Jessica Jecmen is a Managing Director at Accenture and Executive Director of the Accenture Foundation. She is actively involved with the Working Parents and Women’s Employee Resource Groups within Accenture.

She is an active volunteer in her community. She has served in leadership roles in the Junior League of Kane & DuPage Counties and Harrison Street School PTO. She is the first Vice President of the Joffrey Women’s Board in Chicago and has previously Co-Chaired their Annual Luncheon. She also serves Gamma Phi Beta as the President of the Far West Suburban Alumnae Chapter, the Leadership Development Chair and is the 2024 Local Convention Chair in Chicago.

Jessica has a deep love of the arts, specifically dance. She grew up dancing, inspired and encouraged by her mother, who was also a dancer. Many of Jessica’s extended family are artists in various mediums and she loves encouraging artists of all ages to develop their passion. Jessica serves as a Board member at Water Street Studio and Chairs the Events and Marketing Committees.

Jessica lives with her husband, Dave, and two children, Leo, and Eva, in Geneva.

You can reach Jessica at president@waterstreetstudios.org

Bonnie Baumgartner is a local children's book author and entrepreneur. She has five years of non-profit experience in the Batavia community previously serving as the Batavia MainStreet Event Coordinator and the Executive Director of Batavia United Way.

Bonnie is a creative with a deep appreciation of art. She has spent the past three years co-chairing a program that supports local makers and artists. She is looking forward to continuing that support as a part of the Water Street Studios board and hopes to continue strengthening their community arts outreach and assist in bringing new installations of public art to the downtown.

Bonnie lives in Batavia with her husband, Matt, and their three young children. She enjoys biking the fox and traveling with her family.

Reach her at Bonnie@waterstreetstudios.org

Rachael is an experienced strategy specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & healthcare industry for the past 16 years. Her current role is Program Manager, Service Line at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. Predominantly working with the women and children’s service lines, mainly the Lurie Children’s West Region Partnership. Strengths include executing program events, outreach, and CME conferences as well as special engagements. Strong program and project management professional with reliable, efficient, and organized personality. She attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a BA in Psychology.

Additionally spent three years serving on the Executive Board of the Harrison Street Elementary School PTO as Treasurer as well as additional fundraising and event committees while co-leading a Girl Scout troop, organizing activities, tracking financials, and leading sales for the troop.

Personally, Rachael lives in Geneva with her husband, Terry, 8-year-old daughter, Olive, 6-year-old son, Leo, and their dog Otis. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, seeing concerts, traveling, and staying active by running & yoga.

You can reach her at secretary@waterstreetstudios.org

Marcia Boyce is the long-time owner of a family business- Boyce Body Werks in Batavia and Naperville. She has been an active volunteer in her community- with a focus on financial management, previously being Treasurer for the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, Batavia United Way and Batavia Main Street. She is currently also a SCORE mentor, helping new businesses. She loves spreadsheets, genealogy research and travel.

contact Marcia at treasurer@waterstreetstudios.org

Roger E. Breisch has lived an eclectic life. He holds a Master of Science in Mathematics from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Science in Management from the Sloan School at MIT. During his career he taught high school, was a manager for a Fortune 100 company, owned a management consulting company, and, most recently, ran the Batavia Chamber of Commerce.

During his professional career, Roger has volunteered extensively. He chaired a local 4th of July Fireworks for 17 years, has worked with teens in an anti-alcohol, anti-drug program for 16 years, and has spent more than 4,000 hours answering calls on a suicide hotline over that past 19 years. He is excited to join Water Street Studios as a Board member.

Roger speaks and writes extensively. He spoke at both TEDxIIT and TEDxQuincy. He has published two books: “Questions That Matter” and “Humanity’s Journey Home: Surrendering to the Wholeness that is Gaia.” Today, Roger focuses on helping others discover a “Life That Matters.”

He and Judi, his wife of 40 years, have two grown children and live in Batavia, Illinois.

