Our People

Larry Butz brings 35 years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience as President of the Board for Megan Butz Legacy of Hope. He is co-owner, founder, and general manager of OEO Energy Solutions, a national leader in the LED industry.

Larry’s prior work includes sales with Scott Paper and Kimberly Clark, then co-founding Daybreak Special Situations Fund and serving as a Portfolio Manager at Nite Capital. He is a graduate of Purdue University. In 2020 Larry and his wife    Mary Jo originally founded the Megan Patricia Butz Legacy Fund within Let It Be Us, supporting children aging out of foster care.

Kerry Miller served as Treasurer and Board Member for Let It Be Us from 2014 through June 2023.  She was also the Bulletin Editor for Saint Anne Church until 2021.  Kerry was involved with various programs including Treasurer of the Athletic Board and the Home & School Association at Saint Anne School.

Kerry is a graduate of Marquette University, and her work experience is in Banking. Married to Steve since 1990, they have two married children. She is Treasurer on the Board of Directors at Megan Butz Legacy of Hope.

Bob Noonan serves as Chairman of the Board for the Megan Butz Legacy of Hope. Bob brings 37 years of corporate experience in the Telecommunication field to the team. He currently is senior vice president for CommScope, a leading Fortune 500 company.

Previously, Bob worked for ARRIS, Motorola, Tut Systems, US Sprint and Tektronix. Noonan received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from UMass Lowell and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

As the parent of five, including two sons adopted via foster care, Bob was a Co-founder and former Chairman of the Board at Let It Be Us.

Susan Stoga brings more than three decades of experience in brand marketing and communications to the organization as the principal and co-founder of Carson Stoga Communications. She is an award-winning communication and media relations strategist and a frequent speaker and a resource on crisis communication.

Susan was a founding member of Let It Be Us, a long-time volunteer for Sunny Ridge Family Center, and has provided public relations for national and local 501c3 organizations. Her passions include supporting causes related to child welfare and mental health services. She is Secretary on the Board of Directors at Megan Butz Legacy of Hope. Susan is a graduate of the University of Iowa’s school of journalism.

Monica Thigpen brings over two decades of experience in HR and Talent Management to the Megan Butz Legacy of Hope Board of Directors. After spending 15 years in the corporate world, she and her husband started a business consulting firm together, TalentWise Consulting, in 2015. In addition to her work with us, she is active with PADS through 1st Presbyterian Church in Libertyville, and has volunteered with Let It Be Us, Beyond Sports, Northern Illinois Food Bank, A Safe Place, and WINGS. She previously served on the boards of the Greater Kalamazoo United Way and the Kalamazoo Drug Treatment Court. Her passions are working with children, young adults and our local homeless community to help them find support, confidence, see their inherent strengths and understand how to use them for their betterment. Monica is a graduate of Michigan State University. Married to Albert since 2016, they have a blended family of 5 children.

Brandon Verwijst brings fifteen years of experience in biomedical engineering to his position on the Board of Directors at Megan Butz Legacy of Hope. He served as a mentor since 2015 at Let It Be Us and also served on their Board of Directors. He is currently the Director of Engineering at Quadrant Technologies where he oversees the development and manufacture of medical devices. Verwijst holds a degree in biomedical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Brandon has experience as a teacher and mentor to children and young adults. He has worked with children as an ACT tutor, teaches guitar at Craven Academy of Performing Arts and coaches at Chess2Children. Verwijst’s mission is to teach children lessons that are not bound by classroom walls.