"Girls increasingly are taking on leadership roles in all professions," says Harris, who has a background in education and workforce development policy. "Women at home are the main influence regarding useful health resources and making the decisions necessary for family health choices. People are constantly exposed to news, marketing materials, and political agendas, all citing scientific research as the basis of their call to action. With InnerLink's Web enabled science lab kits, girls, along with the boys, can become more knowledgeable about science regardless of their future profession."
You can find out more about InnerLink's vision and projects by logging onto their website at www.innerlinkit.com. To reserve a space on the team for a student at home or at school, e-mail InnerLink at info@innerlinkit.com. If you like what you see, please contact Dr. Gillio at rgillio@paonline.com. He would love to tell you more about his company and InnerLink's vision to become the premier company to offer girls (and boys) the first Web-enabled collaborative research learning kits supported by world class research scientists.
A profile in success: Irene Bahr
By Terrie Rymer, Director, Advocacy Services of the Jewish Federation
Meet Irene Bahr. A founding member and first chair of the Standing Committee on Women & the Law, Irene was recently elected secretary of the ISBA. Last year, Irene served as treasurer and was a candidate for third vice president.
Irene grew up on the southeast side of Chicago in the Irondale neighborhood and lived in the Chicago Housing Authority townhouses until she was in college. She shared a room with two sisters, and all ten members of her family shared one bathroom. Her father was a Chicago firefighter, and her mother, who came from Ireland at the age of nineteen, worked as a crossing guard after raising eight kids.
At Saints Peter and Paul High School in South Chicago, Irene was active in theater, dance, and a folk singing group. She also worked part-time. In fact, Irene worked her way through college, graduate school, and law school. Irene attended the University of Illinois, at the Circle (now known as UIC), where she majored in secondary education and sociology. After deciding that teaching was not her calling, Irene attended graduate school in sociology for one-and-a-half years and then went to DePaul Law School (class of 1977), where she was very active in the women's law caucus.
Irene clerked for the Illinois Attorney General during law school, which she says was a good background for practicing law. She had opportunities to observe and participate--as a "711" student--in state and federal courts and administrative hearings.
In her first job after law school, Irene worked as the attorney for the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. As the only attorney, she had no one to "teach her the ropes," but she had an opportunity to have a lot of input into the agency. For support, Irene says that she called her friends at the Attorney General's office and conferred often with Jewel Klein, counsel to the Racing Commission. At that time, Irene says that most of the people in the industry were male --the commissioners as well as the attorneys--but they gave her a lot of authority. Furthermore, she had the opportunity to develop contacts all over the United States and even overseas.
After ten years, Irene left to set up her own practice, representing people seeking liquor licenses, such as retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, as well as state and local liquor commissions. Her work involves litigation of contract disputes, defense of retailers accused of selling to minors, running houses of prostitution, or even sexual assault, and negotiations with suppliers. Irene has had several appeals before the appellate court, involving commercial free speech.
Because her law practice does not provide much opportunity to do pro bono work, Irene utilizes her bar association involvements as a way to give something back. Besides, Irene says, she likes lawyers and chooses to spend time with them and work on their behalf. In addition to her work for the ISBA, Irene is a past president of the DuPage Women Lawyers and was personally involved in establishing the children's room in the DuPage County courts.
Praising her parents, Irene says that they never told her that she could not do things because she was a girl. Rather, they told her to work for what she wanted and to value her education.
Irene includes among her mentors several men from the Illinois Attorney General's Office; her husband who went to law school before her; her colleagues at the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, where peers mentored each other; and Robert Anderson, a judge in DuPage County.
Irene reports that she never had to make sacrifices because of her career. She did not wait to marry and had children when she wanted. Her husband is supportive of her career, and her practice allows her the flexibility she needs with young children. She feels that she has been fortunate to be able to have day care in her home. In addition, Irene's mother is willing to help with the kids when there is a scheduling problem.
According to Irene, everyone has to make choices, but it's not a sacrifice if you get what you want. She has had family support, loving relatives, understanding bosses, a good education, and a good career. Irene sees herself as lucky.
Irene's secrets to success are hard work and flexibility. She emphasizes you do not have to be the smartest, but you do have to work hard and be flexible to deal with whatever comes your way.
Finally, Irene wants to encourage women to seek involvement in the ISBA. She believes that many committees need more women, and she invites any woman who does not get appointed to a particular committee to contact her. Irene is a member of the Board of Governors and invites all members to call her about problems or concerns.
By E. Lynn Grayson, Jenner & Block, LLC, Chicago
WINGS, one of the organizations supported by the Women Everywhere project, is a non-profit comprehensive transitional housing program dedicated to ending homelessness for women and children in the Northwest Chicago suburbs. It is the mission of the WINGS program to provide a personal growth program in a transitional living setting for homeless suburban women and their children to learn to manage their lives through education, guidance and support.
