Youth Advisory Council Members
The Barrington Area Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council is a dynamic group of local students who work on their own projects and programs to help meet the unmet needs of the community.
The group organizes a Fall Food Collection for area Food Pantries, hosts a dance at Barrington High School raising funds to support a local impactful initiative and participates in a Chicago City Field Trip where they have the opportunity to meet and learn from larger initiatives serving the Chicagoland area.
2022 Youth Advisory Council Members
Abigail Bergan
Alli Gianopulos
Parker Henry
Abby Richmond
Elena Saez
Elena Saez is a senior at Barrington High School and will be attending Notre Dame in the fall of next year. She is involved in BHS Dance Marathon, Peers All Come Together, Orchesis, and the BHS Varsity Dance Team.
Josh Wickstrom
Peri Keenan
Will Farmer
Sophie Farmer
Ella Beaubien
Ellen McGinn
Jake O’Donnell
Kian Mohsenzadeh
Emma Richmond
Lucia Saez
Annie Tarpey
Bridget Tarpey
Cate Brashler
Caroline Turnbull
Adaobi Ibe
Lauren Shannon
Rose Welgat
Amelia Cline
Olivia Galley
Ian Tepas
Jacob Dorn
Mark McGinn
Nick Peipert
Past Youth Advisory Council Members
Hello, I am Pelle Gierlach, a Sophomore at Barrington High School. I am involved with Hands of Hope and Barrington Youth Advisory Council. Outside of school, I enjoy reading, biking, and spending time with my family.
I’m a sophomore at Barrington High School. Apart from BACF, I’m involved in Barrington’s fine arts program, specifically band and orchestral percussion, as well as the Lincoln Douglas debate team. Through civil leadership programs at Northwestern I’m involved with various non-profit organizations and through the youth council, I have been exposed to great opportunities in service and community engagement. I look forward to the next two years!
My name is Ally Ahern. I am a sophomore at Barrington High School. Other clubs I’m involved in are UNICEF and Big Red. I also play lacrosse for the high school. My hobbies include traveling, reading, and hanging out with my friends.
Elise Burns is a Sophomore at Barrington High School. She is volunteer at Hope’s In Charity, which raises money for impoverished families in Guatemala City, as well as volunteer at Our Lady of the Angels mission in the west side of Chicago. Elise has been a dancer at Bataille Academie of the Danse for five years, and has been apart of the Barrington Area Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council for two years.
I’m heavily involved in the theater department at Barrington High School and really enjoy being a part of the thespian community. I throughly love being a part of the Barrington Area Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council, I like to learn about the grant process and being able to help my community through service. I am looking forward to finishing high school strong and going to college somewhere on the East Coast to become a Biology teacher.
Sophomore, Barrington High School.
Hello I am Eden Solberg, and I am a sophomore at Barrington. At the high school I am involved with Cross Country, Library Student Board, French Club, Lunch Buddies, and Barrington Buddies. Outside of school I really enjoy cooking, reading, and being in nature.
I am currently a junior at BHS involved in many clubs and activities including UNICEF, BHS Big Red,Generation Crossroads, FCX Soccer, and other philanthropic organizations across the Chicago area. I hope to study journalism in college.
I’m a senior at Barrington High School and a member of several different philanthropic organizations ranging from the youth board of the Alexian Brothers Hospital, Hope’s In, and the Barrington Area Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council. Along with my philanthropic interests, I am a wrestler and have wrestled for over a decade now. As well, I am largely involved with the Business Incubator Program at the High School, as my company was granted funding to start up our business. Next year, I will be attending the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University to major in finance and entrepreneurship.
Drew Douglas is a junior at Barrington High School and member of the Barrington Area Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council. At Barrington Drew participated in Varsity football and up until last year, baseball. Aside from athletics Drew has been involved in the Colts Leadership Program and other philanthropic organizations like Barrington Giving Day and Relay for Life. Drew’s plans include either following a track in medicine or majoring in communications while away at college.
Jan-Edward Gierlach is currently a junior at Barrington High School. Introduced to the sport of competitive cycling at a young age Jan has been racing bikes competitively since the age of ten.Jan’s love of the outdoors manifest’s itself in frequent bike races and trips with his family, which has taken him to different trails and cycling destinations across the United States. He has been involved in programs such as the Barrington Youth Advisory Council since his freshmen year, and in three years has gained a lot from this experience. More recently acting on what he has learned about philanthropy, he has partnered with Bob Lee in raising funds for the charity Ride For 3 Reasons, an organization that supports research for finding effective cure’s and treatment for ALS and Cancer, and raises awareness for Hospice Treatment. In February of 2017 Jan plans to graduate a semester early from high school, and will be cycling over 3,200 miles self supported across the Southern Tier of the United States as part of the fundraising process. After completing this ride Jan plans to study business and economics in college.
I’m Mia Nguyen, a junior at Barrington High School. I am secretary of Student Council, a varsity tennis athlete, on the leadership team of Hope’s In Style, and a member of the Barrington Area Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council. I am an active student in the business incubator class at Barrington High School, which has sparked my interest in studying business, specifically entrepreneurship, in college.
I’m Sabrina Chung and I am a current senior at Barrington High School. I am involved in lacrosse, various nonprofits such as Go Beyond Barrington, and middle school mentoring. I have co founded two non for profits, Gir1 C0de, a women’s empowerment in coding network, and SaveDaWorld, a second year business with the incubator EDU program for recycling education. I plan to study either Business with the hopes of doing Nonprofit
While at BHS I have taken part in both the Cross Country and Basketball teams along with being a Student Council Committee Head and a COLTs leader. I am also involved at St. Anne’s church as an Eucharistic Minister and missionary to the Appalachian region of West Virginia. I plan on studying Business, Economics, or International Affairs in college.
Lyle Green is a graduating BHS senior who will be attending the University of Vermont in fall of 2016. He has served with BACF for four years, as well as Latin Club and Chess Without Borders.
I am currently a senior at Barrington High School. Over the past 4 years I have participated in Track and Cross Country and received the honor of being voted Cross Country captain in my final season. I have also been involved in Code Red, a leadership club at the high school. Next year I plan on studying environmental science, and possibly minoring in Chinese.
My name is Brandon Nye, and I am currently a senior at Barrington High School. I have served as President of the Class Board, Co-Captain of the Congressional Debate Team, and Treasurer of Student Council. I have also been involved in COLTS (Community Outreach and Leadership Training School) and Latin Club at BHS. I was also a founding member of the Youth Advisory Board of Fellowship Housing, a nonprofit devoted to serving the needs of homeless, single mothers. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the BACF for the past four years. I plan to study economics and public policy in college.
Brandon is a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship
Studying finance at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University