ABOUT US

Ms. Walker has designed interior spaces for more than 20 years.  Boise’s love for interior design was ignited in high school when she redesigned her family home.  Realizing her innate gift, she received a BS degree in Interior Design at Colorado State University.  She led the design efforts of more than 1,000 projects for several large Fortune 500 retailers in the US and International markets.  After uncompromised success in the corporate world with commercial concept development, she desired to expand her business acumen and received an MBA from the University of Nebraska Omaha.  Boise is the Owner/Designer of Ezio Design Solutions, a full-service interior design firm that allows her to design beautiful spaces in Chicago, Joliet and surrounding areas.  With a heart for helping people, Boise established the non-profit, Ezio Community Development Services, Inc. to ensure marginalized communities have room to thrive.  Not only is she committed to creating functional and aesthetically appealing spaces, she also does not shy away from the challenge of revitalizing areas that have been forgotten and blighted for decades.  Boise’s love for design and helping others have finally merged to benefit a greater cause.

Mr. Schmiedl recently served as the Director of Facilities for the College of DuPage, with responsibility for all campus building design and construction as well as all operational aspects of the campus including plant operations, building and grounds maintenance and custodial services. He is a past Divisional Vice President of Walgreens, leading the Facilities Planning, Design and Engineering Department, responsible for the design of all company stores, distribution centers and office facilities. During a career spanning 43 years, he has direct experience in the design of single family and multi-family housing, retail, industrial and higher education buildings. Mr. Schmiedl has also worked in real estate development and design/build construction. Mr. Schmiedl has been a licensed architect in the State of Illinois since 1980.

Connie is the Program Manager for the Will County Substance Use Initiatives, Recovery Coach Program and Rapid Response Team. Her passion is to help people especially those who are in underserved
communities. Substance Use is at an all-time high, and Will County has so many resources to help those who struggle with Substance Use disorder. She has been married for 35 Years and has 3 Wonderful
children. She enjoys traveling and spending quality time with my family.

Ms. King was formerly Managing Director for The Corvus Group where she was responsible for the supervision and quality control of deliverables for various banks with over 47 billion in assets for 67 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Loss Share Agreements.  She managed on-site compliance audits conducted across the United States and Puerto Rico, designed and implemented internal processes, portfolio and performance management metrics, standard report formats, site visit work programs and communication protocols.  As a manager at Grant Thornton, Ms. King performed buy and sell-side due diligence engagements for middle-market clients ($50MM – 500MM) where she analyzed working capital, carve-outs, quality of earnings and financial modeling for private equity and strategic acquirers in the professional services and manufacturing industries.  Ms. King has a passion for helping those in underserved communities navigate their financial future by obtaining and maintaining control of their finances.  In an effort to achieve this goal, she has conducted several financial literacy classes at various churches within the Joliet and Bolingbrook communities as well as individual one-on-one sessions.

Valerie is grateful for the life lessons she has learned, and the relationships garnered from those experiences. The relationships she could never exist without are her relationships with Ancient of Days, the most beloved name for Father God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Through those relationships she is the beneficiary of open vision, dreams, gift of knowledge and prophecy. The benefit she most treasures is being able to hear His voice.  She is humbled in knowing that she can do nothing without Him and know nothing unless He speaks.

Hilda joined Ezio Community Development Services in June 2020. Before joining Ezio's Board of Directors, she served on the board for the Northwest Side Housing Center from 2008 - 2018.  Hilda currently works for Starbucks Corporate Office and while there she has managed 3 major office moves ranging from 1,500 sf to 3,500.  When the weather permits, she enjoys biking with her husband.

Attorney Standfield was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Joliet, Illinois. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Saint Francis with a B.A. in Public Relations and Communications with a minor in Journalism. Prior to law school, Attorney Standfield worked his way up the ranks at Caterpillar, Inc., serving as a chief steward for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) working on several arbitration cases between the union and the company.  After eight years serving the union, he was promoted to management, whereafter he took a leave of absence in order to attend law school. A graduate of The Pennsylvania State University-Dickinson School of Law, he gained admittance to the Illinois and Northern District of Illinois-Federal Trial Bar in November of 2008. Attorney Standfield started Standfield Law in July 2009, focusing on Family Law before moving on to Criminal Law, Contract Law, and Immigration.

Lisa Luangsomkham is a social studies instructor and coach at Joliet Central High School.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Secondary Education from the University of St. Francis and Master of Arts Degree in Educational Administration from Governors State University. She is an active executive officer of the Multicultural Education Group, a non-profit community organization established in 2013 & based in the Elgin area. She lives in Joliet, along with her husband and 5 children, since arriving to the U.S. as a refugee from Laos in 1983.