Former St. Charles Chamber CEO named new CASA Kane County executive director

Former St. Charles Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jim Di Ciaula has been named the new executive director of CASA Kane County.

He fills the vacancy left after Gloria Kelley, who had been executive director for 15 years, resigned April 22. CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate, is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that advocates for abused and neglected children within the county’s juvenile court system.

Di Ciaula will start July 11. He feels strongly about helping the organization in its mission.

“I can take my life experiences and skills and put them to use in serving a very vulnerable part of our society,” he said. “And that to me is a privilege. The team has done great work and there’s a lot of great things that have happened in CASA and the community. And I hope to be able to carry that forward.”

As the new executive director, Di Ciaula said one of his first goals will be to increase the number of volunteers so CASA Kane County can help more children.

“There’s a waiting list now for some children to be assigned to CASA,” he said. “So whatever we can do to increase our volunteer pool would be very helpful. And that’s high on the priority list.”

CASA/GAL stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate and Guardian Ad Litem. Di Ciaula said there is a need for more volunteers to do that work so more children can be served.

Di Ciaula resigned from the St. Charles Chamber last year after serving as president and CEO since January 2018. Di Ciaula recently has been serving as vice president of strategic initiatives at St. Charles-based Vertex Resource Group.

Jeffery Kubas, the company’s owner, is on the board of directors for CASA Kane County. He asked Di Ciaula if he would consider applying for the position.

Di Ciaula is a past board president of the nonprofit organization TriCity Family Services in Geneva, which provides counseling and other mental health services and has served on other nonprofit/membership boards, including Common Threads, The Illinois CPA Society and Bank Administration Institute of Illinois.

He also is the president and founder of Random Acts Matter, a volunteer organization committed to sharing care and compassion in St. Charles.