On Monday, March 2, the Northern Illinois Conference Office of Administrative Services welcomed two Administrative Assistants to their new roles as support staff for the Conference's six districts. 

Debbie Rogers, the former Chicago Regional Administrative Assistant, will support the Chicago Northwestern, Elgin and Rockford Districts. Debbie comes to this position with nearly ten years in her role as a regional administrative assistant. Before coming to work for the conference, Debbie served as a local church administrative assistant. Her email is drogers@umcnic.org and phone is 312-346-9766 ext. 732.

Leola Tucker will support the Chicago Southern, Aurora and DeKalb Districts. Her email is ltucker@umcnic.org and phone is 312-346-9766 ext. 733. Both are located in the Chicago office at 77 W. Washington St., Suite 1820, Chicago, IL 60602.

Leola Tucker will support the Chicago Southern, Aurora and DeKalb Districts. Leola comes to us with extensive experience in administrative services including virtual office support and data management. Her email is ltucker@umcnic.org and phone is 312-346-9766 ext. 733. Both Debbie and Leola are located in the Chicago office at 77 W. Washington St., Suite 1820, Chicago, IL 60602.

Both the Rockford/DeKalb and Aurora/Elgin offices are now closed and the District Superintendents will be working remotely. You may reach them by email or phone. For their contact information, click here for the NIC staff page.

The closure of regional offices and the reduction of support staff follows the passage of the 2020 budget, which included the elimination of regional offices and the consolidation of administrative support. Striving for good stewardship of our apportionment income and benefiting from changes in technology, district superintendents have moved beyond an office setting using mobile devices and cloud-based files and data for their work.

As we transition from regional offices to centralized support staff for our districts, we want to thank and show our appreciation to Natarsha Gardner and Betsy Lovelady-Smith for their years of faithful service. 

Betsy joined the conference staff in 2011 and as a Regional Administrative Assistant, she supported a number of District Superintendents along with churches in the Rockford and DeKalb Districts. 

After a brief time as a temp employee, Natarsha joined the conference in 1997 first serving as administrative assistant to the Director of Connectional Ministries and the Program Office. In 2017 she transitioned to the role of regional administrative assistant for the Elgin and Aurora Districts.

Both Betsy and Natarsha brought dedication and servant hearts to their jobs and their interaction with all NIC members. Their last day in the office will be Feb. 28, 2020. Join us in wishing them the very best as they search for new meaningful opportunities.