The Staff
Heather Lember, Program Director
Heather grew up in New Jersey and started playing guitar when she was 13. She spent her high school years writing angsty songs in her bedroom, and started her first band after moving to New England to attend the University of Massachusetts. Heather earned her BA in Comparative Literature and Film Studies and then moved to Berlin to learn German. She relocated to Chicago in 2005 where she helped co-found Girls Rock! Chicago, and played in various rock bands, including her current project, the ovens. Heather also works at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and enjoys riding her bicycle, skateboarding in her apartment, playing guitar on her front porch, postmodern literature, German new wave cinema, and inventing vegan recipes.
Melissa Oglesby, Outreach Director
Melissa began playing music at age 8 with the clarinet, had brief run-ins with guitar and piano and eventually settled into drums. She became interested in DIY culture in her formative years and began publishing zines at the age of 14. When writing about independent music was no longer enough, in true DIY fashion, she started making her own, regardless of musical ability. When she’s not advocating for women and girls, she can often be found in the company of cats, bikes and baked goods.
Jennifer Czajka, Fundraising Coordinator
Jennifer grew up in Westchester, IL where she spent countless hours flipping 45s on her portable record player. While she loved these 60s pop tunes, it wasn’t until she bought her first cassette tape - Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill - that she fell hard. Through high school and college she watched her friends play VFW halls, church basements and lofts and set up shows in her garage. She admired the DIY energy of the scene, but found one thing to be missing: female players. Since her daughter first attended Girls Rock! camp in 2007, she has vowed to change that. She even picked up the guitar at Ladies Rock Camp! When she’s not conceiving awesome events for GR!C, she might be buying and recommending books and music in her day job at the library, or fixating on pies & cupcakes.
Kara Edington-Reed, Social Media Coordinator
Kara grew up in South Bend, Indiana, where she was the only girl in her high school with a homemade Dillinger Four t-shirt. She earned an English degree from Indiana University but made sure never to let her studies get in the way of what was really important—traveling around the Midwest to see her favorite bands play. After college Kara moved to Chicago and spent ridiculous amounts of time at the Fireside Bowl. In addition to her duties for GR!C, Kara keeps busy correcting grammar, cooking delicious vegan food, and hanging with her two cats, husband, and stepdaughter, a seasoned Girls Rock vet.
Melissa Kempfer, Gear Coordinator
Tara Brinkman, Parent Liasion
…and infinitely more volunteers that donate their much appreciated time and energy to GR!C. Email volunteer@girlsrockchicago.org to get involved.
