ITA is excited to welcome four new board members!
Please help us welcome Christian Farr, Michelle Friedman, Eric Robb, and Paras Pahade. Read more about their backgrounds below. Welcome to the team!
Christian Farr has been a reporter and fill-in anchor at NBC 5 news since 2009. For more than 20 years, Farr has worked as a broadcast news journalist throughout the country. After graduating from the University of Delaware, Farr first worked at CNBC on the nighttime talk show Rivera Live, hosted by Geraldo Rivera. During his time as a producer at CNBC, Farr started his graduate work at New York University. His first on-air job was at New Jersey’s regional news network, a cable news operation. Less than a year later, he moved to Dayton, Ohio where he worked as a broadcast journalist at Ohio-TV. In 2000, he landed his dream job at Fox 29 in Philadelphia, the fourth-largest market as well as the tv market that Farr grew up watching. For six years, Farr worked his way up the ladder – first as a general assignment reporter, then a morning anchor and host and then a weekend anchor. In 2006, he left Philadelphia and came to Chicago to work as a correspondent on WTTW’s award winning Chicago tonight, also working as a freelance correspondent for CNN’s Chicago bureau. After three-and-a-half years, Farr left WTTW to join NBC 5.
Over the years, Farr has been nominated for several Emmy’s. Farr received an Emmy for his coverage of NATO protests in Chicago, received the prestigious Lisagor award for journalism, and several community services awards and commendations. He is a member of the Delta Alpha Boule’ fraternity and the National Association of Black Journalists. He has served on several boards including: the Streeterville Chamber of Commerce and the Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He is married to ABC 7 news anchor and reporter Karen Jordan, and is the son-in-law of retired WGN anchor and reporter Robert Jordan. Christian and Karen are the parents of two children: Vivian and John.
Michelle Friedman has a master’s degree in psychological counseling and is a certified life coach. Michelle has almost thirty years of experience serving on not-for-profit boards including: Shalva; Amit Women; Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School, where she served as development chair for several years; Ida Crown Jewish Academy where she served as development chair for many years and then as president of the board and oversaw a $40 million capital campaign and the strategic planning process; Camp Moshava where she served as development chair and then president of the board; and currently is a board member of Keshet where she sits on the strategic planning committee and board governance committee.
Michelle is the author of two children’s books and lives in Skokie with her husband. She has three children and seven grandchildren and is a speaker and disability awareness presenter to school age children from preschool through high school in America and Israel.
Paras Pahade’s education includes a Master of Management Studies and B.E. (Hons) Electrical/Electronics from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, an M.S. in Telecommunications and Software Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Master’s in Project Management at The George Washington University. His volunteer and community involvement are as a mentor at PMI Chicagoland Chapter, a sustaining donor at the Special Olympics, and Great Cycle Challenge at the Children’s Cancer Research Fund.
Paras works for Motorola Solutions, starting as a Lead Engineer and then moving on to roles such as Engineering Section Manager and Principal Program Manager. Paras was the Senior PMO Leader – Portfolio Planning and Program Management for five years with Motorola Solutions. Then becoming the Head, Global Product Operations-Orderability and Vendor Management in 2013.
As a father of a special needs adult who has limited communication, Paras feels a personal connection to the cause of this nonprofit. He is an artist himself (likes to paint and sketch) and has seen his daughter express herself through it. His experience in technology and art with personal connection to individuals with disability will enable him to make considerable impact in this area. In his free time, Paras enjoys running and biking. Paras Pahade’s goals are to define strategies for growth and operations of a non-profit organization, manage critical projects and leverage his professional and personal network to drive engagement in the community.
Eric Robb is a Special Education Teacher with District 68 in Skokie. He recently graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a Master‘s Degree in Education and holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Brown University. Outside of teaching, Eric is an avid triathlete and helps support para-athletes through the Dare2tri Paratriathlon Club. He also plays synthesizer, bass, and rhythm guitar in an 80s cover band.