The WINGS program provides the building blocks for success including:
Shelter. WINGS provides housing, food and clothing to homeless women in the Northwest suburbs.
Stability. With the basic needs addressed, families are able to become stable and work towards future goals.
Support. The women and children who stay in the WINGS program receive intensive support from case managers, counselors, volunteers and other women who have experienced similar situations.
Self esteem. As the women and children progress through the program, they regain their sense of confidence.
Success. The culmination of the program is self-sufficiency and permanent housing.
WINGS' residents are women and children who become homeless due to extreme hardships and circumstances. The women are from all ethnic backgrounds and all ages. With 12 shelters, homes and apartments throughout the North and Northwest suburbs, WINGS has the capacity to assist 65-70 women and children each night. WINGS manages in excess of 200 calls a month from people seeking assistance.
WINGS succeeds, in large part, due to the support of private individuals and businesses. Individuals or businesses wishing to help can make tax-deductible cash contributions or provide much needed goods or services. A wide variety of volunteer opportunities also exist at WINGS for individuals and community groups interested in helping others. In addition, WINGS recently opened a resale shop located at 756 Northwest Highway in Palatine, IL, and is always interested in receiving donated goods.
Jenner & Block's women attorneys have volunteered at WINGS for the last two years as part of the Women Everywhere project. WINGS is a wonderful organization with dedicated, committed staff and volunteers. We have enjoyed a relationship with WINGS and encourage others to support this worthy cause.
If you are interested in more information about WINGS, please call 847/640-8542 or visit the WINGS Web site at www.wingsprogram.com/.
By Julia C. Langfelder
When practicing family law, attorney Suzi Schrader battled with opposing counsel every day in court or in negotiations. She fought for the best outcome for her clients. "It felt like every day was a war," Schrader explains. "In many cases, I began to wonder if there was a different way."
Schrader found an alternative when she learned about the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR), a not-for-profit corporation that provides free mediation services to the residents of Cook County.
That was five years ago. Today, Schrader is a private mediator and Director of Volunteer Development at the Center for Conflict Resolution.
With support from the Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association, CCR handled its first case in 1979. Currently, CCR relies on a staff of 12 and the assistance of more than 130 volunteers to mediate more than 2,000 cases each year. Its mission is to work with individuals, communities, courts and other institutions to manage and resolve conflict.
Mediation is designed to help people find their own solutions to their conflicts before a judge imposes one. Each session is facilitated by a trained impartial third person (the mediator). The mediator ensures the parties communicate their concerns, realistically think through their situations, generate options and have the opportunity to reach a mutually satisfying agreement.
"The most rewarding part of mediating is the chance to empower people to resolve their own disputes and to provide a forum where people are able to repair broken relationships, whether it is between co-workers, business partners, family members, friends, or neighbors," Schrader stated. "Mediation adds another tool for attorneys to use in seeking to meet the needs of their clients."
As mediation progressed into a significant method of resolving disputes, CCR, with its 22 years of experience, has become recognized as one of the nation's premiere providers of mediation services and for its mediation skills training. In addition to providing the basic techniques needed to mediate disputes, the performance-based mediation skills training enhances the skills used by attorneys in their practices and in their interactions outside of work.
Jennifer Nijman, a partner at Winston & Strawn and an environmental lawyer, participated in CCR's Mediation Skills Training last March. "The training gave me the opportunity to practice my listening, questioning, problem-solving and negotiation skills and receive incredible feedback from experienced mediator/coaches," she said. "I now incorporate what I learned in the training into negotiations with opposing counsel and even with my children and husband."
CCR volunteers who complete the intensive 32-hour training and certification process mediate more than 90 percent of the cases that come to CCR. Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County refer the majority of CCR's cases. These cases include small claims matters, eviction cases, criminal misdemeanor cases and disputes between divorce attorneys and clients over attorney fees.
CCR also receives juvenile offender and victim cases from the States Attorney's office, employment discrimination cases from the Illinois Department of Human rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sexual harassment cases from the City of Chicago, and cases from the Illinois Commerce Commission and the City Department of Administrative Hearings. Additionally, anyone can call CCR. If they qualify and all the parties are willing to participate, CCR will mediate the conflict.
This past spring, CCR launched its newest program, the Community Consensus Project. Through this initiative, CCR provides expert mediators to assist local governments, advocacy groups and community organizations involved in public conflicts.
Each of CCR's programs allows volunteers the opportunity to explore the different outlets of the mediation field while reaching the community through a unique avenue.
"CCR has provided me with another way to give back to our community by volunteering as a mediator," Nijman remarked. "I am impressed with the opportunities CCR gives people and its ongoing commitment to the community."
For more information on the Center for Conflict Resolution programs or volunteer opportunities, please call 312/922-6464.
%20Initial.GIF)