E. Hoy McConnell, II
Executive Director
Even before Hoy McConnell became BPI’s third Executive Director in September 1999, he was active on the Board of Directors — as a member since 1981 and president from 1990-96. Previously Hoy led a distinguished career in the advertising agency business. At the Leo Burnett Company, Hoy was Senior Vice President, Account Director. He joined Burnett from D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Worldwide (DMB&B), where from 1983 until 1995 he served as Managing Director of DMB&B/Chicago, leading the 160-person Chicago office, which steadily grew under his direction. Hoy received a BA magna cum laude from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
hmcconnell@bpichicago.org
PROGRAM STAFF
Julie Elena Brown
Senior Staff Counsel
Julie Elena Brown has served as Staff Counsel since 1989 and currently works on housing litigation and policy development. Prior to
her role at BPI, Julie served as Assistant Corporation Counsel with the City of Chicago Law Department. She received her bachelor's degree
from the University of Wisconsin and JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she was on staff at the Law Review and an
editor at the International Law Journal.
jbrown@bpichicago.org
Ellen Elias
Director of Development
Ellen joined BPI in 2000. She was formerly Assistant Director of Development at the John G. Shedd Aquarium where she worked in
planned giving and donor communications. In addition to her involvement with other nonprofit organizations, she has been part of start-up teams
for two Web-based companies. Ellen has a BA in English Literature from Loyola University and JD from the DePaul University College of Law.
eelias@bpichicago.org
Adam Gross
Director, Regional Affordable Housing Initiative
Adam Gross has served as Staff Counsel at BPI since 1995, focusing on housing and community development issues. He now leads BPI's
efforts to increase the supply and equitable distribution of affordable housing. He received his BA from Yale University, MA in Public
Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and JD from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was
Comment Editor at The University of Chicago Law School Roundtable.
agross@bpichicago.org
Betsy Lassar
Policy Analyst
Betsy Lassar is a member of BPI's Affordable Housing team. Prior to joining BPI, Betsy served as Housing Planner and Consultant to the City of Highland Park, where she was responsible for affordable housing activities, including coordinating implementation of the city’s Affordable Housing Plan. Betsy is founder and currently vice-president of the Highland Park Community Land Trust, and served as Vice Chair of the City’s Housing Commission. She also serves as Commissioner of the Lake County Affordable Housing Commission. Betsy is no stranger to BPI, having served as staff counsel from 1977-1984. She holds a JD from Northwestern University and a BA from the University of Michigan. Betsy was elected to BPI's Board of Directors in September 2007.
Susannah R. Levine
Senior Policy Analyst
Susannah joined BPI in July 2003 after receiving her Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago's Irving B. Harris School of
Public Policy Studies. Currently, she engages in policy analysis, advocacy, research and community organizing for BPI's Affordable Housing Initiative. As a Public Policy Associate at Illinois Action for Children, Susannah led lobbying efforts
and conducted legislative advocacy on behalf of low-income families. Susannah has also worked with the Financial Research and Advisory
Committee (FRAC). She received her BA from Brandeis University.
slevine@bpichicago.org
Alexander Polikoff
Director, Public Housing Program
Alexander Polikoff has served as lead counsel in the Gautreaux public housing litigation for more than 40 years. Alex joined BPI one
year after its founding in 1970 as Executive Director, a position he held for almost 30 years. Prior to holding that position, he was a
member of the Chicago law firm Schiff Hardin & Waite. He received his BA, MA in English Language and Literature and JD from the
University of Chicago. He is the author of Housing the Poor: The Case for Heroism (1978) and Waiting for Gautreaux, (2006).
apolikoff@bpichicago.org
Kim Zalent
Director, Public Education Program
Kim Zalent joined BPI as Director of the Public Education Program in 2003. Prior to joining BPI, Kim served as the Executive Director/Lead Organizer for the South Bronx Churches/IAF, where she co-led a project to create 19 small public high schools. A founding organizer for Lower Manhattan Together, an Industrial Areas Foundation organization in New York, Kim also led a number of Chicago-based initiatives, including the Organization of the NorthEast (ONE) and the Pilsen Resurrection Project. Kim holds a BA from Valparaiso University.
POLIKOFF-GAUTREAUX FELLOWS
Aya Barnea
Aya Barnea joined BPI’s staff as a Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellow in August 2010. Aya received her JD magna cum laude in May 2010 from the DePaul University College of Law, where she was a member of the DePaul Law Review and served on the Public Interest Law Committee. Before entering law school, she taught first grade for two years through Teach for America in Baltimore and received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University. As a law student, Aya served as a law clerk with the Cook County Public Guardian and the Family Defense Center and held internships at BPI and the Citizen Advocacy Center. Aya was awarded a BA in Public Policy Studies with Honors from the University of Chicago in 2005.
Kate Pomper
Staff Counsel
Kate joined BPI as the tenth Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellow in September 2008, having received dual degrees from the University of Michigan's Law School and the Ford School of Public Policy. While in law school she was Article Editor for the Journal of Law Reform, a Dean’s Public Service Fellow, and co-chaired Michigan's ACLU chapter. She served as a member of the Board of the Ford School’s Women and Gender in Public Policy. Kate graduated from the University of Virginia in 2001, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in Economics with High Distinction, where she was also a Jefferson Scholar. In her graduate school summers, Kate interned in Chicago with the Mayor’s Office, the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, and the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. She also spent three years working in Washington, D.C. for the Urban Institute’s Income and Policy Benefits Center and the National Women’s Law Center. At BPI, Kate works with BPI’s Public Housing team.
Kate is the 2008 Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellow.
SKADDEN FELLOWS
Dan Klaff
Staff Counsel
Dan joined BPI in September 2008. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was Editor-In-Chief of the Harvard Civil Rights - Civil Liberties Law Review, was an Ames Moot Court Finalist, active in the Prison Legal Assistance Project, and a research assistant for Professor Martha Minow. While in law school, Dan interned in Washington D.C. for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, as well as for Jenner and Block and Bredhoff and Kaiser law firms. Prior to law school, Dan worked as a research assistant at the Brookings Institution. Dan received his BS with honors from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations where he was also a Rhodes Scholar finalist.
AIZIK WOLF HUMAN RIGHTS FELLOW
Hannah Birnbaum
Hannah joined BPI's staff as the Aizik Wolf Human Rights Fellow in August 2010. Administered by the University of Chicago’s Human Rights Program, the Aizik Wolf Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship in Human Rights was created to help University of Chicago students launch careers in human rights and social justice activism. Hannah received her BA in sociology with honors from the University of Chicago in June 2010, where she was Student Marshal and a Truman Scholarship finalist. As an undergraduate, she worked on public housing and public education issues at BPI under two successive internships, the University of Chicago Human Rights Internship Program and the Alan Saks Public Interest Internship. In addition, she managed the University Community Service Center’s Woodlawn-related programs, served as a hotline counselor for the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, and was involved in community organizing and affordable housing issues as an intern with the Lakeside Community Development Corporation.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Marissa Manos
Administrative Director
mmanos@bpichicago.org
Viviann Jones
Finance Manager
vjones@bpichicago.org
Paula Kruger
Technology Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
pkruger@bpichicago.org
Deborah Johnson
Receptionist
djohnson@bpichicago.org
