Upon graduating from National Louis University, Stacey spent a rewarding decade-long career in elementary education before joining Featherfist in 1995 as the Chief Program Officer.

Since 2005, Stacey has been the Chief Operating Officer responsible for day to day operations and resource collaboration. She is the staff leader of Featherfist, working side by side with her team of more than 60 employees to help more than 2,000 homeless clients annually discover hope and stability in their journey to regain “power & purpose” in their lives. Stacey’s compassion and dedication has helped nearly 90% of Featherfist clients obtain and/or maintain stable, affordable housing each year. Stacey sits on several policy related advocacy committees throughout the city of Chicago focused on Homelessness and Veteran Services. She was honored in 2020 by Coldwell Banker Realty as a Hometown Hero. She is a fitness enthusiast and likes to run marathons for a cause.

Araina joined Featherfist as Chief Operating Officer in 1992. From the start, she not only worked tirelessly to promote our organization throughout Chicago, but also maintained an exhaustive list of partners who helped Featherfist clients after they left our care.

Araina’s work in human services began in 1974 as the owner/operator of the Loft—a center on the southside of Chicago that provided social services and creative outlets for “latch key” teens. During Featherfist’s initial outreach phase, Araina also trained in family welfare at the Mary McDowell Family Services for three years. She received her degree in Social Services at Kennedy King College and Governor State University.

In 2005, she became Vice President Emeritus of Featherfist and President of the Featherfist Development Corporation, a Community Development Entity (CDE) that finds and packages community projects to foster stability and growth.