Board of Directors

Onward & Upward is blessed to have a number of highly professional, skilled, and accomplished individuals who are passionate about helping youths attain new heights.

Alex T. Bond, Jr. was born in Brownsville, Tennessee the third of seven children to Alex T. Bond, Sr. and Lucy (Davis) Bond. His parents moved to Chicago, Illinois when he was seven and resided on the far South Side of the city in Altgeld Gardens Housing Complex. After relocating to Chicago, Bond united with Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church where he accepted Christ, sang his first solo, and subsequently went on to become the Director of the Young Adult Choir at the age of 14. Bond's love affair with music and the church in general would continue from that time forward; as he directed choirs for 25 years prior to being called to the ministry.

During his tenure as a member and choir director at Mt. Olive, Bond met and fell in love with Estella Clayton. The two united in holy matrimony on December 24, 1956, and to this union was born two daughters and a son. Always a hard working man, Bond held a variety of different jobs prior to his call to the ministry. He even served nearly three years as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. However, he landed a job with Allied Tube & Conduit Corporation of Harvey, Illinois, which turned into a fruitful relationship from which he retired after 30 years of faithful service. At the time of his retirement he was the Employee Counselor and Employment Manager in the Human Resources Department where he had been for the latter 20 years of his career with Allied.

Aside from his duties at Allied Tube, Bond has also served as Pastor of Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church of Saint Anne, Illinois for the past 31 years. He began pastoring there in 1974, about three years after accepting the call to the ministry and preaching his first sermon. Under his leadership Mt. Calvary has been able to launch and implement a host of outreach ministries including, the Mt. Calvary Prison Ministry, Annual Family Retreat, Vacation Bible School, Tri-Annual Church Family Reunion, and the relationship with Branden House Substance Abuse Center, just to name a few. Presently, Pastor Bond is the Moderator of the Kankakee County Baptist District Association, Song Leader for the Baptist General State Convention, and is involved in the Moderator's Division of the National Baptist Convention, USA.

Phyllis Howery is an educator and has been teaching for 31 years in the Illinois public school system. She received her undergraduate degree in elementary education from Olivet Nazarene University and a Master's in Education from Governors State University. Despite her many years of experience in academia, she admits that she is continually amazed at the things children are capable of learning. Howery believes that all children are capable of learning; however it is the degree to which we are willing to motivate them that makes the difference. She feels that all children have a right to be engaged in meaningful and worthwhile learning.

Over the years Howery has had the opportunity to teach children of varying ability and economic levels. She taught middle school mathematics, both enrichment and remedial, for 18 years. In 1992, Mrs. Howery changed school districts due to her husband's health and the need to be closer to home. She then began teaching in a 6th grade science magnet program in Kankakee School District 111. Since then she has served as a technology coordinator for Kennedy Middle Grade School, located in the same district, where she was tasked with training teachers in the use of technology and ways of incorporating its use in the classroom. Presently, she serves as the Aidex Technology Instructor and Specialist at Kankakee Junior High School. Phyllis is passionate about working with junior high students and the Aidex Program is a program that supports an engaged learning environment and promotes critical thinking skills in the area of technology. Each experience has been so rewarding and fulfilling. If there is one thing that has impacted my teaching ability, it is the knowledge that children learn differently and at different rates.

In addition to serving in the Kankakee School District, Howery is also an adjunct professor at Olivet Nazarene University where she works with graduate students pursuing a Master’s degree in education. In addition to these positions, she also facilitates a court-mandated class for couples of divorce who have children under the age of 18. Phyllis has conducted numerous workshops on the state and local levels in the areas of science, mathematics, and technology. She is also an engaged learning facilitator and currently conduct workshops throughout Kankakee County. Howery has also participated in external reviews for schools in the Chicago Public School System.

Howery is the wife of Steven Howery Sr. and the mother of two children: Monique, who is a graduate of Florida A&M University and Steven, who is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She also has a nine year old grandson, Drew, who is a very active and inquisitive child. She enjoys watching him grow and learn as he goes through these wonderful developmental years.

