The Friendship Center is grateful for the leadership, expertise, and dedication of its board members.
Alex Zinicola, Board President
Director, Client Services, Slalom Consulting
Alex Zinicola joined The Friendship Center Board in 2023 in service of a multi-year effort to support food insecure neighbors at both a local and national level. Alex serves as a Director in Slalom Consulting’s Client Services practice where he is accountable for leading large-scale transformation efforts from strategy through execution. Originally from DC, Alex is a hopelessly optimistic Washington Nationals fan; proud James Madison University alumnus; and avid crossword puzzler.
Patrick Bill Daniels, Vice President
Assistant Director of Health and Equity, Swedish Hospital
Patrick Bill Daniels serves as the assistant director of Health and Equity for Swedish Hospital. With more than 10 years of nonprofit management and community organizing, Patrick leads Swedish’s Healthy Chicago Equity Zone project. He is responsible for implementing the strategic plan that addresses the health disparity challenges in Chicago. Patrick joined The Friendship Center board in 2022. He is excited to bring his community organizing and project management skills to The Friendship Center. In addition to serving on The Friendship Center board, he is president of the University of Illinois at Chicago We Are Men (WAM) program and founder of the Bill & Margie Daniels Foundation. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, reading, cycling, and spinning records at social gatherings.
Mark Bookman, Treasurer
Retired Ernst & Young Partner
Mark Bookman has been a volunteer at The Friendship Center since November 2019. He retired in June 2019 after 32 years providing tax services to clients in the real estate and financial services industries. Mark joined the board in 2023 and looks forward to bringing his tax, finance and leadership experience to The Friendship Center to support and expand their mission. He enjoys travel, golf, attending sporting events, and spending time with his wife and two dogs.
Stephanie Zidek, Secretary
Vice President of Data & Analytics, Feeding America
Bio coming soon.
Lauren Biedron
Senior Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, Feeding America
Lauren Biedron is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization and the largest nonprofit in the U.S. In her role, Lauren oversees revenue from cause marketing, corporate philanthropy and employee engagement. Lauren has dedicated her
entire career to the mission of ending hunger. Prior to joining Feeding America, Lauren held multiple fundraising positions at the Greater Chicago Food
Depository (GCFD), the Feeding America partner food bank responsible for providing food to people who face hunger in Cook County, Illinois. While at GCFD, she oversaw all giving by corporations, private foundations and community-based organizations. Biedron holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She resides in Chicago.
Vidiana Birts
Vice President of Strategy & Innovation for UnitedHealthcare
Vidiana joined the Board in 2024. She is currently the Vice President of Strategy & Innovation for UnitedHealthcare, the largest healthcare company in the world. She focuses on strategies to drive growth, innovation, and healthcare solutions within and beyond the organization. Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare, Vidiana developed extensive experience across both the payer and provider sectors of the healthcare industry, focusing on strategy, investments, and affordability. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master’s in Health Management from Harvard University.
Raquel daFonseca
Global Ethics & Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc.
Raquel joined the Board in 2022. She is currently the Global Ethics & Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel for Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc. (DJEH), one of the largest, worldwide, privately held public relations and strategic communications firm in the world. Prior to joining DJEH, Raquel had a fifteen (15) year legal career serving in different legal and compliance roles with various companies within The General Electric Company. In addition to serving on The Friendship Center Board, Raquel serves as Secretary for the Women’s Excellence Network (WEN), a not-for-profit, legal women’s diversity group.
Chris Norborg
Associate General Counsel, City of Chicago Inspector General’s Office
Chris Norborg has served the City of Chicago for virtually his entire 24-year career as an attorney. He has drafted local legislation (including Chicago’s minimum-wage ordinance) and argued cases before the Illinois Supreme Court. For the past nine years, Chris has worked for Chicago’s Office of Inspector General, an oversight agency dedicated to promoting economy, effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity by identifying corruption, waste, and mismanagement in City government. Between graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1993 and enrolling at Northwestern Law School in 1998, Chris played bass guitar and sang in Chisel, a mod punk band from Washington DC. The band released three records and toured extensively. In 2023, Chisel reissued its second album and reunited for a number of live shows. In his spare time, Chris loves playing music, creating and participating in trivia competitions, entering the New Yorker Caption Contest (he is a two-time finalist), and travelling with his wife and two kids.
Steve Paska
Donor Relations Supervisor, Mercy Home for Boys & Girls
Steve is currently Donor Relations Supervisor at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls in Chicago. He has been with Mercy Home since 2015. As a member of North Park Covenant Church, Steve has heard many stories about the good work that The Friendship Center does helping those in need in our community and is looking forward to bringing his nonprofit experience to the board. He is a graduate of North Central College in Naperville. When not working, you might find him rooting for the Cubs, hiking, or playing board games with his wife and friends.