About – The OHM Community

It takes a village: a very special community

From the beginning, Open Heart Magic made a commitment to see all kids regardless of their medical conditions or physical abilities. Hospital Magicians broke out of their comfort zones to develop specialized trick adaptations and learn the different protocols required to work with kids in tough medical situations. Our Hospital Bedside Magic® program was developed with guidance from Child Life staff and continues to set itself apart from other programs by reaching every single child in a hospital.

A program and community unlike any other.

“That was the first time I’ve seen my child smile since we’ve been here.” This is something Hospital Magicians often hear from relieved, grateful parents. It is a testament to the amazing work our Hospital Magicians do with kids and also to the people who work behind-the-scenes to make it all possible: our dedicated staff, Directors, Professional Board Members, Charity Team runners, and committed volunteers.

Our community continues to grow and impact thousands and thousands of kids each year. If you’d like to get involved or support kids, the Open Heart Magic community would love to have you join us.

Board of Directors

Sean McCarthy, Executive Committee Chair
Managing Director, Deloitte
Katy Leoni, Secretary
VP, Head of Strategic Planning for Global Solutions, TransUnion
Kyle Furry, Treasurer
Senior Vice President – Financial Reporting, Policy & Control, Wintrust Financial Corporation
Christine Gravel-Lippoldt, Director of Marketing
Partner, Proverb Associates
Hilary Goldin Parker, Black Tie Benefit Chair
Platforms Specialist, Google
Elizabeth Smith, Pro Bono Outside General Counsel
Partner, Mayer Brown LLP
Shira Miller, Child Life Liaison & Children’s Hospital Advisor
Manager-Child Life & Creative Arts Therapies, Certified Child Life Specialist, Rush University Medical Center
Ankit Agrawal
Senior Director of Global Commercial Strategy, Albany Molecular Research Inc.
Andrew Denenberg
Principal, Strategic Wealth Partners
Renee Grimm
Senior Vice President, Retirement Plan Division, Capital Group
Jake Hagelow
Associate Director, CBRE
Michael Hoehne
Chief People Officer, AHEAD
Maureen Lesak
Managing Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Leslie Malysiak
Partner Lead, Google

Sara Murphy
Senior Sales Manager, Pinterest
Mark Passerini
Executive Vice-President, Operations, Mission Dispensaries/4Front Ventures
Katy Pinter
Chief Transformation Officer, The Chartis Group
Temitope Sadiku
Global Head of Employee Digital Experience, Kraft Heinz
Nader Salah
Head of Global Compensation, Executive Compensation & Mobility, Kellogg Company
Randy Scheuneman
Vice President & Chief Accounting Officer, Illinois Tool Works
Scott Smith
Chicago Client Leader, Clifton Larson Allen
Katie Snider
Chief Human Resources Officer, Network Distribution Company
Rory Walsh
Sr. Client Executive, IW Technologies
Ryan Walsh
Principal, Sterling Bay
Sue Walton
Senior Vice President, Capital Group
Mike Walton
Founder & Executive Director, Open Heart Magic
Dan Williams
Director of Sales, Midwest, Activision Blizzard Media

Staff

Aaron Wolf
Senior Program Manager
Basia Yee
Manager of Operations
Christine Huge
Director of Operations

Eric Steigerwald
Senior Director of Marketing & Program Development
Lexi Gallopoulos
Director of Donor Relations & Fundraising
Michael Walton
Founder & Executive Director