for their futures that will contribute to a stronger social community for us all." - Ryan A. Biller‍

Aimee Hilado

Aimee Hilado, Ph.D., LCSW is a practitioner scholar and community-based intervention researcher specializing in immigration trauma and refugee mental health. Dr. Hilado is an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice where she teaches and conducts research on understudied pathways to promoting mental wellness and adjustment for newcomers.

She directs the UChicago Refugee Wellness Laboratory that studies diverse communities across different immigration statuses (refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants, unaccompanied children) and across the lifespan from early childhood to older adults. Her work focuses on mental health outcomes in the context of the organizations and health systems they interface.

Dr. Hilado specializes in mixed methods intervention research on the impact of early childhood family-level interventions that promote IECMH, adult mental health, and family wellbeing.
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"I love the foundation's approach of providing support to those organizations that are tapped into the various communities the foundation seeks to serve. This provides a more targeted approach to combating the challenges faced by underrepresented children." - Dr. Aimee Hilado

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