Lori Lindstrom Leifer BS ’78
Distinguished Alumni Award
Lori Lindstrom Leifer’s first encounter with North Park was at a Covenant camp. “I saw the counselors’ vibrant faith and decided then to emulate what I saw in them, so I set my sights on North Park,” she said. Luckily, generous scholarships made it possible for her to attend and earn her degree in biology.
Lindstrom Leifer went on to earn her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Kansas Medical Center and is now an associate clinical professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and a radiation oncologist at the University of Kansas Cancer Center.
In 2013, however, Lindstrom Leifer became a cancer patient herself.
Following her journey through testing and surgeries into survivorship, she and her husband, John Leifer, authored a “survival guide for patients and their families,” After You Hear It’s Cancer: A Guide to Navigating the Difficult Journey Ahead.
Over the years, Lindstrom Leifer has been an active member of the North Park community, from contributing to the creation of the Johnson Center to supporting the research of science students to attending choir trips overseas. She also served on the Board of Trustees from 2008–11 and was a member of the campaign committee.
Nancy Valentin BA ’13
Distinguished Young Alumni Award
A native Chicagoan, Nancy Valentin has spent her entire career working to create a more equitable city.
Valentin currently serves as director of health equity at Northwest Center, a nonprofit founded in 2003 to address the housing crisis in Belmont Cragin. The organization’s mission has since expanded, encompassing programs that increase financial literacy, promote community activism, and improve the quality of life in Chicago’s northwest neighborhoods.
Valentin has led notable initiatives at Northwest Center, including Women Forward Chicago, a financial education program for Latina mothers that has produced more than 194 graduates. In 2022, Northwest Center received the City of Chicago Mayor’s Medal of Honor for its work as a member of the Racial Equity Rapid Response team.
“I found people here who believe in me the same way people at North Park did.” —NANCY VALENTIN
Today, Valentin is a co-leader in the City of Chicago’s Healthy Chicago Equity Zones initiative, which seeks to close the city’s racial life expectancy gap via regional agency networks. More than 50 organizations on the northwest side comprise the network Valentin oversees. About this opportunity, she said, “I found people here who believe in me the same way people at North Park did.”
Always searching for ways to increase her and Northwest Center’s impact, Valentin became a fellow with the Aspen Tech Policy Hub last summer in its inaugural nonprofit cohort. The subsequent policy training Valentin received will allow her to create an even more significant policy influence in Chicago.
David (BA ’73) and Janice (BS ’73) Dwight
Distinguished Alumni Award
David and Janice Dwight come from, what North Parkers colloquially call, a “North Park University Legacy Family.” David earned his degree in psychology, and Janice earned her degree in nursing. Their son, Jonathan Dwight BA ’10; daughter, Jennifer Dwight; David’s father and mother; and Janice’s father, brother, and sister all attended North Park.
The Dwights’ history with the university doesn’t end there—David served as a member of the Axelson Center Advisory Board and North Park’s Corporate/Foundation Advisory Board. He is a current member of the Board of Trustees, having begun his term in 2019 and now holding the advancement committee chair.
David retired as president of Covenant Ministries of Benevolence in 2017 after 37 years of service. Janice is a registered nurse and worked at Holy Family Medical Center. Together, they have been giving to North Park for 45 years, 28 consecutively. When presenting the Dwights their award, President Surridge said, “These faithful alumni say the greatest gift North Park could have given them was each other.”