Arla Lerman
Board of Directors - Vice President
A native of Skokie, Illinois, Arla Lerman earned a B.S. in Journalism with a concentration in Advertising from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and worked towards an MBA at Loyola University and a Masters in Writing at DePaul University. Arla’s diverse professional background includes fifteen years in a variety of business and human resources management and consulting positions, including Director of Human Resources for TASC, a not-for-profit social services agency in Chicago. In addition, she spent three years in market research and more than five years in sales. Currently, Arla is a Marketing Manager for Mesirow Financial where she creates and produces marketing materials for their employee benefits division. In addition she continues to run her own small business as a Realtor in Evanston, where she has lived and worked for more than 10 years.
Arla is a proud alumna of Leadership Evanston. This community program sponsored by Evanston Community Foundation is dedicated to examining attitudes, exploring community relations and improvement, encouraging civic engagement and public service, and filling our community with committed and knowledgeable leaders. A strong advocate of volunteerism, Arla has expressed her belief in helping others in many ways: as a member of the Chicago Chamber of Commerce Drug Free Workplace Committee; a reader and engineer for Reading for the Blind & Dyslexic; and as a fundraiser for, and participant in, the Arthritis Foundation of Chicago's Joints in Motion Marathon Team.
Arla was introduced to music at an early age by her Grandma Edith, who taught her piano, voice and drama. As an adult, Arla continues her involvement in music and theatre. She is currently a student of cabaret and music theory and has performed with the Jewish Cabaret in its production “I Could Have Been in Miami,” was a long-standing member of the Summer Singers, a mostly a cappella choir made up of current/former members of the DePaul University Community Chorus, and is now an associate member of Chicago Cabaret Professionals. Arla is thrilled at last to be able to combine her business skills, her commitment to helping others, and her joy of music and performance as a Board member for Acts of Kindness Cabaret.