Board of Directors

Erica Chianelli is a Vice President of Business Development at Lakeside Bank. She is based at Lakeside’s Chinatown facility, where she develops community partnerships in an effort to promote Lakeside and encourage new business. Prior to joining Lakeside, Erica was Executive Director of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, where she focused on making Chinatown a major destination point for visitors. Erica has been with Asset Builders CDC since the beginning. She is well known for her efforts in co-authoring a faith-based financial literacy curriculum called, “Faith & Finances.” Erica is also on the Board of Trustees of VanderCook College of Music and is Foundation Chair for the Rotary Club of Chicago Near South.


Donald L. Powell currently serves as a treasurer of the board of directors of Asset Builders CDC. Mr. Powell is a graduate of Ohio State University with a bachelors and a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering and he leveraged throughout his career. He served his country as a officer in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He contributed to the development of an independent laboratory which offered research of testing services to the federal government, petroleum, automotive, diesel engine, farm tractor and construction equipment industries. Mr. Powell served as Vice President and technical director for 15 years and President and Chief Executive for the last 17 years before his retirement. As an active member of his community he also served on the official boards of churches and six not for profit organizations, accumulating more than 100 man-years of service in various capacities.


Ilene Simmons has been a Board member of Asset Builders for three years and is the Development Chair. Ilene is currently retired after 28 years as an investment professional, including 17 years at Brinson Partners (now UBS Global Asset Management) here in Chicago. She was an investment strategist responsible for development and management of equities portfolio strategies. Prior to her work in equity strategy, she was a senior investment analyst, responsible for the drug, biotechnology and health care industries. Ilene is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and holds BS and MBA degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC.

John M. Hess is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Economics. He is currently a marketing and human resources consultant working with for profit and non profit organizations nationwide. Having spent 10 years with an employment services company, Mr. Hess has broad experience developing workforce development programs for non profits and government agencies. Prior to that, he worked as an analyst and portfolio manager for a Chicago based investment advisor. Mr. Hess is currently is on the board and serves as the treasurer of a therapeutic day school in Chicago.


Lyman Howell is a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. Prior to working in the financial services industry, he worked on strategies to help struggling families to combat poverty by accumulating assets. He has helped organizations around the United States to implement programs that offered Individual Development Accounts or financial education. He has also consulted on behalf of the federal government regarding IDA programs. He helped to start a microfinance program in Kenya, and he helped organizations in different countries to develop relationships with the global Microcredit Summit. Lyman has also worked in engineering and finance in the food industry. He has an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University.

Jimmy D. Lee grew up in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned a B.A. in Economics. He is the former Managing Director of the National Center for Community Development, a nonprofit organization committed to promoting economic development and effective public/private partnerships to serve the community. In January of 2006, President George W. Bush appointed Jimmy Lee to serve as the Executive Director of the White House Initiative for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Prior to that appointment, Mr. Lee served as the Executive Director for a local, community based chamber of commerce, Director of Outreach for the Jim Ryan for Governor Campaign and also as Special Assistant to the Governor (Illinois). Jimmy Lee is a strong advocate of community service and has worked extensively with several charitable and non-for-profit organizations. He serves on a number of boards and commissions around the country including Asset Builders CDC, the National Center for Community Development, and serves as an advisory board member for Nielsen Media Research. He is an active youth group leader for his church where he serves as a mentor and youth counselor. On October 23, 2007, Jimmy Lee announced his candidacy for Congress in Illinois' 11th Congressional District.