Leadership

Brenda Swartz

Concordia Place President/CEO

Brenda Swartz is the visionary leader of Concordia Place, a vibrant, nonprofit that provides proactive solutions to key social needs. During her tenure, Concordia has grown from a single child care center serving 80 children to a multi-service, multi-site organization impacting more than 800 children, teens, and families.

Prior to Concordia Place, Brenda thrived in the technology field, producing results in senior roles with Accenture, Unisys, and TenFold over 17 years. Making a significant career change, Brenda joined Concordia Place as the President/CEO in 2003.

Under her direction, Concordia realized its vision of opening a new center in a high-need community. Starting with just $42,000 in net assets, Concordia collaborated with community leaders and elected officials, acquiring a vacant property and raising the $10 million necessary for major renovations and program development. Concordia Place now has four centers serving Chicago’s north and northwest side.

Brenda holds a Bachelors in Business Administration from Iowa State University. She was presented with the 2010 Lakeside Bank’s Women Who Make a Difference award for her commitment and service to the community. Her robust performance was publicly recognized when Concordia Place was named the 2013 Alford-Axelson Award for Managerial Excellence in Nonprofits from North Park University. Brenda now serves on the Axelson Center Advisory Council. Brenda was also a 2014 finalist for the Chicago Community Trust’s Experienced Leader Fellowship. As a Director for the DePaul College Prep Board of Directors, she serves as secretary and chairs its nominating and governance committee. Passionate about developing young professionals, Brenda has mentored young men and women through formal and informal mentor programs – most recently with Loyola University Baumhart Scholar’s MBA program and Chicago Women in Philanthropy (CWIP).

Brenda and her husband David have two grown children and live in Chicago.

Rev. Nicholas J. Zook

Concordia Church Pastor

The Rev. Nicholas J. Zook has served as pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Chicago since his ordination in 1981.

Under his leadership, Concordia Lutheran Church established a community outreach ministry in 1981 to serve the needs of single parents and low income families in the neighborhood around the church. From this ministry, Concordia Place was established.

As Board Chair, Nicholas grew Concordia Place to a multi-service, multi-site nonprofit with locations in the North Center and Avondale communities. Concordia Place serves nearly 1,000 children, teens, adults, and seniors each year.

Nicholas served as a founding member of the Lutheran/Roman Catholic Covenant Commission established by the Metropolitan Chicago Synod and Archdiocese of Chicago to promote collaborative ministry and dialogue among Lutherans and Roman Catholics in metro Chicago.

In 1995, Nicholas joined with a group of Lutheran pastors and laity to establish Let’s Talk, a journal published in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod to encourage theological discourse on issues vital to the life of the church. He has served as a Board member and contributor on the Editorial Board until 2014.

Nicholas graduated from DePaul University with a double major in philosophy and psychology and received his M.Div. degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in 1981. Nicholas also serves as co-dean of the Northeast conference of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod and on the Governing Council of Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

In 2011, he was awarded the Wheat Ridge Foundation’s Seeds of Hope Award for service in health, hope and healing ministry in the community. He most recently received the 2016 Service in Parish Ministry Alumni Award from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.

Nicholas, and his wife, Stephanie, have two grown sons and reside in Chicago.

Kimberly Boike

Concordia Place Board Chair

Kimberly Boike is a business attorney who concentrates her practice in the healthcare and not for profit fields and serves as the leader of Chuhak & Tecson’s Healthcare and Not For Profit & Mission-Based Organizations practice groups.

She advises healthcare entities of all sizes, including, healthcare systems, hospitals, senior living providers, such as continuing care retirement communities and skilled nursing facilities, physicians and healthcare startup. She counsels on a variety of topics, such as tax-exempt bond financings, complex mergers and acquisitions, structuring relationships across the continuum of care, hospital/physician joint ventures and affiliations, as well as compliance and regulatory issues, managed care agreements, etc.

Recognizing that not for profits face unique challenges, Kim was instrumental in the founding of Chuhak & Tecson’s newest practice group—Not for Profit & Mission-Based Organizations. Kim regularly presents to boards of directors on best governance practices and regulatory compliance issues, and ensures that her nonprofit clients have succession plans in place to continually advance their missions.

Kim is an active volunteer. In addition to her dedicated service to Concordia Place, she served as the chair of the Development Council of Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and served on its Governing Council. She also serves on the board of the Advocate Charitable Foundation and Chair of the Chicago Bar Association, Health Law. For 12 consecutive years, Kim has been named to the Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, which is awarded to only 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state.