Our Executive Director, Liz Fales is originally from Lake County and went to college at Michigan State University. She majored in Professional Writing and specialized in Women, Gender, and Social Justice. Last spring, she completed her graduate degree at Loyola University Chicago in Women’s Studies and Gender Studies. Liz has long volunteered for human and animal rights, specifically at a rape crisis center and local animal rescue program. Prior to joining the YO, she worked for several years at A Safe Place, which is a domestic violence agency in Waukegan, and worked with the Illinois Center for Violence Prevention.
Our Program Director, Kristen Leahy, is originally from St. Louis, Missouri and is a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago. At DePaul, she received a degree in Sociology, concentrating on juvenile justice. Her previous experience includes crisis intervention and suicide prevention work with the under 21 population, as well as an internship doing vocational counseling at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.
Also a St. Louis metropolitan native is Youth Worker, 
Heather Steward. As an undergrad, Heather received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology and communications from Lake Forest College and worked as a Prevention Educator for A Safe Place, a domestic violence shelter. For the past four years, Heather has worked with youth on the northshore, as an Outreach and Crisis Intervention Worker at Haven Youth & Family Services, as well as the Youth Coordinator at Erika’s Lighthouse, A Beacon of Hope for Adolescent Depression. Aside from her role at the WYO, Heather is currently pursuing her Master’s in Clinical Social Work at Loyola University and working as a Social Work Intern at New Trier High School.
