2009 Golden Trowel Awardees

Our highest recognition, the Golden Trowel Award, is presented each year to individuals and community-based groups that have made significant progress towards achieving housing justice in Illinois by working to increase or preserve the supply of decent, affordable and accessible housing for low- and moderate-income households.

This year, we are honored to present a Golden Trowel Award to:

Cathy Contarino – IMPACT Center for Independent Living, Alton (Madison County)

Cathy Contarino has been at IMPACT since January 1987, when she started providing Independent Living Services as an Independent Living Specialist.  Since that time, Cathy has held various positions at IMPACT, becoming its Executive Director in July 2004.  Throughout her years at IMPACT, Cathy developed an expertise in providing technical assistance to cities, architects, builders and businesses on how to comply with the Illinois Environmental Barriers Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act Amendments. Cathy holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Illinois State University in Normal, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.  Cathy became involved in the Independent Living movement in college in central Illinois when Centers for Independent Living were being formed in the mid-eighties in the central and southern parts of the state.  Cathy was introduced to the Independent Living movement by her advisor, when she experienced discrimination in a class by a professor who refused to relocate a class she was taking, even though her access to the classroom was prevented by a broken elevator.  As a result, she filed an Affirmative Action at the University, which resulted in a reprimand of the Professor and a policy for moving classes when an elevator is broken.  Cathy’s advocacy efforts have continued since her university days.  Most recently, she has worked with Housing Action Illinois and others to successfully advocate that the Governor’s Office not eliminate the Personal Assistance Program, which helps people with disabilities hire and manage their home services and have control over the care they receive.

Lisa Tapper – Affordable Housing Corporation of Lake County, Gurnee

Lisa Tapper joined Affordable Housing Corporation of Lake County (AHC) in 2004, and brings 20 years of experience as a nonprofit administrator and affordable housing advocate.  AHC is a nonprofit agency that increases and preserves affordable housing opportunities throughout Lake County via high-integrity, high-impact services and partnerships that protect and empower consumers and communities.  Toward that end, AHC provides mortgage assistance programs, homebuyer education and counseling, rehab distressed properties, and foreclosure prevention services.  Prior to joining AHC as its Executive Director, she served as the Executive Director of the DuPage Homeownership Center, and the Executive Director of the Home Builder Association of Lake County.  She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.  She also serves as the Executive Director of the Affordable Housing Commission, a public-private partnership dedicated to promoting policies and strategies that will facilitate the increase and preservation of affordable housing units in Lake County.  Lisa serves on the Lake County Housing Action Coalition and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency on Planning’s Housing Advisory Board.  She was awarded NeighborWorks national Innovations in Homeownership Award in 2008. For the past 5 years, Lisa has worked tirelessly to expand AHC’s programs to provide crucial services.  She was instrumental in creating the Lake County Housing Action Coalition, and has worked tirelessly in support of the creation of a housing trust fund for Lake County.

Al Timke, Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies, Springfield

Allan Timke is the Housing and Homelessness Specialist for the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies (IACAA) in Springfield.  Al has been with IACAA since 1991, working on a range of housing and homelessness-related policy issues and providing technical assistance in those areas to community action agencies and other nonprofit organizations.  From 1999 to 2008, he has been IACAA’s lead person in a technical assistance partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, including coordinating the annual HUD Peer-to-Peer Homeless Providers Conference, which grew to serve hundreds of social service professionals.  Since 1991, he has also edited IACAA’ s Homeless Headlines newsletter, funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services, which is available on the IACAA web site and distributed to over 1100 people.  Prior to coming to IACAA, Al had approximately fifteen years experience in direct services to low income Illinois residents, much of which involved work with homeless families, individuals and youth.  He has a Bachelors Degree in Sociology from Western Illinois University, and a Masters Degree in Sociology from Illinois State University. Al’s policy expertise is well-recognized, and he has represented IACAA in a range of housing-related organizations in Illinois, including the It Takes a Home to Raise a Child Campaign, the Housing Roundtable, Rural Partners and the Supportive Housing Providers Association.  Al has served on the board of Housing Action Illinois since 1989, and is currently Chair of Housing Action’s Advocacy Committee.

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