Category: Meet the Team

Board Member Karen has spent her career helping companies, clients, and individuals share their messages. With a background in public relations and communications, Karen has filled various roles ranging from media relations to crisis communications. Earlier in her career, she filled multiple roles in public relations for nonprofits, including Special Olympics Texas, Special Olympics Oregon,… Read more »

Treasurer Neal Glassett grew up in the Chicago suburbs and then spent his early career as an accountant moving between Texas, California, Indiana, and Illinois. He has spent most of the past 10 years in the Peoria area working for Caterpillar, with a three-year stint living overseas in Germany. Neal graduated from the University of… Read more »

Office & Mission Coordinator Jordan is a Peoria native with a background in illustration. After years of exploring various forms of art, he graduated from Illinois Central College with a degree in Multimedia. He is passionate about helping others and believes in the mission of Lifeline Pilots. Drawing from his previous experience working for a… Read more »

Outreach & Mission Coordinator Kelsey is a recent graduate of Illinois State University, and graduated with her degree in art with a special focus in documentary photography. After working for two years doing retail marketing and social media, she found Lifeline Pilots. Kelsey will use her skills in photography and videography to add a new… Read more »

Grant & Mission Coordinator After many years as a homemaker and hobby farmer, Ann has spent the last 3 years working in the aviation industry. She is enthusiastic about putting her customer service skills and knowledge of flight procedures to use in service of a worthwhile mission. She has lived in the Peoria area for… Read more »

Executive Director Lindsey has spent her career in the non-profit sector, helping organizations by providing expertise in fundraising, communications, marketing, and leading staff & volunteers. Lindsey loves the mission of LifeLine Pilots. During times of medical distress, people are at their most vulnerable and LifeLine Pilots is there to help ease their burden. Lindsey and… Read more »

Board Member Andy is a life-long aviation enthusiast and avid pilot. He received an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently resides in Peoria, IL. As an entrepreneur, Andy has worked in the international product manufacturing & importing field as well as the field of engineering. Currently, he works for Caterpillar’s Innovation,… Read more »

Board Member Rick Zehr is an innovative, transformative executive with over 25 years of success developing healthcare organizations into state-of-the-art thought leaders.  His strong history of launching world-class, cutting-edge health and wellness services and products has established his organizations as international leaders. Since October 2016, Zehr has been the  CEO of EZ Healthcare Innovations, LLC,… Read more »

Board Member For 23 years Andy has worked for Caterpillar, the Peoria-based manufacturing giant. Originally from the UK, Andy has worked for CAT in his home country, Belgium, France and since 2011, the United States. Andy brings with him a passion for aviation, a vast network of pilots and professional connections, and a track record… Read more »

Board Member Ken Reily is an instructor of Information Science and Computer Science at the University of Minnesota. In addition to his role at the University, he provides consulting services in software research, software development and architecture, process development, and training/education. Prior to Ken’s current roles, he was a Senior Technical Manager for 3M’s Electronics… Read more »

Board Member Steve Monk graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison with a degree in Electrical Engineering and went to work at Texas Instruments in the defense industry in Dallas.  After 20 years down South, Steve made his way back home to Wisconsin where he went to work designing and optimizing cell sites.  Along the way, he got… Read more »

Board Member Dr. Metzel received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1979. That same year he joined Abbott Laboratories’ Diagnostics Division as a Research Scientist in Hepatitis Research & Development. He held several positions until leaving Abbott in 1995 as Section Head, Infectious Disease Diagnostics Technical Support. In the ensuing… Read more »