Arlene Happach

Arlene grew up in Chicago and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bradley University and immediately pursued a master’s degree in clinical psychology.  While working in direct service and program development for several years, Arlene became very interested in the business of nonprofit management and returned to Bradley University to earn an MBA.   

Arlene became the President and CEO of the Children's Home Association of Illinois on October 1, 2004 after having served in various service and administrative roles since 1979.  In this new capacity, Arlene is responsible for a staff of over 400, fifty programs and a budget of $18 million.  As President and CEO, Arlene views her primary responsibility as implementing our mission and communicating it to our funders, our donors and the community at large. 

Arlene is active on the statewide Child Welfare Advisory Committee, a provider group that advises the Department of Children and Family Services, and was recently asked to Chair that committee.  She chairs the Finance and Administration Subcommittee, and has served as a member or chair of several other ad hoc committees related to system redesign, including specialized foster care, Medicaid mental health services and performance contracting.  As Illinois moved foster care to a performance-based purchasing model, Arlene was instrumental in negotiating the system design, reimbursement rates and required outcomes.  She also implemented internal systems to track outcomes and costs in the agency.

Arlene and her husband, Bob, live in Peoria and will be celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary next year and have two wonderful sons – Shane is 26 and is a financial analyst for Caterpillar Americas in Miami, Florida and Jeremy is 23 and is pursuing a master’s degree in industrial engineering at Bradley University.