Cheryl Smith is named executive vice president
of Chicago's Anixter Center

CHICAGO (Sept. 29, 2005) – Cheryl Smith, M.S.W., recently was named executive vice president of Anixter Center, one of the region’s largest nonprofit organizations assisting people with disabilities to live and work successfully in the community and the city’s 13 th-largest charitable organization*. Smith, 46, joined Anixter Center in 1990. Most recently, from 1998 through August 2005, she served as vice president of programs. Anixter Center has 70 programs in 35 locations throughout the Chicago area including: a pioneering program for young adults with developmental disabilities based in Highland Park, the Adult Community Transition Program; an innovative pediatric residence in Evanston for children who are medically fragile; and adult residences in far north suburban Zion and Winthrop Harbor.

Of her new role with Anixter Center, Smith says, “I have a passion for and a commitment to the work of Anixter Center, for both the people who receive our services and the staff members who direct and provide them. I want to help further refine and enhance the quality of the services we offer for people with disabilities to assist them in living and working as independently as possible in their communities.”

Smith received an M.S.W. from Michigan State University with a concentration in administration and program evaluation. She also received her B.S. in Psychology from Michigan State. Smith is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers.

* Crain’s Chicago Business, March 1, 2004

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The mission of the Lester and Rosalie Anixter Center is to assist people with disabilities to live and work successfully in the community. Anixter Center is a leading provider of high-quality vocational, residential and educational options, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and health care. Anixter Center is an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities to be full and equal members of the community.