December 2022

Linda Daley has gone above and beyond to make central Illinois a better place. A life in public service wasn’t what Linda Daley had envisioned for herself. “I was a math and science person,” said Daley, whose career began as a high school science and biology teacher after graduating from

The passion Lisa Gates has for Peoria is palpable. Now the vice president of marketing and communications at RLI Insurance, Gates is exuberant in talking about her childhood growing up in Peoria. She speaks enthusiastically, as well, about what the city has to offer to residents today. Those positive experiences

As a crusading journalist, Barb Drake made more than headlines: She helped shape the Peoria we know today. Barb Drake relishes discussing her interview with feminist icon Betty Friedan. Please. If anybody is a feminist icon, it is journalist Barb Proctor Mantz Drake. Her impact may be more local than

Pam Howe has taken an unusual route to leadership in the banking world. Pam Howe hasn’t always taken the conventional road, but as executive vice president of Commerce Bank in Peoria, that may be one of the secrets to her success. A native Peorian, Howe grew up as Pam Casper.

If you ask her, Nikki Romain will say she doesn’t feel very “influential.” “I don’t think that is on my mind, but I do feel like I have something to say. I’d like for people to listen with open hearts and open minds,” she said. “I have a lot of