NAPERVILLE — The Naperville Heritage Society, administrator of Naper Settlement, has appointed John Koranda (pictured left) as the new Board Chair and welcomes three new Board Members Lindy Antonelli, Richard Carlson and Matt Ishikawa. Koranda succeeds Sally Pentecost, who was Board Chair since 2013. Each board member will serve a three-year term. Pentecost will continue to serve in 2017 as Immediate Past Chair. The Naperville Heritage Society was founded in 1969. The board is composed of 18 members and oversees the operations of Naper Settlement, a twice nationally accredited outdoor museum by the American Alliance of Museums. With a mission to collect, document, preserve and support the history of Naperville, Illinois, past and present, the Naperville Heritage Society values stewardship, preservation, education, and community and public trust.
As a lifelong Naperville resident, John Koranda is a North Central College and Dartmouth College alum, and joined the Naperville Heritage Society in 2012. Koranda has always been very involved in the community through various charitable organizations and is working in the Commercial Real Estate Group at Naperville Bank & Trust. Koranda brings a wealth of financial experience to the position and is ready to build on Naper Settlement’s mission.
“I love the organization because of how dynamic it is,” said Koranda. “It covers a lot of bases between history, education, entertainment and community. Because of that, it is easy to find your passion once involved.”
Koranda looks forward to working on the capital projects, including the Agricultural Interpretive Center and the Heritage Gateway, and expanding the current use of grounds and programming. Koranda is a firm believer in giving back to the community and supporting the institution’s sustainable growth.
Lindy Antonelli brings an array of skills and experiences to the Naperville Heritage Society Board of Directors. Antonelli is a partner at Armanino LPP, which leads the national cloud accounting solutions practice in Naperville. Antonelli won the American Institute of CPA’s “Women to Watch” award in 2010, due to her leadership and the positive impact and influence her work has had on the accounting and consulting profession.
“I’m excited to join the board for many reasons, but the opportunity to serve my community where my family and I have lived for over 20 years, and the ability to use my experience in both finance and technology for the betterment of the Naperville Heritage Society and Naper Settlement are the most important,” said Antonelli.
Richard Carlson is Group President of Architecture & Engineering at Wight & Company, and has led the architecture team to grow to nearly 70 professionals, including landscape architects and interior designers. Carlson first worked with Naper Settlement designing the environmental pathways located around the museum campus. After the project had finished, Carlson increasingly became more involved in the museum and is ready to help Naper Settlement break ground on some exciting new endeavors.
“I feel very fortunate and honored to have been asked to be on the board,” said Carlson. “There are a lot of projects the Naperville Heritage Society has been fostering and fundraising for, and being part of that dream and using my influence to help is incredibly exciting.”
Matt Ishikawa grew up in Naperville and moved back five years ago after some time in California and Chicago. Ishikawa is a First Vice President with CBRE’s Land Services Group. He is known for his strategic thinking and has helped his team participate in over 400 sales transactions throughout the Chicagoland area. Ishikawa was a history major at Vanderbilt University and looks forward to being a part of the team that keeps Naper Settlement active in the community.
“In my short time already on the board, I am energized by our strong leadership and the board's desire to focus on how Naper Settlement can continue to evolve into a true modern museum and gathering place that remains important to our changing community,” said Ishikawa. “There are so many exciting projects coming to the Settlement and I am honored to be a part of it.”
Koranda is thrilled about the new board members. “There’s a fine balance between finding people that will do the financial means part, but are also energetic and dedicated to doing the work,” said Koranda. “I’m incredibly excited for all three to start and to contribute to the finance, programming and building & grounds committees.”
_____________________________________________________________________________
About Naper Settlement
Naper Settlement is a nationally accredited, award-winning outdoor museum set on 12 magnificent acres in the heart of Naperville, where history comes to play and community comes to connect. For more information, visit www.napersettlement.org or call (630) 420-6010.
