Congratulations to Greg Polman (and his faithful Dog Guide, Turner) on their retirement! Greg has been with The Lighthouse for 42 years, managing numerous programs, including leading employment services and adult living skills programs, as well as serving as our Senior Vice President of Public Policy. He has also been a tireless advocate for people with disabilities throughout the city, working to secure accommodations such as curb cuts in sidewalks, Braille signage at CTA bus stops, and improving accessibility at Chicago airports. We honored Greg with a celebration on our patio earlier this week, where he received the 2025 Mary McCann Award from the Illinois Council of the Blind in recognition of his lifetime of advocacy. For a modern and accessible twist on the traditional retirement gift, we presented Greg with an Apple Watch, and Turner got his very own custom timepiece that says it’s always treat time now! There were many heartfelt speeches and well-wishes, but one tribute summed it up best: “You served this community in more than many ways. Your legend and impact lives on.”
After 9 years of service, we’re wishing a happy retirement to our beloved furry coworker, Gaston! As Maureen Reid’s loyal guide dog, he’s been a fixture in our Employment Services office, and now he’s off to enjoy life as a full-time pet in Maureen’s home. We celebrated with dog-friendly cake and a special clock that says it’s always treat time.
Our 2024 Impact Report is here! This year’s report highlights the ways we help members of our community thrive. From Juliana, who’s now cooking in her own apartment at The Foglia Residences, to Austin, who is preparing to graduate from our Children’s Development Center, having received a tailored educational curriculum that taught him functional independent living skills, these stories show what it means to succeed on your own terms.
Yesterday, we celebrated our third annual Shine Your Light Day, a special day that spotlights the many ways The Lighthouse empowers people to thrive. Our team marked the occasion by reflecting on what “thriving” means to them. Their beautiful answers remind us why working at The Lighthouse is so meaningful.
We had a great time celebrating nearly 300 employees who have worked at The Lighthouse for five or more years at our recent Employee Appreciation Dinner. Would you believe more than 110 people have been with us for more than 10 years, and 20 have worked at The Lighthouse for more than 20 years? It was a wonderful evening of community and cheer as we celebrated one another and our combined work in support of our mission of helping people who are blind, visually impaired, disabled and Veterans thrive individually and within their communities.
The Chicago Lighthouse welcomes Brandie Knazze, Anthony Fiore and John Roselli to its executive leadership. They will take the positions of Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Innovation officer, respectively. Brandie Knazzie was most recently Commissioner of the City of Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services, the city's humanitarian response for receiving more than 40,000 migrant families that were bused to Chicago from the Texs border beginning in August 2022, coordinating between 28 shelters and providing food and healthcare support. She also administered more than $200 million in American Rescue Plan funding to help Chicagoans when they are in their greatest times of need. Anthony "Tony" Fiore comes to The Chicago Lighthouse from the Family Institute at Northwestern University, where he was Chief Financial Officer. He has also served as Vice President of Finance and Controller at Feeding America, the country's largest domestic hunger-relief organization -- and the third largest charity in the United States -- with more than $4.5 billion in revenues. John Rosselli spent the majority of his career in the private sector, helping companies drive growth, make operation improvements, and realize returns on their invested capital. John was most recently the Operating Partner at New Harbor Capital, an education and healthcare private equity investment firm, where he worked with company founders and executives to build out management.
What a great Shine Your Light Day for us!!! This was our second annual day for our community to come together and celebrate everything that makes The Lighthouse great!
