Board Members & Testimonials

It all started about two years ago, on a dark night in heart of America’s Midwest. As I was driving all day on a lonely road somewhere in Oklahoma, I didn’t know that a great idea was taking place in Illinois. That particular day I had been driving since morning and suddenly I felt the sun, like myself, getting tired. So I stopped in the first hotel I found. Hotels like many travelers meet along their way to a destination sometimes unknown. A solitary building in the countryside. I can’t tell you any longer where I was, neither I can tell you the name of the closest town. The only thing I remember is the truck stop I could see from my window, which had a giant statue representing an Indian chief who, looming over the lonely highway and bare plains, appeared both suspicious and majestic. The sound of many trucks in search of a place to spend the night was my sound track that evening. The interior of the room was cool; the shapes of the scarce furniture were lost in the shadow of the growing evening. Almost mechanically I turned on my computer and checked my emails. Among the spams and the various emails of the day (none particularly important I must admit), there was the one from my good friend Christos Linardakis. Until that evening, I’d always known Christos as simply a great guy. Friendly, smart, funny, vaguely blasé. One of those guys that you want as a friend, that you want to have in your corner. Nevertheless, I must confess I wasn’t expecting his email and especially its content: “Call me! I want to start a foundation in my father’s memory.” This was his email. No more, no less. “Well…” I thought, “Now this is a real surprise!” Back in Chicago I called him and we met for lunch. “My father was a great man who did so much good in and for the community, and I wish to start a foundation in his memory so that his work and legacy will not be forgotten, but will live on…I need your help.” That’s what Christos more or less told me. I agreed immediately.


So the Michalis J. Linardakis Foundation was started, Gianfranco Grande.

Dr. Gianfranco Grande, Board Member: Dr. Grande brings over 10 years of experience in development and management of non-profit organizations, from start-ups to agencies with annual budgets exceeding $45MUSD. He served as President of First Step Foundation and Vice-President of Notre Dame High School. A graduate in literature and philosophy from The University of Rome, Italy, Dr. Grande has worked for many years as the foreign editor at a major Italian magazine. Grande has published several works of fiction and non-fiction. He is Chairman of the Board for the "Education Center" a non-profit organization in Naperville, Illinois as well as a co-founder of the Dr. Michalis J. Linardakis Foundation, Inc. Dr. Grande is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professional, Chicago Chapter and Director, Chicago Regional Office of Partners for Sacred Places (www.sacredplaces.org).

Mr. Ulysses Prifti, CPA, Board Member: Mr. Prifti is a Certified Public Accountant, and President and Founder of Market Associates, Inc., located in Oak Brook, Illinois, an accounting firm servicing small to medium size businesses and individuals and non-profit organizations (www.marketassociates.net). He is active in the Albanian Community.

Mr. Christos M. Linardakis, J.D., LL.M: Christos is a licensed attorney in the State of Illinois, and has his own private practice in Oak Brook, Illinois. He teaches at both the university and law school level, classes in international trade law. He is active member of the board for the Education Center, located in Naperville, Illinois, a non-profit organization. He donates his spare time to working with both adolescents and adults, including prevention centers and early-release programs for adult felons. In addition, he actively seek corporations in establishing of college internship programs for placement of seniors in college interested in pursuing a career in business.