STAFF 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.
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.
DaToya Burtin-Cox
Assistant Program Director
Following law school graduation, DaToya worked for a boutique law firm specializing in consumer fraud, transitioning later to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, where she worked in the Child Support Enforcement/Medicaid Bureau and the Consumer Fraud Bureau. Following a six-year tenure with the Office focusing on public aid and consumer fraud issues, DaToya opened her own firm She also worked in the Department of Administrative Hearings for the City of Chicago, and was an arbitrator chair for the Cook County Circuit Court Mandatory Arbitration Program. In 2021, DaToya was appointed to the role of Clerk for Oak Park Township. She has a B.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University and a J.D. from John Marshall Law School.
Kathleen Hanley
Development Associate
Kathy comes to us with a unique mix of leadership, development and fundraising experience having worked with many non-profit organizations as a volunteer and development specialist for the last 20 years. She started with Pro Bono Network as a consultant in 2019 and became a staff member in January 2022. Prior to her experiences with non-profit organizations, Kathy was employed as a Research and Development Director at Baxter Healthcare and has held various leadership positions in research and development at Abbott Laboratories. While employed at both healthcare companies, Kathy held several leadership positions for their employee volunteer programs. Kathy has a M.S. and B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University.