After moving to River Forest from Cleveland two years ago, Mary Kate Hageman (she/her) quickly became an advocate for her community. She works in Adult Education at Triton College, helping students achieve their goals, and began volunteering with OPALGA+ in 2023, eventually joining their board. Before all that, she was advocating for hospice patients and managing crises for sexual assault survivors. When she’s not championing causes, she’s lost in a good book or scribbling away in her journal, though she firmly believes the best stories come from listening to others.