LAKE FOREST – Gorton Community Center held its Board of Directors meeting in the John & Nancy Hughes Theater in September, welcoming five new members. They join a group of community members who have lead Gorton over the past several years through a phase of renovation and growth.
The theater provided the perfect backdrop for the group as they had their official photo taken by renowned photographer, John Reilly of John Reilly Photography:

Gorton Community Center Board of Directors 2017. Top Row: Tim Hender, Kate Hanson, Jack Westerman; Middle Row: Kate Rother, Jed Morris, Elizabeth Brandel, Nick Bothfeld, Karen Rode, Barrett Davie, Diana Moore, Tom Sheffield, Becky Nagel, Sarah Lamphere. Front Row: Tim Morris, Steve Valenti, Sally Downey, Bill Moskoff, Sheri, Passalino, Stephen Goldman, Dick Wood. Not pictured, Jamie Wildman and Court Carruthers. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN REILLY OF JOHN REILLY PHOTOGRAPHY.
The new members to the Gorton Community Center Board of Directors are as follows:
- Nick Bothfeld is the founder and managing partner of Bothfeld Financial Partners located in Lake Forest. His firm provides comprehensive financial planning, investment management and insurance services for individuals, families and small businesses. Before starting his own firm, he was the chief marketing officer at Morningstar. Bothfeld has a long history of working in the non-profit world and has served on the Board of Directors for The Alliance for the Great Lakes, Ryerson Woods and The Winter Club of Lake Forest. He was also an active Lake Forest Caucus member, serving several years as ward chairman. Bothfeld received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and earned his MBA from the University of Chicago. He and his wife live in Lake Forest and have two grown children.
- Court Carruthers is the founder and principal of CKAL Advisory Partners where he provides advisory services in the distribution, eCommerce, and supply chain sectors. He is on the Board of Directors for US Foods, Ryerson Holding Corp., Foundation Building Materials, and a number of private companies. Previously, Carruthers served as Group President, Americas at Grainger. Carruthers currently serves on the boards of the Montessori School of Lake Forest, Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep and the Winter Club of Lake Forest. Carruthers holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction from the University of Alberta, an MBA from Queen’s University, is a CPA (Canada) and an Institute Certified Director.
- Kate Hanson, originally from Rockford, Michigan, has lived in Lake Forest for the past 5 years. Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, Hanson taught middle school reading, writing, and social studies for almost 10 years. She currently spends her time volunteering at Cherokee, where her three daughters Lauren (8), Annie (6), and Caroline (5) attend school. She also enjoys sharing her passion for Zumba dance fitness with local children by teaching Zumba Kids classes. Hanson and her husband, Geoff, thoroughly enjoy participating in community events at Gorton, while her children have enjoyed Gorton’s Drop-In-Learning Center.
- Tim Morris is a Partner with Morris Capital Management, LLC since 2003. During his time there, he has played a critical role in structuring and closing 11 investments, seven of which have been purchases out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Morris served as an associate in investment banking for ING Financial Markets, LLC and CDC IXIS Capital Markets North America, Inc., both located in New York, NY. He completed an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Tennessee and graduated with a Bachelors in Arts from Duke University as an English major. He is married and has three children.
- William Moskoff, a long-time resident of Lake Forest, is a retired professor of economics from Lake Forest College where he served as department chair for many years. A specialist on the Soviet Union, he holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois-Chicago. He is the author of nine books and about 100 journal articles in economics, ornithology, and philately. Moskoff was editor of the Journal of Comparative Economics and Rossica: An International Journal of Russian Philately. He has long regarded it as one of the central institutions in Lake Forest.
Submitted by the Gorton Community Center