WILS Chi Chapter Awards Scholarships

The Women in Leisure Services (WILS) Chi Chapter Scholarship Program was established in 2022 to support professional development opportunities for members of the Chi Chapter. This program provides support and recognition to women for their personal and professional enrichment. In the first two years of the program, the Chi Chapter awarded six scholarships to deserving young women.

As we enter our third year of granting scholarships, we are excited to announce the results of our latest scholarship application process.

Scholarships for the 2025 IAPD/IPRA Soaring to New Heights Conference have been awarded to:

• Alexis Ruhl, Marketing & Outreach Manager, Fox Valley Special Recreation Association
• Trisha Seng, Manager of Adult Day and Veterans Programs, Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association
• Janae Winston, Inclusion Coordinator, Fox Valley Special Recreation Association

In addition, three women were granted scholarships to attend LeadHERship – a full day WILS Chi Chapter conference scheduled for April 4, 2025:

• Rebecca Goldberg, Performing Arts Supervisor, Skokie Park District
• Katherine Robinson, Supervisor of Cultural Arts, Skokie Park District
• Maggie Woznick, Marketing & Special Events Coordinator, Wildwood Park District

Each scholarship applicant must submit a letter of recommendation from their supervisor or executive director along with a letter of support from a current member of WILS Chi Chapter. We would like to thank the following people for taking the time to write letters of support for these scholarship applicants: Alex Engelhardt, Robin Horwitz, Heidi Jenkins, Breanne Labus, Brandon Magnini, Alexis Ruhl, Lisa Sheppard, Janae Winston, and Jennifer Wisneski.

Finally, thank you to our esteemed panel of scholarship application reviewers: Amy Charlesworth, Molly Hamer, Jan Hincapie and Margaret Resnick.

These scholarships are funded through raffles offered at events throughout the year. For more information about scholarship criteria, timelines, and recipients visit our Scholarship Page.