Board

TomCara_08

Tom Cara

Associate Executive Director

Term expires 12/31/2024

 Tom, who has been a life member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation since 2010, began coordinating efforts for a Chicago area chapter of FFRF in April, 2012. He is a declared atheist whose religious skepticism began during his high school years in the mid-1970’s.

 

 

He is married with two grown children and has worked professionally as an advertising media planner/buyer since 1985 in both the consumer and business-to-business markets.

Additionally, Tom has been active with several non-profit organizations/groups, including the Park Ridge Healthy Community Partnership, the Maine (Township, IL) Community Youth Assistance Foundation (MCYAF), as well as working with the “Teens Against Tobacco Use” program of the American Lung Association.
   

Steve Foulkes

Executive Director

Term expires 12/31/2024

 Steve first came to the USA from England in 1978, and is now proud to be a U.S. citizen.

 

 

Having become an atheist in his late teens, he treasures the U.S. Constitution, especially the First Amendment, and enjoys helping his FFRFMCC co-members assemble and disassemble our chapter signs in the Daley Center Plaza during the winter and spring.  He was also an FFRFMCC Board member during the chapter’s founding, and is looking to serve once again.

Retired from a career in Information Technology, he lives with his wife in Grayslake.
Ori Gottlieb

Ori Gottlieb

Term expires 12/31/2025

 Ori grew up in a completely secular home, celebrating some of the Jewish holidays and traditions as a means of having an atmosphere for self-reflection. But he considers himself a man of science, which he believes to be a means of uncovering truth.

 

 

After medical school, he started residency at the University of Chicago.Upon completing his anesthesia residency in 2002, he stayed on as faculty and is currently an Associate Professor specializing in general anesthesia, preoperative care, regional anesthesia, and medical bioinformatics.  According to Ori, “On a daily basis, I witness the marvels of science, as I treat patients and provide care. If the world were to start again, all religions and traditions would be different.  Re-invented.  Re-created. Science, on the other hand would allow for the truth to once again be uncovered.  The same TRUTH.”
Shane Stapley

 

 

 

Term expires 12/31/2024

 Shane has been a member of FFRF since 2006 and was one of the first to join the Chicago chapter upon its founding, and is now a lifetime member. He identifies as an atheist and strongly supports the separation of church and state.

 

 

He and his wife Terry, who is an FFRFMCC member as well, are both retired, live in Willowbrook, and are also members of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago.

Shane and Terry can often be found attending chapter events, with Shane being very active with the setup and take down of the FFRFMCC secular displays in the winter and spring at Daley Center Plaza in Chicago.
Bob Hunter

 

 

 

Term expires 12/31/2025

 Bob grew up in Cleveland, OH.  With his mother being a devout Catholic, he was then raised in that religious tradition.  His piety began to wane in high school, and by the time he began college at Kent State University, his skepticism had taken hold.   His focus on religion became more educational in nature, which then led to his declaration as an atheist by the time he graduated from college..  His reading preferences now primarily include writings from the great freethinkers like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Victor Stenger, and many others.

 

 

 

He moved to Chicago in 1979 where he worked for the Illinois Department of Public Aid and various other social service positions.

Bob and his wife have two grown children.  Upon his move to Chicago, he has become involved with many freethought groups, and was a founding member of the FFRFMCC when it was formed in 2012, and is now a life member of the national FFRF.