About

Welcome to Sketchpad!

We are delighted to welcome you to our offices in Ravenswood. This vibrant, walkable neighborhood offers a great mix of charm and convenience—with easy access to public transit, coffee shops, local restaurants, and green spaces.
We offer various levels of membership including Community Memberships, Hot Desks, Dedicated Desks, and private offices available for rent. You'll also find ample event space, phone booths, and more to support your work and community needs.

SketchPad Leadership

Katie Rich | Executive Director

What is truly amazing is the collaboration between organizations and movements that no one ever dreamed was possible. Organizations working with Holocaust survivors are partnering with Moishe House and other young-adult organizations to share their history; Secular and Orthodox movements are coming together to share best practices in community engagement and communicate on a broader European legislative agenda. There are countless examples of these collaborations arising from simply sharing a lunch together, attending a program, or even just bumping into one another at the copier.

Contact Katie at

katie@sketchpadchicago.org

Katie Rich | Executive Director

What is truly amazing is the collaboration between organizations and movements that no one ever dreamed was possible. Organizations working with Holocaust survivors are partnering with Moishe House and other young-adult organizations to share their history; Secular and Orthodox movements are coming together to share best practices in community engagement and communicate on a broader European legislative agenda. There are countless examples of these collaborations arising from simply sharing a lunch together, attending a program, or even just bumping into one another at the copier.

Contact Katie at

lex@sketchpadchicago.org

Executive Committee

Alex Jakubowski

Treasurer

Alex Jakubowski

Treasurer

Lisa Rosenkranz

Secretary

Leonard Rau

Vice President & President Elect

Liz Roberts

President

How a
bold idea
transformed
into reality

SketchPad founder, Irene Lehrer Sandalow, with board member in 2019 (Josefin Dolsten)

SketchPad began as the vision of Irene Lehrer Sandalow in 2015. While working from home for a national Jewish nonprofit, she found it difficult to connect with others remotely. While other co-working spaces already existed, there was no venue that could provide what she was looking for. Irene envisioned a Jewish workspace centered around community organizers and nonprofits. She convened a group of Jewish leaders who would become anchor organizations of this new initiative. It takes bold leaders to foster new ideas, and SketchPad wouldn’t be a reality without the early support of JCUA, KAHAL, Avodah, SVARA, AJWS, Worker’s Circle, Orot, and others. After many discussions developing the core values of an ideal coworking space, the group came together to create SketchPad, officially established in 2017.

The name “SketchPad” emerged early on, capturing the essence of an ideal coworking space. By embracing members’ ideas, feedback, and expertise, the space encourages innovation and collaboration.

Since day one SketchPad has been a pioneer in the Jewish nonprofit community. Intentionally setting a tone of acceptance, the space began to fill with a diverse collection of organizations, from consultant groups to LGBTQ+ advocacy programs. By allowing different groups to be in conversation with one another through career enrichment programming, networking events, and sheer proximity, SketchPad grew into a close community, centered around innovative Jewish ideas.

The Creation of You Belong Here

In 2021, with the generous support of community member Upstart, SketchPad had the pleasure of collaborating with Reboot (another member!) in the creation of a mural centered around our community's Jewish values. Reboot-affiliated artist, Olivia Guterson, joined the project and with her brought a vision of how to reflect SketchPad's culture artistically. We Are Here Now, by Olivia Guterson 2022

“This mural, We Are Here Now, is a visual offering of joy. Incorporating vibrant colors and playful patterning, this work is for the SketchPad community to explore, play, and just enjoy a moment of being here now. Elements of hope, expansion, whimsy, abundance, and joy are embedded in this mural because this is what I felt being at SketchPad and interacting with my Jewish community here.”