WELCOME TO OUR NEW 2020 MEMBERS

Cathy giella

Cathy grew up just over our border in Elkhorn, Wisconsin She is 1 of 6 kids.

Cathy received her undergraduate degree from a small liberal arts college in New Haven , CT  she  moved to New York City with her first job, and her soon to be husband, Tom. When Tom decided to move to Chicago to get his MBA, Cathy went along, to attend Law school at Northwestern. While Cathy got her law degree she and Tom lived in a few different homes on the north side of Chicago, working and raising their young family, before settling in Evanston. 

Cathy worked as a corporate attorney while managing the kids and home life and in 1999 decided to call it quits on corporate life in order to focus on her busy family and baby number three  and then four soon to follow. Final team line up are now young adult/teens : Maddie, Tommy, Bryan and Christopher.

Cathy has said “…best decision made…. I have never looked back …”

While raising her 4 kids and managing an energetic hubby, she has found time to be an active parent at her kid’s schools:  St Ignatius, Loyola and ETHS to name a few.  Cathy spent 10 years on the board of Boys Hope | Girls Hope, as co-president and a mentor. Cathy is involved in the Northwestern Women’s Board and soup kitchens throughout Evanston. 

She is a “cuddler” at The Cradle, an avid reader and active yoga participant.

Cathy is incredibly easy to be with, she listens to you, remembers your story, has a joy for life, and sustains meaningful friendships.  She keeps a beautiful elegant home and cares for the community, her neighborhood and those around her. She was proposed by Bonnie Shapiro, her seconders were Laura Boylan and Kristy Brown.

sarah mcholland

Sarah McHolland is from Evanston and went to ETHS. She graduated from Loyola University in Chicago with a major in art.  She is married to Jim McHolland, principal of Chute Middle School, who everyone affectionately calls “Mr. Mac”.

Sarah has four kids Tyler, Grace, Ryan and Ella. She has been heavily involved in Evanston schools, community organizations, and philanthropic causes. These include Covenant nursey school board member, president of Highland Elementary School PTA, St Athanasius school board, President of ETHS Boosters Board and in charge spirit wear at ETHS. She also volunteers for Books and Breakfast and is on the board of the North End Mothers Club.

Sarah is a lady of many talents.  She is an interior decorator, has owned her jewelry company, an artist, and is now a partner of Paperwhite Florals an Evanston-based florist with Andrea Knohl.

Her sponsor is Andrea Knohl, and she seconded by Rose Caldwell and Terri Hummel.

Sarah will be an amazing contributor to the Garden Club with her background in art and her ability to make everything she touches beautiful and interesting.

monica martinson

Monica grew up in a big family in Maryland ( the youngest of 13 children ) and attended Brown University. She made her way to New York and worked in finance at Citibank and then in Chicago where she also worked at Bank of America.

She landed in Evanston with her husband, Marty, to raise a family ( Duncan, Andrew, Peter and Anne) , the last of whom left for college this fall.

In addition to a busy life with four children, she found time to work in the communities and with the causes that are dear to her- The ETHS Educational Foundation Board, The Kovler Diabetes Center at The University of Chicago, The ETHS Boosters, Misericordia , and as an Brown University alumni class representative   Until recently she worked as a interviewer for Kellogg  Admissions and now she works as a Program Manager at the Kellogg Center for Nonprofit Management.

Needless to say, Monica has a lot of energy and enthusiasm for her interests . She is also very active and enjoys tennis, paddle tennis and golf as well as bridge and crossword puzzles and of course, walking her yellow lab, Duke. She enjoys container gardening as well as working in her beautiful garden at home. She is excited to learn more about gardening through work at Shakespeare Garden as well as getting involved in Conservation.

 She is proposed by Tracy Gallun and seconded by Donna Frett and Laura Boylan and we know she will be a wonderful addition to the club.

kim moloney

Kim started her career as a writer in Chicago until she left for Washington DC in 1982 to become a lobbyist for a medical association. She decided she liked the medical profession better than the writing profession and applied to NU for medical school. She graduated and moved to Evanston in 1992 and opened her OB/GYN private practice. She was a much beloved practicing doctor for 26 years and just retired in Feb 2019. While practicing she was an active member of the AMA, served on the Chicago Medical Society’s Public Health Committee and on NorthShore Healthcare’s Quality Care GYNE Committee.

Although Kim was a “more than full-time” doctor, ran her own business and spent time with her large family for the last 26 years she found time for classes and travel. She is an accomplished mosaic artist, seamstress, upholsterer and has just rediscovered her love of writing via a series of online writing courses at University of Iowa. She is also a world traveler. She has climbed  Mt Kilamanjaro, hiked the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, been to Machu Picchu in Peru and scuba dived in the Great Barrier Reef, among many other places!

Kim has always loved gardening and is excited to learn more about gardening and horticulture. Her excitement was also piqued to learn that we have a photography committee! She is excited about becoming more involved in the community in her retirement. She will be a perfect fit for our Garden Club of Evanston. Tracy Gallun and Emily DeStefano are her seconders.

Carole bass 

Carole Bass grew up on a farm in northwestern Iowa, which she still owns. Eighty acres are now devoted to native wildflowers and grasses.     She graduated from Northwestern University in 1982 with a degree in Communications and Computer Studies. She holds a master’s degree in IT management. Carole owned the software company LogiCom and developed a software package for manufacturing.     From 2007 to 2011, Carole served as the president of her neighborhood association in Inverness, 180 homes on 160 acres. Under her guidance they won an EPA/Chicago Wilderness award for the restoration of woodland, wetland, and prairie spaces.     

Since moving to Evanston in 2011, she has served on the Evanston Arts Council, the Evanston Public Art Committee, the Advisory Council of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), and the boards of Young Evanston Artists (YEA!), the Optima Horizons condominium association, and Downtown Evanston. She was a member of the 2018 class of Evanston Community Foundation’s Leadership Evanston program.     

Carole has three grown sons. Tom, an artist and fisherman in Bellingham, Washington. Andy, the co-owner of Orbit Media Studios in Chicago and Scott, owner of Independent Spirits wine shop in Chicago. Carole is the grandma of seven wonderful youngsters, and the ‘mom’ of two Cavalier spaniels. She enjoys playing piano, reading American history, listening to classic jazz, researching family heritage, and knitting. Some of Carole’s favorite travels have included small ship cruises of Alaska’s Inside Passage with her late father and a trip on the Nile with her late husband. Other favorite destinations have included Ireland, Kauai and Krakow. Anne Berkeley is Carole’s proposer, having met her eight years ago when they both served on the Evanston Arts Council. Carole is a delight to work with, dependably getting things done and always with a light touch. She is excited to bring her conservation experience to GCE and looks forward to learning more about horticulture, flower arranging and photography. Bernice Valantinas and Roseann Dineen are seconders.