2024 RISE Committee

Nick Gentile is from Springfield, Illinois and is a graduate of Rochester High School. He attended Lincoln Land Community College after high school before eventually transferring to Indiana University. While in college Nick began his banking career with Town and Country Bank in Springfield as a teller. He continued to work in the industry though college in both Champaign, Illinois and Indianapolis, Indiana before returning home to Springfield in 2021. Today Nick serves as Vice President Commercial Banker for Prairie State Bank & Trust.

Nick has a strong passion for serving his community. He has held several different roles on various local boards, most recently Nick joined the United Way of Central Illinois Board of Directors where he serves on their Community Impact Investments Committee. As Co-President of RISE Nick hopes to help create and maintain a sustainable destination for young professionals looking to live and grow in the greater Springfield area.

My name is Bailey, and I am currently an Account Executive with the Web Solutions division at Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. I graduated from Glenwood High School, did a pit stop at LLCC, then journeyed onward to Iowa State University where I received my bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Event Management.

Prior to LRS, my career began in luxury hotels where I uncovered my passion for serving others. As my career progressed, I learned that I like to solve problems in unique ways, like improving someone’s experience with a brand, helping people find jobs, or currently – create unique digital solutions that move propel brands forward.

I approach the opportunity of RISE with the same passion – how can I serve other Young Professionals in Springfield?

Like many others who have grown up in Springfield, I was the girl who couldn’t wait to leave. However, after living on both coasts, I have an entirely new appreciation for the Springfield community and the possibilities that exist within our city limits.

As Co-President, I cannot wait to help other young leaders see that together we can make Springfield a better place to work, live and grow.

CJ Baker is the Government Affairs and Funding Coordinator at Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT) in Springfield. CJ was born and raised in Springfield but is a proud graduate of Glenwood High School in Chatham. After graduating, CJ pursued an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield in Political Science. During his tenure at UIS, CJ worked in the Governor’s Office of Constituent Affairs where he served as a conduit of information between the Governor and his constituency. Soon after obtaining his B.A., he moved to Washington D.C. for a brief stint in Congressman Darin LaHood’s office before returning to work in the General Assembly on the Illinois House Republican Staff. While on Staff, CJ was the lead staffer on Legislative Committees covering multiple subject areas ranging from State Appropriations, to State Government Administration, Financial Institutions, Agriculture, and others. After nearly six years, in early 2022, CJ left the public sector to do government affairs work for the multi-state civil engineering firm, CMT, which is headquartered in Springfield.
 
CJ brings a unique perspective to RISE as an individual in the government affairs sector and is thrilled about the opportunity because it gives him more chances to do what he loves- “connecting people with people and sharing knowledge- that’s what it’s all about”.

Dr. Jamarco Clark serves as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Illinois Springfield. Since entering the student affairs field in 2014, Dr. Clark has worked in multiple student affairs and higher education functional areas including residence life, student activities, athletics, volunteerism & service learning, student conduct, and fraternity & sorority life to name a few. Since 2016, Dr. Clark has served in leadership roles at Mount Mercy University, Indian Hills Community College, and the University of Iowa.

Dr. Clark holds a bachelor’s of science in educational foundations from Iowa Wesleyan University, master’s in strategic leadership from Mount Mercy University and a doctorate in student affairs administration and leadership from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Dr. Clark's research centers on staff wellbeing, secondary trauma in Black male student affairs professionals, and trauma-informed supervision and leadership.

Originally from Pensacola, Florida, Dr. Clark has spent the last 13 years of his life in the Midwest, most recently the Iowa City, IA area. Dr. Clark is excited to be in Springfield and looks forward to impacting the community in positive ways through the work of RISE.

My name is Kaitlin Coultas, and I am the Digital Marketing Specialist for Visit Springfield. I first came to Springfield in 2016 as an undergraduate business student at UIS. I finished my bachelors and decided to receive my M.B.A. at UIS as well, after growing to love the campus and Springfield community so much. It was only second nature for me to decide to begin my professional career here in Springfield. I currently am a member of Illinois Women in Leadership, and now RISE Springfield. I look forward to connecting and developing positive professional relationships and skills, with lots of fun in-between!

Dakota Greer, CPA, is from Rochester, Illinois and is a graduate of Rochester High School. He attended Robert Morris University (Chicago) where he played football and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business Management. While in college Dakota began his public accounting career with PwC where he completed two internships in the tax department. He continued to work in the profession when he returned home to Springfield in 2016 and began working as an auditor for Kerber, Eck and Braeckel (KEB). Today Dakota is a CPA and is an Audit Manager at Kerber, Eck and Braeckel.
 
Dakota has a strong passion for serving his community. He is currently the treasurer for the Educational Center for the Visually Impaired, in addition to his role as the Clothing Drive Chair for RISE. As a committee member of RISE Dakota hopes to help create and maintain a sustainable destination for young professionals looking to live and grow in the greater Springfield area.

Nicholas Koch was born and raised in Chatham and is a proud Glenwood High School alumni.  Following high school, Nicholas attended the University of Mississippi where he majored in criminal justice and minored in professional writing.  During college, he served as the philanthropy chair for his fraternity.  After graduating, Nicholas worked on a ferry in Cooper Landing, Alaska at a popular fishing destination on the Kenai River.  At the completion of the Alaskan salmon season, he moved to Alton, IL with his now wife to work as federal background investigator for a government contractor.
 
In 2020, Nicholas joined TechGuard Security, a woman-owned cybersecurity company based out of O’Fallon, IL, as a Strategic Account Representative.  He works with businesses of all sizes across the globe to improve their overall cybersecurity posture through TechGuard’s suite of proactive and preventative cybersecurity services.  Although TechGuard is based in O’Fallon, Nicholas lives and works remotely in Chatham.
 
Nicholas currently volunteers with several different organizations and he is excited to bring his passion and experience of organizing volunteer opportunities to the greater Springfield area.  Nicholas believes Springfield has a strong sense of community and looks forward to helping connect young professionals with local charitable organizations and events.

Dr. Allison Long was born and raised in Springfield.  She graduated from Glenwood High School then attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.  She played softball at Rhodes and majored in Biology.  She continued her studies at SIU School of Dental Medicine.  While attending SIU, Dr. Long held multiple leadership positions in national dental organizations.  She was awarded ‘SIU Distinguished Student Service Award’ for her contributions.  She graduated in 2022 and is now a dentist with Prairie Dental Group in Springfield.
 
When deciding where to live and work after graduating, Dr. Long states, “it was an easy decision to move back to Springfield.”  She was attracted to the community aspect of our “Big Small Town”.  Since attending the very first RISE event, Dr. Long has enjoyed meeting many like-minded individuals in the community.  She looks forward to being on the Committee and expanding awareness of RISE to more young professionals.

Rachel Selvaggio, a Springfield native, attended Sacred Heart-Griffin High School and holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Communication Studies and a Master of Business Administration, both from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is currently the Director of Forums and Future Leaders Alliance at the Illinois Bankers Association, where she applies her five years of event coordination experience and five years of banking experience. Rachel is able to provide RISE with educational event expertise, providing event insight and speaker recommendations for the group.