District Governors

Rachel Ossyra

District Governor 2024-2025

Rachel Ossyra has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Valparaiso University and has worked in the international energy and petrochemical business for over 25 years as an engineer, strategist, sales manager, change manager and international business manager in the Houston area, the Chicago area and Hong Kong.  She has served as a local government official and community leader applying innovation and collaboration to improve local quality of life and humanitarian service locally and globally. She is currently the development strategist for the Fox Valley Park Foundation and led the effort to reshape its mission to provide access to recreation for all residents to build a healthy, sustainable and equitable community. She is a member of the board of trustees for Hesed House, homeless shelter in Aurora, Illinois, a steering committee member for Urban Youth Ministry of Wayside Cross in Aurora and community advisory committee member for Loaves & Fishes Community Service in Naperville. She has served as a volunteer business mentor for the Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois since 2018.

Rachel is currently District Governor Elect 2024-25 and is new member of the Rotary Club of Aurora United, after being an active member of the Rotary Club of Naperville for over 11 years. She served as District 6450 Rotary Foundation Committee Chair from 2019 – 2023 and is passionate about The Rotary Foundation’s mission to “Do Good in the World”. During her tenure, the District launched a Polio Plus Society to support the endgame strategy to eradicate polio. Rachel is a member of the Paul Harris Society, the District 6450 Polio Plus Society and is a Major Donor to The Rotary Foundation. She also served as the District 6450 Grants Subcommittee Chair from 2016-2019, with a focus on growing participation of all clubs in the Foundation grants process. She has served on the District’s Board of Directors since 2020, first as an At-Large Director, then as a member of the Governor line.

Rachel has served as her club’s international service director, public image chair, program chair and fundraising chair. She has worked with a team of fellow Rotarians in an impoverished community in southeastern Nigeria on grants to improve education and health infrastructure and provide clean water and sanitation, traveling there 7 times in recent years. She led her club’s effort to fund development of a prevention and education video to break the cycle of the sexual exploitation of children through local human trafficking. Rachel was her club’s Rotarian of the Year in 2015 and 2016, 4 Avenues of Service awardee in 2018 and received the Rita Harvard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Rachel has 2 adult children, John and Angie, and 2 grandsons, Jem and Ned, that she loves to spend time with. They are all devoted dog lovers, and are dog-parents to 5 active dogs, Bandit, Ares, Luna, Lucy and Odin. Rachel is an avid golfer, fitness enthusiast and biker and loves to spend time outdoors staying active.

Bonnie Sanchez-Carlson

District Governor 2025-2026

In 2003, Bonnie Sanchez-Carlson became an active charter member of the Rotary Club of Chicago Near South, where she encouraged community business leaders to explore the world of Rotary, many of whom eventually joined the club. For the past twenty years, she has held various leadership positions within her club and at the district level. Besides proudly serving as club president twice, she was an Assistant Governor for nearly nine years and now assists the AG coordinator. Bonnie currently serves as the Secretary for RI District 6450 Board and was recently appointed Chair of the Rotary District 6450 Charitable Foundation. She founded the Chicago Rotary Clubs Coalition, bringing together clubs mainly from Chicago for enhanced networking, collaborative service projects, and social outings. She enjoys her role as an At-Large member of the Midwest PETS Council as her passion for educating new leaders emerges during President-Elect training.

For the past 32 years, Bonnie has worked for Near South Planning Board, a not-for-profit planning and development organization serving the businesses, institutions, and stakeholders on the Near South Side. In 2001, she was appointed the first Hispanic President & Executive Director in the organization’s history. A strong advocate for businesses, institutions, and the communities she serves, she has helped transform the Near South Side into one of the fastest-growing communities in the City of Chicago. She has been devoted to creating, supporting, and promoting a thriving business district, strong schools, safe neighborhoods, and enhancing the quality of life of the Near South Side. Bonnie has earned her Master’s degree from the University of Illinois in Education Administration and Policy Analysis and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from DePaul University. In her spare time, she serves as an active member of Lambda Alpha Ely Chapter Land Use Organization and secretary of the American Turners Organization.

Bonnie was born and raised in the City of Chicago, where she currently resides with her husband and high school sweetheart, Danny Carlson. She has two amazing grown children, Alyssa and Danny, and an awesome son-in-law, Rudy, as well as one grandchild. She loves to travel, bowl, and read all types of literature.

Mary Dankowski

District Governor 2026-2027

Mary Dankowski is the retired Finance Director/Deputy Village Manager for the Village of Park Forest.  She is a Certified Public Accountant with a Masters Degree in Finance from DePaul University and an undergraduate degree in Accounting from Loyola University.

During her 22 year tenure with the Village of Park Forest, the Village was proud to have received the Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the Distinguished Budget Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for twenty years. Prior to the Village Mary was Small Business Development Center Director at Moraine Valley Community College.

Mary is Past President of the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association. She served as Illinois State Representative to the National Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. In 2014 she was selected as CFO of the year by the Daily Herald Business Ledger. She is also Past President of the Chicago South Chapter of the Illinois CPA Society.

Mary is Past President of the Rotary Club of Chicago Heights-Park Forest. She currently serves as District Polio Plus Chair as well as Club Advocate/Assistant Governor. She is also Treasurer for Tall Grass Arts Association and Fundraising Chair for the Park Forest Area League of Women Voters. She sits on the Finance Committee and Executive Board for Respond Now. She serves on the Scholarship Committee for the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association as well as being active in the Chicago South Chapter of the Illinois CPA Society.

Mary has been married to her husband Brad for 45 years and they have three grown daughters, Jaclyn, Katelyn and Holly. In addition to her volunteer activities Mary and her husband Brad love to travel.