John Blick, Director of Business Services
John has over ten years experience providing technical assistance to Chicago's small business community. He has a track record of growing membership numbers and increasing participation and support. As the Executive Director of the Old Town (Chamber) Merchants and Residents Association, he guided the establishment of SSA 48 Old Town, managed several large street festivals, and increased organizational revenues through program development and membership growth.
In Uptown, John is point for Chamber membership, relationship building, annual community guide, streetpole banner program, website presence, and Winthrop Family Historical Garden events. He has a BFA from University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, where he studied Theatre Performance and German. In 2022 John earned a certification from Institute of Organizational Management, a program of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. When he's not working with small businesses in Uptown, you can find John engaged in the storefront theatre scene or at University of Chicago's Booth School of Business where he is pursuing an MBA.
Christina Cantu, Office Manager
Christina Cantu is an operations professional with over 7 years of cross-functional experience in bookkeeping, HR and project management. Christina moved to Chicago from Austin, TX in the summer of 2023 and obtained her real estate license while also leading financials operations for design and construction firms. She is excited to be part of Uptown United and the Chamber of Commerce in hopes her expertise in full-cycle bookkeeping translates well into mission-aligned budget stewardship. Christina combines technical fluency with systems thinking to support both business growth and community impact.
In her free time, she enjoys photography, stained glass, Montrose beach with her large dog, quarterly AIC trips, farmers markets and trying (new-to-her) restaurants.
Greg Carroll, Director of Partnerships and Events
Prior to joining the Uptown Chamber of Commerce as Associate Director in 2015, Greg’s career spanned the education, nonprofit, and corporate sectors—including AmeriCorps, City Year Chicago, the Carole Robertson Center for Learning, and CME Group—where he honed his skills in relationship-building, program development, and fostering strong community connections.
Greg received his first introduction to the Uptown neighborhood in 1993 through volunteering at local Uptown non-profits: Christopher House, Sarah’s Circle, and Inspiration Café. The experience he gained volunteering in Uptown laid the foundation for his continued career and desire to pursue a path of community service. He brings a breadth of experience in relationship building and event management to the role of Director of Partnerships and Events.
Annika Mandrekar, Outreach Coordinator
Annika Mandrekar is a passionate urban planner dedicated to advancing social equity and building stronger, more inclusive communities. She earned a BA in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she concentrated her studies on Social Justice in relation to planning. Her career has taken her from her home in the Bay Area, California to Chicago, most recently working at an affordable housing organization in San Francisco and previously at North River Commission in Albany Park, specializing in economic development and equitable transit-oriented development. Annika is joining the Uptown Chamber of Commerce as a part-time Outreach Coordinator, using her planning background to interact with businesses and Chamber members of the Uptown community. She brings a deep care for community-driven work to everything she does, always striving to uplift the voices of those most marginalized by societal injustice. Outside of her professional work, Annika is an avid reader, music enthusiast, film and TV lover, and enjoys spending time with friends.
Kylie Ruscheinski, Director of the Uptown Business Center
Kylie joins Uptown United after serving as Chief of Staff in the 46th Ward Aldermanic Office. As Chief of Staff, Kylie helped residents and businesses navigate the City of Chicago’s permitting and licensing requirements, oversaw the ward’s zoning & development process, managed local infrastructure spending through the Menu Funds program, and problem-solved for a wide range of constituents. She brings her experience with city processes and partnership-building and her existing relationships with city departments, local chambers, and community partners as Director of the Uptown Business Center (UBC). Kylie works in partnership with the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs with licensing, permitting, and additional specialized business services. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame. Born and raised on the north side of Chicago, Kylie is excited to serve the entire north side of the city through the UBC (in a service area within the North-South boundaries of Lincoln Park to Rogers Park and East-West boundaries of DuSable Lake Shore Drive to the Chicago River).
Justin Weidl, Director of Neighborhood Services
With over 20 years of landscape architecture and urban planning experience in the Chicago area, as well as other cities throughout the Midwest, Justin brings critical thought and design leadership to Uptown United. Before joining Uptown United, he worked at the Lakota Group in Chicago as a Senior Associate providing services in planning, urban design, landscape architecture, and community engagement. During his five years at Lakota, he managed a diverse range of projects, including regional land use plans, downtown vision plans, mixed-use developments, transit-oriented developments, streetscape designs, and signage and branding systems. Justin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in landscape architecture and a Master of Science degree of city and regional planning, both from The Ohio State University. Justin and his wife have been involved in organizing neighborhood enhancement efforts such as the Sunnyside Mall Committee.
Sarah Wilson, Executive Director
Sarah Wilson joins Uptown with over eight years of economic development experience. Sarah has six years of experience as a consultant with Goodman Williams Group providing market analysis and development strategies to a variety of private and public sector clients. She also served for two years in the public sector as a Coordinator of Economic Development in the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD). In this role, she managed a portfolio of negotiated sales of City-owned property for commercial, mixed-use and institutional uses across the city as well as evaluating and analyzing development proposals seeking potential funding, including tax increment financing and property tax incentives.
Sarah spent several years living abroad, returning to Chicago in 2019 with a broadened perspective on planning and development. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Youngstown State University and a Master of Community Planning degree from the University of Cincinnati. She lives in the 48th Ward with her family and is excited to help the businesses she calls neighbors during the LBMM project.