Board of Directors

Dorothy Pytel (President)

Dorothy holds a master’s degree in Public Service Administration from DePaul University and has been involved in grassroots community activism and organizing for over two decades. She works at Chicago Hyde Park Village, a non-profit in the national aging-in-place movement which supports healthy aging the entire spectrum from healthy aging to older adults. Under her watch, the Brickyard Community Garden in Woodlawn on the Southside of Chicago became a permanent green space through a non-profit urban land trust called Neighborspace. Dorothy is one of the founders of the Hyde Park Refugee Project and has seen it grow from an idea to a community-wide volunteer effort with 200+ volunteers working with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Senegal, Russia, Cameroon, and the Congo as well as immigrants and newcomers from all backgrounds in local schools. 

Lisa Jenschke (Treasurer)

Lisa is both a board member and director of the Hyde Park Refugee Project. Her educational background is in languages and literatures, with a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in Germanic Languages and Literatures and a second MA in Near Eastern, Hellenic, and Judaic Studies from Ohio State University, as well as graduate studies at the Freie Universität Berlin, and in Modern Languages at the University of Oxford. In addition, she has a Certificate in Visual Arts from the Graham School of the University of Chicago.

Her professional background has centered on education and biological sciences in education. In her role as the head of educational outreach at the Cell Systems Initiative, she worked closely with researchers developing new technology to test proof-of-concept lab interfaces and visualizations in high school classrooms. She also served as the Information Director at the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington.

Once relocating to Chicago with her family, Jenschke focused on visual arts education and non-profit work. As a volunteer with the Hyde Park Refugee Project, she created further education programs designed to support refugee and other immigrant children in the community, including our after-school program, and the Summer Curiosity Camp for English Language Learners.

Kathleen Ray (Secretary)

Kathleen Ray began volunteering at the Hyde Park Refugee Project (HPRP) in March of 2018 as an after-school tutor; and quickly became a family mentor as well as handling administrative tasks and developing outreach on behalf of the organization. In addition, she now also represents the Hyde Park Refugee Project on the Hyde Park & Kenwood Interfaith Council; as well as on the Texas Border Collaboration Network. Kathleen is also active as a member of the Non-Governmental Organization Committee (NGO) on Immigration; and works on a sub-committee to challenge Xenophobia, fight Racism, and promote Social Inclusion. This NGO has consultative status to the United Nations.

Kathleen received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Illinois. She received a post-graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Lille in France. She then worked for decades in Chicago as an International Operations Manager, directly responsible for corporate International logistics and export compliance. Upon volunteering with HPRP, she completed a non-profit management course from Kellogg School of Business.

Julie Morton

Julie is the Senior Advisor for the Specialized Master Programs at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she provides career support for Chicago Booth’s two new Master Degree programs, the Master in Management and the Master in Finance. Julie supports students in pursuing their career interests, and she engages with employers to promote these students for internship and full-time opportunities. Julie assumed this role in April 2024. Previously, she was the Associate Dean of the Executive MBA Program at Chicago Booth, a global program with campuses in Chicago, London, and Hong Kong. Julie oversaw all aspects of marketing, recruiting, and admissions; student life and program operations; employer relations; and career support and leadership development. Julie assumed this role in July 2020, after a long tenure leading Chicago Booth’s Career Services and Corporate Relations.

Immediately before coming to Booth in 2000, Julie worked in retained executive search. She spent several years doing strategy and turnaround consulting in central Slovakia and in Jakarta, Indonesia. Julie was also a financial services and strategy consultant at what was then Bankers Trust (now Deutsche Bank) and at Young & Rubicam in New York.

Julie received her MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College. Prior to attending Tuck, she served as the Director of Admissions at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She has an undergraduate degree in International Studies from The Johns Hopkins University.

Larry Joseph

Larry Joseph is a retired public policy analyst with a background in both academia and the advocacy arena. As chair of the Social Justice Committee at KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation, he has been involved with the Hyde Park Refugee Project since 2017. He has also worked with advocacy groups and coalitions on immigration justice, as well as criminal justice reform, affordable housing, and other issues. Before retirement, he was Director of Research at Voices for Illinois Children (2007-2015), where he engaged in policy analysis and advocacy on a broad range of state-level issues affecting children and families. From 1987 to 2007, he was a Senior Research Associate at the University of Chicago, where he organized and managed various projects at the School of Social Service Administration, Harris School of Public Policy, and Chapin Hall Center for Children. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago.

Anna Zonderman

Anna received her master’s degree in public health from Yale University and her master’s degree in social work from New York University. Before joining the Comprehensive Community Program team at the University of Chicago Hospitals, Anna worked in a variety of capacities with medically complex children and adults, as well as with refugee and immigrant families, both in the US and in international settings. In addition, Anna has designed and implemented interventions to improve access to health, education and social services and to build healthy, safe and inclusive communities. Anna has a strong interest in the role of culture as a social determinant of health and wellbeing, and in the use of the visual and performing arts to promote wellness among people of all ages and backgrounds.