At its annual meeting on Sept. 9, the Waubonsee Community College Foundation elected Dr. Gina Santori, of Lisle, to its board of directors. She will serve the remainder of a vacated three-year term.
Dr. Santori has done much to help the local community over the past three decades, both through her medical career and her philanthropic gifts. After starting her career as a nurse, Dr. Santori went on to medical school at the University of Illinois and then the College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago. Now on staff at Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, Dr. Santori practices only on a pro bono basis, caring for diabetic and renal patients.
She is a multiple-times national black belt champion in Shotokan Karate and is graded third in the world. She also ice skates, is an accomplished ballroom dancer, and has a commercial pilot’s license for both sea and land.
Along with husband Richard, a longtime Aurora businessman, Dr. Santori established The Santori School in Prey Veng, Cambodia, in 2008. After Richard’s passing in 2010, Dr. Santori established the Richard and Gina Santori Charitable Foundation to honor his memory and continue the couple’s good work. Since that time, the foundation has made a number of generous contributions to local organizations, including the Rush-Copley Foundation and the Aurora Public Library.
The foundation also established the Dr. Gina Santori Nursing Scholarship at Waubonsee, which was awarded for the first time this fall.
The Waubonsee Community College Foundation is a nonprofit organization that seeks to obtain funding for scholarships and provide educational opportunities and services to students and citizens of Waubonsee’s district. For information, contact the Advancement Office at (630) 466-7900, ext. 2316 or visit www.waubonsee.edu/foundation.
