About

Executive Director

A Chicago native, Alexis received her Bachelor's degree in French and Psychology from Barnard College, Columbia University and did her graduate work in Organizational Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University while working as an analyst for Citigroup in New York. Returning to Chicago, Alexis served on the Board of Directors of The Harbour and ran her own business before joining On Your Feet as its Executive Director. Alexis and her husband wrangle three kids, along with numerous dogs and chickens. In her spare time she is a violinist with the Evanston Symphony Orchestra, a member of the Women's Board of The Field Museum and loves to read and travel. She is currently pursuing her MSW at the University of Illinois.

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Director of Communications | MA, MSED

Originally from Canada, Kristin moved to the Midwest to attend graduate school at Northwestern, and by the time she graduated, there wasn’t any place on earth she’d rather live. As a seasoned social media strategist, Kristin uses ethical storytelling as the catalyst for marketing strategy development, social media content creation, and audience engagement. Her free time is spent traveling, reading, and learning new recipes with her two sons. 

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A lifelong Illinoisan, Heather earned a Bachelor's degree in advertising from North Park University's School of Business and Nonprofit Management and completed several nonprofit certifications in the years since. Prior to joining On Your Feet Foundation, Heather served as a community-minded professional in Chicago-area small businesses and municipalities, while volunteering for local nonprofits, including OYFF from 2015 to 2017. In her spare time, Heather likes to travel, collect more books than she has time to read, and hang out with her husband and pooch.

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Director of Case Management Services | MS

Jennifer has dedicated her career in social services to supporting and advocating for others. She is passionate about mental health and feels fortunate to have worked at On Your Feet Foundation since 2015. Jennifer is a Midwestern girl at heart, moving to Chicago from Cincinnati in her early twenties. Jennifer studied Family Studies at Ohio University and earned her Masters in Sociology from DePaul. She enjoys spending time with her family, exploring new places to eat, doing Crossfit, and relaxing at the beach.

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Case Manager

A New Yorker at heart, Katy grew up on Long Island and went on to earn a BFA from New York University and an MA from the City University of New York. She is an educator, theater artist, writer, and most importantly, a mother via open, transracial, domestic adoption. Since the birth of her two children, Katy has become passionate about using creative means to explore adoption. Katy first worked with On Your Feet Foundation in 2019 through a collaboration with Piven Theatre Workshop and Erasing the Distance to create, Placing Home, a verbatim theater piece that explored adoption from the birth mother perspective. Her personal essays have been featured on numerous websites including, Motherly and Coffee and Crumbs. Katy is currently training to run her first half marathon and when she’s not running for her physical and mental health, she’s running after her two wildly energetic boys, ages 7 and 3. 

Associate Case Manager

Shanyce is birthmother to fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, who she placed in an interracial, open adoption ten years ago. Shanyce and the twins' adoptive parents have worked together to be as child focused as possible by making sure they can contact Shanyce whenever they would like to. Shanyce holds a degree in Computer Science and has worked in Human Resources for the past 5 years. In her free time, she is an avid gamer (video, board, card, etc) and also enjoys reading, listening to music, ignoring the news when it gets to be too much, and sitting down to watch a good movie.

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Associate Case Manager

Kiara Montgomery is from Chicago . She is a mother and birthmother. Janelle (13) Jordan (5) and birth mother to Malcolm Jason (9). Kiara has been working in Accounting for the past 3 years. She is also an associate case manager for On your Feet Foundation. Kiara likes to spend her free time painting, playing guitar, and going out with friends.

Vicki Twomey is birthmom to Kevin, age 26. She has known him his whole life and even goes on vacation with him every summer! Vicki has worked at an adoption agency as an expectant mom counselor, case manager at On Your Feet Foundation and has been on the boards of various adoption organizations. She now runs On Your Feet's Birthmom Retreats and loves every minute spent connecting with others moms from around the country! She is very open about her story and passionate about helping other birthmoms!

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Robyn attended her first birhtmom retreat in 2014, and has been hooked ever since! She currently serves as housemom at in-person retreats, and she loves to create a welcoming atmosphere that nourishes people, body and soul. Robyn lives in the Chicago suburbs and works as a high school librarian. She and her husband, Paul, have been married for 23 years, and have three teenage boys. Robyn is also a birthmom in reunion with her child, who is 30 years old. In her free time, she enjoys sitting around a fire pit in the backyard with family and friends, participating in storytelling events, and reading. Her family sometimes makes fun of her for going to the library in the evening after a long day of working in a library, but all of the other librarians in her life completely understand this behavior and she has no plans to stop anytime soon. She truly loves connecting with birthmoms as they navigate their adoption journeys, and feels privileged to be a part of On Your Feet.

Rachelle is birthmother to a 16 year old boy. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvanie, Rachelle has called Illinois home for over 10 years now. She attended her first retreat in 2009 and has been a facilitator for two years. Rachelle is a licensed clinician social worker providing therapy to individuals with mental health and/or substance use disorders. In her free time, Rachelle enjoys spending time with her wife and their two dogs, crafting, cooking, and hiking. 

Katrina is birthmom to Olivia, who she placed in 2010. Their adoption is very open with frequent visits and relaxed communication. Katrina found On Your Feet very shortly after placement, and attended several retreats before becoming a facilitator. Katrina earned a bachelors degree in liberal studies from Purdue University. During the week, Katrina works as a caseworker for the Indiana Department of Child Services. In her free time, Katrina enjoys crafting, binging Netflix, and visiting her favorite tattoo shop to work on her Beatles sleeve.

Jess is a grateful birthmother to her son, Ryan, who was placed in an open adoption in 2001. She feels very blessed by her relationship with her son and his parents as they remain close and have celebrated a loving open relationship. Yet, with this joy comes intense grief which Jess has navigated in her healing journey. She found On Your Feet Foundation 10 years after she placed which provided invaluable support that she didn't know she needed and opened the door to much deeper healing.  She is passionate about her journey and sharing what she has learned to help support other birthmothers. Jess graduated from Purdue after placing her son and worked in Talent and Business Management in broadcast commercial production for 12 years. Jess currently works from home while parenting her 4 children, whom she adores, and cherishes this season with them.

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Rosie is birthmom to Jack, age 10, with whom she has a semi-open adoption. Professionally, Rosie works at an adoption agency where she is a caseworker for expectant moms and helps them create their adoption plans and offers post-placement support. Rosie has been involved with On Your Feet since 2011 when she began attending retreats and has since had the honor of becoming a retreat facilitator. She received her Bachelors in Science in Social Work from Eastern Michigan University and her Masters of Social Work from Michigan State University.

Rosie currently lives in Dearborn, Michigan with her fiancé and senior aged cat, Derby. Some of Rosie’s favorite things are traveling, cooking/baking, and crafting (shoutout to Pinterest). She believes pumpkin spice truly is everything nice and sneaks in listening to Christmas music throughout the year!

Monica is birthmom to Jack, age 6, and enjoys an open adoption with her son, his two dads and younger sister. She has spent the last few years educating hopeful adoptive parents on how to navigate a healthy open adoption for all members of the triad. She understands both the grief and joy in making an adoption plan and advocates for the importance of post-placement care for birthmothers. Monica has been involved with On Your Feet since 2016 when she joined the Auxiliary Board where she was responsible for helping with the organization’s fundraising efforts. She truly feels it is the greatest honor to serve on the Board of Directors and as a Retreat Facilitator.

Monica lives in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood and works as a Senior Project Manager in the hospitality industry where she oversees large scale projects of hotels, restaurants and senior living facilities.