Susan McConnell

Founder and Executive Director

Susan McConnell is the Founder and Executive Director of Let It Be Us, an adoptive parent, and a tireless advocate for children in need of safe and loving homes through foster care and adoption.  She is most proud of the innovative programs that she and her team have developed to recruit foster and adoptive parents in Illinois. She is the recipient of many awards, including a congressional award, for her commitment to children in foster care. She sits on the Statewide Foster Care Advisory Council where she advises the Legislative Committee and the Healthcare Committee.

Susan is the parent to 4 children, 3 through adoption, and has decades of experience in open adoption.  She has a BS and an MBA from Chicago’s DePaul University and is a graduate of Cornell University’s Women in Leadership Program.  She has a deep background in human resources and recruiting within major law firms in Los Angeles and Chicago and she has directed her experience to the world of child welfare, which is largely overlooked by entrepreneurs.

Bob Noonan

Board Chair

Kerry Miller

Treasurer 

Susan Stoga

Vice Chair

Elizabeth Felice

Secretary

Elizabeth Felice, the Let It Be Us Secretary, brings over a decade of experience as an educator to Let it Be Us. Her work as an English teacher, reading specialist, tutor, and coach has provided a rich body of problem-solving experiences and a growing testimony to the power of educational empowerment. 

Through her experience as a high school educator, Elizabeth has learned that families come in endless varieties of function, and she is dedicated to providing the unconditional acceptance and support that only a family can offer to as many young people in need as possible. She is also dedicated to empowering the older children of foster care through the development of educational and life goals, and the encouragement and empathy that each individual deserves.  Elizabeth also has extensive experience with Individual Education Plans (IEP’s). 

Elizabeth holds a BS from Chicago’s DePaul University and an MA from Concordia University. Elizabeth is the mother of two children.

Larry Butz

Board Member

Larry Butz brings over 35 years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience to Let It Be Us. Larry is co-owner and Founder of OEO Energy Solutions, a national leader in the LED industry, and his current role is General Manager.

He was previously Co-Founder and Partner at Daybreak Special Situations Fund and Portfolio Manager at Nite Capital. Larry developed sales and marketing expertise in past roles including executive search and also in the paper industry, with Kimberly-Clark and Scott Paper. He graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management.

Larry’s family includes his wife Mary Jo and their three daughters. Larry and Mary Jo are the founders of the Megan Patricia Butz Memorial Fund which supports the work of Let It Be Us.

Eileen Gaete

Board Member

Eileen Gaete is a global strategist at RSM US, LLP, a leading accounting firm.  Fluent in Spanish, she is the mother of three and has been a licensed foster parent since 2017.

Eileen holds a master’s degree in International Management from Liverpool University in Liverpool, England, and a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Spanish from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mark Mishler

Board Member

Mark Mishler brings over 35 years of corporate experience in the Specialty Insurance Industry and 20 years of military service as an Army Engineer Officer, to Let It Be Us.

He was the Chairman and CEO of Interstate National Corporation, President, COO, and Board member of The Warranty Group and served on the Board of Paylocity Holdings.  In addition, Mark is a current Board Member of Make-a-Wish, Illinois.

Mark was an early supporter of Let It Be Us, sponsoring the organization’s first fundraising events and providing much-needed support. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania’s Robert Morris University.

Peter Schwarzbach

Board Member

Peter Schwarzbach is the owner of Vin Chicago, a unique chain of wine stores in the Chicago area. A graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the University of Michigan, he brings over 20 years of business operations and management experience to Let It Be Us.

In addition to his leadership of Vin Chicago, Peter’s background includes work for Toyota in its manufacturing operations and marketing work in the semiconductor equipment industry. Peter enjoys spending time outdoors, running on the lakefront, and is an avid sailor.

Rick Smith

Board Member

Rick brings 30 years of corporate experience in the Insurance Industry to the Let It Be Us team as Co-Chair of the Finance Committee. He has experience in finance, operations, and product development. Rick has been with Allstate Insurance for 30 years and is currently a Product Vice President responsible for managing nearly $3 billion in annual revenue.

Rick received a Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Business Analysis from Louisiana State University and an MBA in Corporate Finance from the University of Dallas.

Rick’s family includes his wife, Michelle, and their 3 adult children.

Brandon Verwijst

Board Member

Brandon Verwijst holds a degree in biomedical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the Director of Engineering at Quadrant Technologies, where he oversees the development and manufacture of medical devices.

Although an engineer by trade, Brandon brings over a decade of experience as a teacher and mentor to children and young adults. Whether he is tutoring for the ACT, teaching guitar at Craven Academy of Performing Arts, or coaching at Chess2Children, Brandon’s mission is to teach children lessons that are not bound by classroom walls.

He has carried this mission into his work as an Educational Mentor with Let It Be Us, where he works with foster care youth to make a lasting change in how they see themselves in this world. He joins the board as assistant treasurer and has served as a mentor for Let It Be Us since 2015.