Francie S. Richards founded Dharma Collaborative in 2023, based on twenty years of experience in the field of social impact. In Francie’s words, “I’m concerned about my people: the social workers, educators, caregivers, nonprofit leaders and all who are the vanguard of care in our communities. What happens when they can’t carry the weight of caring for us anymore?” This concern is what inspired Francie to found Dharma Collaborative, designing a system of support to ensure continued progress on social issues imperative to our communities by restoring and investing in the capacity of public servants. Most recently, Francie led Social Impact at The Allstate Company and The Allstate Foundation. She brought her decades of social impact experience in policy, health, education, economic development and nonprofit leadership to the Foundation’s strategy. Prior, she was the Head of External Affairs for Chicago Public Schools and the Executive Director for the Children First Fund (CFF): The Chicago Public Schools Foundation. She brokered partnerships across Chicago’s business, philanthropic, cultural and academic institutions to secure funds to advance CPS’ vision. Previously, Francie was the founding Central U.S. Director of WE Charity, an international organization that empowers youth through service learning. Francie supported investments in principal talent at the Chicago Public Education Fund and served on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s education team, supporting the implementation of the full school day, expansion of early childhood education, the introduction Early College STEM schools, computer science and IB expansion, and CCC's “College to Careers” initiative. Francie’s dedication to Chicago’s students began through Teach For America. She has a Bachelor's in Social Work from Eastern Michigan University, a Master's in Social and Economic Development from Washington University in St. Louis and an Executive Scholar Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. In addition to her leading Dharma Collaborative, Francie also co-owns and operates the newly established South Shore resort and Wild Heart Retreats a lakeside vacation and retreat center in Western Michigan. She has been an LGC fellow since 2020. Francie is married to Brandon Richards, a Senior Engineer for GE Aviation and Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor. They enjoy being involved in both the Chicago and Western Michigan communities and volunteering with their therapy dog, Rosa Ru.

Ilana Zafran Walden is a passionate leader with two decades of nonprofit and public sector experience. Ilana spent the first eight years of her career working directly with high school students and staff across the City of Chicago. From chaperoning multi day overnight college trips to supporting youth at (literally) all hours of the day; she knows first hand what it feels like to immerse your whole self into work. In 2015, Ilana became a Mom for the first time and shifted from direct service work to operations and policy; with the (erroneous) assumption that her new role would lead to less burnout. However, she found that she was at the brink of burnout- even when not physically at work, her brain often was ruminating on countless work-related items; all of which felt high-stakes and urgent (and sometimes were). Through amazing peer supports, evidence-based interventions, mental and physical health professionals, ongoing learning and self-reflection, Ilana is now on a lifelong journey to do work that is deeply purposeful and fulfilling while not letting it consume her to the point of burnout. In addition to her nonprofit strategy and operational expertise, Ilana also brings to Dharma Collaborative experience in transforming nonprofit culture to create healthier, more sustainable work environments. In her prior work as a nonprofit COO, Ilana worked to implement policies and organizational culture that mitigated burnout and supported a mentally and physically healthy workforce. During Ilana's tenure as COO, staff satisfaction rose by 35% and the percentage of staff reporting that the organization supported their work-life balance doubled-- from 45% to 92%. Ilana is also a trained restorative justice practitioner and facilitator, having spent a decade implementing and leading restorative justice practices in Chicago Public Schools. Throughout her career, she has utilized restorative practices in a variety of settings to build and sustain community. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from The College of Wooster, a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and is a proud 2007 Alumni (and current Board member) of the Avodah Jewish Service Corps. In addition to her work with Dharma Collaborative, Ilana owns a social impact consulting practice, Forest Zafran Consulting LLC. Her practice focuses on strategy, change management, impact measurement, and organizational development. Because it brings her joy, Ilana also continues to provide restorative justice training and support to a small number of schools and districts across the country. Ilana lives in Chicago with her husband and two school-age children. She enjoys cooking, reading, Peloton, being there for people she loves, and getting up at 4 a.m. so she can have quiet time before the rest of her family wakes up!