DuWarn Porter, throughout his professional career has over 10 years of consumer, commercial and mortgage credit experience. He is currently an Underwriting Supervisor for Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) in their Fulfillment Operations Division located in Downers Grove, IL. As a Supervisor, DuWarn oversees all underwriting staff and activity for the division; makes credit decisions and adjusts pricing for sub-prime mortgage loans serviced by Ocwen Financial Corporation. Prior to Ocwen DuWarn was a Senior Underwriter for Finance America (now BNC a division of Lehman Brothers) and Freemont Investment & Loan, both financial lenders in the sub-prime mortgage industry. Porter has also served as Director of the Small Business Development Center of Chicago Community Ventures (www.ccv.org). As the Director he was responsible for managing the small business not-for-profit lending within Chicago's underserved communities. He served as the Director for four years before the program completed its objective goals. Upon the completion Porter and staff was responsible for lending over six million dollars to over two-hundred small businesses and created over five-hundred jobs in Chicago's underserved communities. That was an incredible achievement in today's volatile small business community. Prior to that, Porter also served as a Branch Manager for Commercial Credit Loans Incorporated (now CitiFinance-Hickory Hills, IL) and Loan Officer for Community Bank of Lawndale (Chicago, IL), CorWest Banc (Olympia Fields, IL).

DuWarn is a proud graduate of Southern University Agricultural & Mechanical College in Baton Rouge, LA where he earned a degree in Economics with an emphasis in Finance. He was a Wall Street Journal Merit Scholar in the College of Business' Department of Economics. In addition, he was a varsity letterman with the men's track and field team. He holds an Executive MBA from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL. Porter holds professional memberships with the National Black MBA Association Chicago Chapter, National Notary Association, Southern University Alumni Federation and works with various religious and social groups to help give back to the community. He is an avid sports fanatic and loves to run and play basketball.

Dr. Genevra Walters believes that “All Children Can Learn; At Their Own Pace in Their Own Way”. She is committed to the growth and development of life-long learners specifically children from diverse backgrounds and/or with diverse learning needs. Dr. Walters attended University of Illinois at Chicago for both a bachelor’s and Master’s in Social Work. As a student at UIC, she was a member of the Committee of Three; cheerleader; and UIC’s first Homecoming Queen.

She began her professional career as a School Social Worker in Kankakee School District 111 where she also coached cheerleading and co-directed Kankakee School District 111’s Annual Black History program.

Dr. Walters enrolled in a doctoral program at Illinois State University. During her first year as a student at Illinois State University, she attended a grant-writing workshop sponsored by Hampton University at Tuskegee Institute, which resulted in the submission of a grant to the Office of Special Education Programs in the Department of Education. The grant was funded; therefore, she was able to conduct a research project on “Effective Inclusion Strategies” as a part of an independent study. While attending Illinois State University, she was also fortunate to participate in a summer internship at Washington State University in Spokane, Washington. Her emphasis during her doctoral program was teacher education and research.

Currently, Dr. Walters is employed full-time as a Human Resource Coordinator at SPEED S.E.J.A #802 and teaches Special Education courses at Chicago State University. She has had opportunities to present at local, state and international conferences on numerous educational topics. During June of 2004, she presented at the China- US Conference on Educating Students with Special Needs in Beijing, China. Her topic was “Building Collaborative Relationships with Families”. The conference was a wonderful experience and increased her understanding of diversity, her compassion for people and desire to help promote and develop children regardless of their backgrounds and experiences.

Dr. Walters is committed to supporting and developing life-long learners both professionally and personally. She is married to Officer Larry Walters of the Kankakee Police Department and has two children (Shaina and Elias Clasberry) and three step-children (Larry, Kynyahta and Laronne Walters). Dr. Walters is also responsible for the care of her disabled sister Joy Flowers, and her nephew, Julian Greer. Dr. Walters’s professional and personal life is driven by her belief that through Christ all things are possible. She is a member of Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church of St. Anne, IL.