Deb Conklin – President
Deb serves as the Board President. She is a US Army veteran and has worked at Caterpillar for 24 years. She has near-normal vision with recurrent uveitis, having experienced temporary blindness for 6 weeks. Deb has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering from the University of Illinois, and an Executive MBA from Bradley.
Kirk Johnson – Vice President
Kirk serves as the Board Vice President. Kirk and his wife Ruth have three grown children and three grandchildren. His entire business career has been with Uftring Auto Group, where he is currently Corporate Secretary/Treasurer and CFO. He formed the “Uftring Ambassador Initiative” to give back to our communities and to those in need, by Uftring employees volunteering their time and talents, which is how he first learned about CICBVI.
Kurt Norris – Treasurer; Finance Committee Chair
Kurt Norris serves as the Board Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair. He is sighted. He is retired and worked as the Global Director of Rental and Used Equipment Services for Caterpillar Inc. He has 34 years of financial and marketing experience working for Caterpillar and supported the needs of Caterpillar Dealers around the world.
Lance Barke – Secretary
Lance serves as Board Secretary and has low vision. He received a Bachelor’s in Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Master’s in Engineering from Bradley University. He started working full-time at Caterpillar in 2011 and loves making a positive impact on the world in his professional career and looks to make an even greater impact within his personal life by being on the Board of Directors. All of this has been possible in his life through the love and support of Jesus Christ, family and friends.
Jamie Mammen – Human Resources; HR Committee Chair
Jamie Mammen serves on the Board as a Human Resources Committee Chair. She is a tenured marketing professional with 20 years of experience, currently with RLI Insurance. She has bachelor’s degrees from Monmouth College in Business Administration and Public Relations. Originally from a small town in north central Illinois, Jamie has made the Peoria region her home since 2005. In her free time she volunteers throughout Central Illinois and enjoys the outdoors with her husband, Chad.
David Murphy – Facility & Transportation
David serves on the Board as Facility & Transportation Committee Chair and he is sighted. David is a Global Account Manager with Parker Hannifin Corporation in Peoria. He is a graduate of Illinois State University. He is a member of St. Philomena Roman Catholic Church. He enjoys traveling, exercising, and spending time with family and friends.
Dr. Stephen Eyler – Director
Dr. Eyler serves as a Board Director. He is a comprehensive ophthalmologist, able to provide primary eye care to patients at Illinois Eye Center, as well as cataract and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and received his MD from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa, City, IA. He is a member of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
Gyla Grigsby – Director
Gyla Grigsby serves as a Board Director. She has been employed assembling items for Caterpillar and for the Pekin Times and has low vision. When she was 18, she became involved with the Center as a patron and has spent the past 15 years serving on the Board of Directors.
Gabriel DuBois – Director
Gabriel DuBois serves as a Board Director. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a MBA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He has worked at Caterpillar for 17+ years. He enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, and anything sports related especially coaching his two boys.
Keith Edgerton– Director (picture coming soon)
Keith Edgerton serves as a Board Director. Keith has worked for Caterpillar since 2008 in an accounting role, and currently works as a Senior Staff Accountant. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He graduated from North Carolina Central University Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business Administration/Computer Information Systems. Keith also serves in the roles of Executive Board Member of the Caterpillar ADEPT (Abled & Disabled Employees Partnering Together), as well as a Finance Committee Member with the American Blind Bowling Association.
Jessica Sierer– Director
Jessica Sierer serves as a Board Director. Jessica is a Senior Group Benefits Consultant with Kepple Healthcare Consulting in Peoria. She is a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. She enjoys golfing, riding her bicycle and spending time with her husband and their three boys. CICBVI was introduced to Jessica during their annual golf outing at Arrowhead Country Club. She enjoyed herself so much and met so many kind board members with such passion that when she was asked to consider joining the Board of Directors she eagerly said yes! She is thrilled about the opportunity to collaborate with the board and to introduce innovative ideas and partnerships to CICBVI.
Ken Gray– Director Emeritus
Ken serves as Director Emeritus. He was born with Blue Cone Monochromatism, a rare heritable retinal disease, and has low vision. Ken retired after 33 years serving Caterpillar dealers and customers worldwide. He holds a BSME and MSME from Bradley University and completed executive development at Bradley, Stanford University, Singularity University, and the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Cora Quinn – In Memory
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