OUR TEAM
Linda Rio
Executive Director
Linda began her legal career as a staff attorney on the U.S. Court of Appeals. She was an attorney at Sidley Austin with an extensive pro bono practice who served on the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. Linda was the first community services director at the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), and the founding director of the American Bar Association Child Custody and Adoption Pro Bono Project. She chaired the CBA Young Lawyers Section, served on the boards of numerous legal aid agencies, and was elected to the Hinsdale/Clarendon Hills School Board, including a term as board president. She is a worship leader at the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale. Linda has a B..A in American Studies from Northwestern University and a J.D. from UCLA.
Sheila Winkelman Pont
Director of Programming / Co-Founder
With leadership roles in the organization from its beginnings, Sheila has been crucial to PBN’s growth from its initial 10volunteers to the hundreds engaged today, earning numerous awards for achievements in this work., Prior to her time at PBN, Sheila was the director of victim advocacy for Mothers Against Drunk Driving-Illinois. She has served on the board of directors for Housing Forward and numerous other local nonprofits. She has a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D./M.S.W. from Washington University in St. Louis.
Ned Schaub
Communications Manager
Ned has worked in communications in internal staff and consulting roles at nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, including Audubon Great Lakes, Heartland Alliance, Illinois Humanities, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. In consulting roles, he worked with nonprofits around the country and in staff roles he has managed communications and worked as a grantmaking program officer. Ned has a B.A. in creative writing from Knox College and a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco.
Heena Musabji
Director of Development / Co-Founder
The first person to volunteer with PBN and one of the individuals most responsible for its expansion, Heena served as PBN board president prior to coming on as staff. Previously, she was a principal attorney at Musabji Law Offices, focusing on immigration and nationality law, and prior to that was a partner at Amal Law Group, leading the immigration department. Heena was CAIR-Chicago’s first staff attorney, counseling its constituency on civil rights and immigration. She worked with the National Immigrant Justice Center throughout law school and now continues with the organization as a volunteer. Heena has a B.S. in finance from Siena College and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law with a certificate in international comparative law.
Cicely Tatum-Johnson
Volunteer Manager
Cicely joins Pro Bono Network with a decade-plus of domestic and international non-profit experience, specializing in advocacy, community engagement, volunteer management, and disaster recovery. She served as an AmeriCorps/VISTA leader, developing and implementing local climate resilience plans, and leading organizations in capacity building initiatives. Prior to joining PBN, she worked on the nation's largest guaranteed income pilot in Chicago and Cook County. Cicely is a passionate social impact leader with a knack for connecting people to meaningful opportunities to drive change in their communities.
Lauren Breit
Racial Equity Program Coordinator
Lauren was a Pro Bono volunteer, project manager and subject matter expert before joining the PBN staff. She served as a holistic criminal defense attorney at Lawndale Christian Legal Center. While at Kirkland & Ellis, she was active in the launch of their women’s leadership and diversity, and their equity and inclusion committees. Lauren volunteers in the North Lawndale Restorative Justice Community Court and in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. She is passionate about violence prevention, restorative justice and trauma healing. Lauren has a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from Northwestern University.