Vice President and Executive Director of Strategic Services
Ms. Sode joined Heartland in August, 2005, after nearly 20 years of service on the Board of Directors. She leads the organization's administrative functions, including finance and information technology, human resources, quality and risk management, donor and community relations, communications, and internal audit. Her management in these areas support the organization's strategic growth in new initiatives, human rights policy leadership, and management effectiveness.
A former senior executive with several food and consumer products companies (Beatrice, Esmark and The Quaker Oats Company), Ms. Sode simultaneously served as president of the Esmark/Beatrice Foundation, an early pioneer in fostering achievement in nonprofit management. Over her career, she has served as a board volunteer for more than 40 nonprofit organizations, assuming leadership positions in more than half of them.
Ms. Sode is currently a board member of the Lester and Rosalie Anixter Center Foundation. She holds an MBA from Loyola University in Chicago, a B.S. in communications and journalism from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and a certificate in the liberal arts from the University of Chicago.