Faculty, staff, consultants and community partners with key roles in implementating the programs of the Centre for Community Development & Technology.
Karen F. Walker
Director, Minority and Women Business Enterprise Development.
Karen walker is the Director of Equal Opportunity and M/WBE Programs at IIT, holding that position since May 1998. Walker’s responsibility is to develop, implement and monitor programs to increase the participation of minority and women-owned businesses in IIT’s procurement process for both day-to-day operations and new construction.
Walker comes to IIT from Power Contracting & Engineering Corporation where she was the Affirmative Action Officer for nine years. For over a decade, Walker has worked closely with contractor assistance agencies, government agencies and advocacy organizations rallying for the causes of minorities and females in the construction industry. Walker holds a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern Illinois University.
Faculty Partners and Consultants
Dirk Denison (Housing Design
Studio)
Associate Dean and Director of Academic Programs for seven years at IIT and currently
teaches both graduate and undergraduate design studios.
He as been involved with community issues in the Bronzeville neighborhood for the past three years while teaching joint studios with the Harvard Graduate School of Design, of which he is a graduate. The studios demonstrated the power and effectiveness of IIT’s direct involvement in community planning. Bold plans for the commercial revitalization of 35th St. were followed by a project to create an elementary school, student-designed park for Stateway Gardens and a master plan for 31st to 26th St. in Bronzeville. He is also the Principal of Dirk Denison Architects in Chicago.
Carol Burns (Housing Design
Studio)
Teaches design studios and offers seminars on contemporary topics in architecture at the
Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Her current work on housing studios studies the relationship between house types and evolving household types and examines the physical environment of housing in order to trace the nonphysical forces that shape it. She received the National AIA Education Honors Award for her innovative curriculum at GSD. She is a principal of Taylor MacDougall Burns and has designed affordable housing on scattered sites.
Marlanda English
MME, (IPRO: "Stimulating Economic Growth in Bronzeville") is currently an
instructor for the Bachelor in Manufacturing Technology program at IIT.
She teaches Quality Control in Manufacturing. She performs organizational development consulting, strategic planning assistance, and information services work for a number of clients. She is active in women’s and minority professional organizations. She has a bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering and masters in Manufacturing Engineering from Northwestern University.
Dr. Jerry Field
E.Ed, M.B.A. (Neighborhood Learning Network and Academic and Vocational Curricula)
He is currently on the staff of the Bachelor of Manufacturing Technology program where he is involved in training, outreach and program coordination. He has over 30 years of experience in higher education, marketing, training and management consulting. He holds a doctorate from Loyola University and an MBA in marketing from Roosevelt University.
Dr. Porter Johnson
Ph.D. (Science and Math Initiative for Learning Enhancement)
He has been in a staff and leadership role for a region-wide program for improving math and science education in the public schools since 1991. He is a professor of Physics at IIT, having chaired the Department of Physics from 1979 to 1995. He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University.
Dr. Keith McKee
Ph.D. (IPRO "Stimulating Economic Growth in Bronzeville") is director of the
Bachelor in Manufacturing Technology program and the Manufacturing Productivity Center at
IIT.
He is one of the nation’s leading experts on manufacturing productivity improvements, with particular emphasis on small manufacturers. He created the working model for manufacturing productivity improvements that led to the establishment of the Chicago Manufacturing Center, an NIST-funded enterprise. As such he as continually demonstrated his ability to help small businesses become profitable and productive. He led manufacturing research at IIT Research Institute and has done extensive consulting throughout the country. He holds a Ph.D from IIT.
Dr. Charles Merbitz
Ph.D. (IPRO: "Visualizing Learning to Improve Educational Outcomes," Visualizing
self-sufficiency Research—Community Development)
He is associate professor, IIT, and director of disability resources, and rehabilitation technology laboratory. He is the author of many articles on rehabilitation psychology and assistive technology. He has also done research and taught in the field of learning research. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida.
Dr. Kenneth Schug
Ph.D. is a professor of Chemistry at IIT
He teaches a wide range of chemistry courses to undergraduate and graduate students. He has published extensively and done research in transition metal chemistry. He has undertaken many teacher and student enhancement programs over the years, including acting as project director for the $1.1 million annual Chicago Area Health and Medical Careers Program (CAHMCP), one of the longest running and most successful of all educational enhancement programs to encourage minorities to enter medicine. Dr. Schug also created and has managed the NSF-funded SMILE program since 1986. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California.
Ziad Zatar
Senior Network Manager in the Office of Computing and Network Services.
His responsibilities include working with students, faculty and staff to address their networking needs and connectivity problems. Mr. Zatar was the lead staff on a project that led to Internet access for elementary schools including Douglas Community Academy and Daniel Hale Williams. Mr. Zatar has also provided Internet training to faculty and De La Salle Institute and Du Sable High School.
Key Community Partners
Steven Redfield
(STRIVE, Neighborhood Learning Network) has more than 15 years experience in non-profit program management in the fields of education, training and employment, and is the founding executive director of STRIVE/Chicago Employment Service, which opened in 1990. STRIVE’s mission is to help chronically unemployed, low-income adults enter the work force and build stable work histories. So far, STRIVE has helped 1,100 people find employment on the west and south sides of Chicago. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Masters in Public Policy Analysis from the Claremont Graduate School.
Gregory Washington
(Grand Boulevard Federation, Neighborhood Learning Network) is responsible for coordinating the Grand Boulevard Federation that is part of the Governor’s Task Force on Human Services Reform. This agency is at the heart of welfare and social services reform in Greater Grand Boulevard. Mr. Washington has served as coordinator of health and human services for the Centers for New Horizons in Bronzeville, and has helped run many social service agencies. He is a Psychotherapist by training, with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago, and study at the Chicago Counseling and Psychotherapy Center.
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