James Cardis is a Batavia resident with a strong background in marketing, storytelling, and non-profit leadership. As the Director of Marketing for the Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, James has played a pivotal role in showcasing attractions along the Fox River and enhancing the profile of the regional destination. Previously, James launched his career at the Allstate Insurance Company, where he managed digital marketing initiatives for the flagship website allstate.com and over 10,000 Allstate agency owners nationwide. 

James is a passionate advocate for the arts and community development, and a longtime supporter of Water Street Studios. Prior to joining the Water Street Studios board, James served as President of the Board of Directors for the Aurora Regional Fire Museum, where he helped establish that organization’s endowment fund in partnership with the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley. Additionally, James has served as the marketing committee chairperson for Illinois Destinations Association, contributing to the development of the association’s re-branding initiative.

In his free time, James is a musician and avid reader with a deep appreciation for the arts, entertainment, and outdoor recreation opportunities afforded to visitors and residents of the Fox River valley.

Kimberly Luthin currently serves as the Vice President of Water Street Studios Board of Directors. She has surrounded herself with art in all aspects of her life. She is married to a professional artist, she holds an MFA in visual communication, an MA in Art History and MS in Art Education. She is committed to bringing art to her community in all forms. Her children both show promising artistic talent, and she loves fostering opportunities for them to express themselves.

In addition to art, Kimberly has a love of horses bred from growing up on a horse farm. She returns home for Charity Horse Shows and to watch her daughter ride and occasionally climbs into the saddle herself! She is an avid baseball and football fan and loves to read.

Professionally, Kimberly is the Assistant Store Manager at Barnes & Noble and Specialty Cluster Support Specialist. She serves as the President of the Geneva Academic Foundation and has been a Board member since 2013. She also is the Co-President of the Harrison Street School PTO. She loves being involved in her community however she can.

Bill McGrath is a Water Street Studios Board member and a long-time (1978) resident of Batavia. As an attorney he represented the City of Batavia, and loving working in his own community, changed careers in 1998 and became Batavia's City Administrator, from which position he retired in 2016. He serves as the chair of the Fundraising Committee.

He witnessed and was active in Batavia's growth surge of the 80's and 90's, and was particularly active in the downtown, the "heart" of Batavia, where he championed infrastructure improvements, but in a manner which strengthened community, such as the River Street "woonerf", its arch and custom fencing, "Storehenge" a monument to downtown business and industry, and the sculpture pedestals on the Donovan Bridge to mention a few. He is most proud of the City's instrumental support in the creation of Water Street Studios, the Art in Your Eye art festival, and Art in Your Ear, a songwriting competition.

In retirement, Bill is engaged in his passion of large-scale metal sculpture. His works have been exhibited in several Illinois communities, including Chicago, Aurora, and Rockford, and has also shown as in Iowa and Indiana.

Bill is married with 4 children and 6 grandchildren. He plays guitar and spends a lot of time in the North Woods of Wisconsin.

W.C. “Buzz” Miller and his wife Linnea were involved with the conception and founding of Water Street Studios. Linnea was serving on the City Council and was the liaison between The Council and The Studios. Buzz joined the board in 2012 and has graciously served as a Board member since that time.

Buzz’s contribution to Batavia reaches beyond Water Street Studios. He has had roles in the construction of the River Walk, was a founding member of the group “Bring Batavia Windmills back to town”, Main Street Organization, The Fireworks Committee, Access Committee, Batavia Boy Scouts, Preservation Partners, High School Hall of Honor and more. He also currently serves on the Board of Valley Sheltered Workshop. Buzz is always looking for ways to contribute to his community. In 2009, Buzz and Linnea were named Batavia Citizens of the year.

Buzz and Linnea are proud parents to a daughter and two sons and as a family they enjoy all outdoor activities, particularly sailing, skiing and river rafting. He also loves to travel and has made excursions around the US, Iceland, Central America and South Africa.

Professionally, Buzz is the CEO of Du-Call Plastics in Elburn.