Who We Are

A native of Northern California, Kim Coventry received a BA in Art History from the University of Redlands, and an MA in Art History (with a focus on ancient art) and Museum Studies from the University of Southern California. After moving to Chicago in 1986, Kim served as museum administrator at the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago. She later oversaw exhibitions and conservation at the university’s department of rare books and manuscripts.

In 1992 Kim founded The Coventry Group, a consulting firm that worked with libraries, museums, foundations, colleges and universities, and individuals on a range of projects and initiatives, with a focus on managing the realization of institutional histories and biographies, and organizing exhibitions and accompanying catalogues. Many of her clients were in the not-for-profit sector, including Crab Tree Farm Foundation, Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Lake Forest College, Newberry Library, Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society, Museum of Science and Industry, and Northwestern University.

Kim is the author of Printing for the Modern Age: Commerce, Craft, and Culture in the R.R. Donnelley Archive (2006), The History of Crab Tree Farm (2012), and Cairo to Chicago: The Courtship and Marriage of Emily Birnie Smith and Harold Cornelius Smith (2014). She coauthored Classic Country Estates of Lake Forest: Architecture and Landscape Design 1856–1940 (2003), and Walter Frazier: Frazier Raftery Orr & Fairbank Architects: Houses of Chicago’s North Shore, 1924–1970 (2008).

Kim served on the board of the Poetry Foundation from 2012 to 2015 and was president of the Classical Art Society at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1997 to 1999. She is active in the Caxton Club of Chicago (whose publications committee she co-chairs). She collects illustrated books of poetry and pursues her strong interest in the history of Chicago, especially arts patronage and collecting. 

Suellen Burns has been a versatile professional in the arts, environmental, and urban planning fields for over 25 years. Most recently, she served as senior advisor – urban communities & partnerships for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. There she contributed to program/project development, stakeholder engagement, partner relations, capacity-building, and targeted grantmaking for the agency’s work in the Chicago area and Lake Michigan coastal region.

Her previous work includes the roles of executive director for Arts Bridge (the nation’s first business incubator for the arts), development director for Friends of the Chicago River, and proposal reviewer for Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. Suellen’s other capacity-building clients and employers range from the Suzuki-Orff School for Young Musicians and Chicago Human Rhythm Project to Illinois Conservation Foundation and South Chicago Art Center, among others. 

She holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and MS in Leadership and Policy Studies from DePaul University and is an adjunct faculty member for DePaul University’s graduate School of Public Service.

Laura P. Trejo was born in Mexico and raised in California. Most recently Laura worked at the University of Chicago’s Office of Civic Engagement. In this role she developed STEM opportunities for high school students, supported civic leadership investment, and worked on fundraising efforts across the civic engagement portfolio.

Previously, she has worked at a range of organizations in the arts, education, and community health including Children’s Health Initiative of Orange County, the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, and SkyART (formerly South Chicago Art Center).

Laura holds a BA in Art History and a BA in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine. She also holds an MA in Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Laura currently serves as Vice Chair for the Auxiliary Board of the National Museum of Mexican Art and is a mentor coach for America Needs You – Illinois.

Nicholas Burt previously served as Grants Administrator at the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation. He is a member of the Grants Managers Network (GMN) and past presenter at GMN conferences on the topics of electronic board books and foundation data tools. His interests within the field include practices to streamline the grantmaking process for grantees and applicants. His work experience includes positions at several nonprofits in the social services and the consulting firm of Grenzebach Glier and Associates. He also taught elementary-aged children with AmeriCorps VISTA on the Texas-Mexico border. Nicholas holds a BS in Journalism from Northwestern University and lives in Albany Park.

Before joining the Foundation, Amy spent nine years at the Ralph Lauren Corporation, where, most recently, she was the Brand Presentation Manager of the Midwest region. She also served as the Executive Assistant to the President & COO of the Polo Retail Group in New York. Her background also includes an executive assistant position at MTV Networks.

Amy graduated from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, New York.  She enjoys listening to rock steady music and spending time with her family. She lives in Wicker Park.