2025 MAMA Board of Directors
Jim OBrill, President Email: president@mamaonline.org Jim is a co-host of Drive Chicago Radio on WLS 890 AM Chicago and also Senior Director of Marketing & Strategy for the Chicago Automobile Trade Association and Chicago Auto Show. His passion for cars started young and he’s often referred to as the ‘car-guy’ among family and friends. As a former auto detailer, he has an eye for identifying solid used cars and tags along on many car buying adventures. Early in his career he worked at several car dealerships in various areas of the business. Jim has had opportunities to attend track school and drive vehicles on tracks such as Road America and Gingerman Raceway. With a background in photography, taking pictures of vehicles has always been a hobby. His vehicle reviews can be found at DriveChicago.com and on the Drive Chicago YouTube channel. Jim also enjoys the trails and taking trucks like his 4Runner off the paved streets of Chicago. He has a special appreciation for older cars and can often be found spending free time at cruise nights or home washing one his four vehicles. Jim resides in the northwest suburbs with his wife and three kids. Zack Pradel, Vice President Email: VP@mamaonline.org
Cherise Threewitt, Vice President, Membership Email: membership@mamaonline.org Twitter: @crazyreesie Cherise has nearly two decades of experience as a writer and editor, crafting automotive features and reviews for publications such as the Chicago Tribune, HowStuffWorks, Carfax, CarGurus, and Hagerty. In 2020, she joined the Best Cars team at U.S. News & World Report as Features Editor... though she often daydreams about her time working as an official LEGO model builder.
Kelley Enright, Treasurer Email: treasurer@mamaonline.org Twitter: @KelleyEnright1 Loyal and true is she…Kelley Enright began her career as a public relations intern on the Chrysler Group account back in the early ‘90s. A few years later, she became the Midwest PR Manager for Chrysler. While she took a temporary sabbatical to stay home and raise her young kids, she came back in 2015 to serve in the same role as Midwest PR Manager for Stellantis (formerly FCA). Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, Kelley takes pride in her Irish heritage and large family. From off-roading to track driving to being on the drag strip, Kelley has experienced it all with the plethora of vehicles from Stellantis. Her favorite memory is off-roading in the Jeep Gladiator with fellow MAMA friends at The Badlands! Allison Phelps, Communications Director Email: webmaster@mamaonline.org
Paul Herrold, Secretary Email: secretary@mamaonline.org Maybe you wouldn’t expect an award-winning kitchen designer with projects featured in architecture and design magazines to also be a passionate automotive enthusiast, but Paul is a jack of many trades. Paul inherited his love for cars from his father, a drag racer who drove Hemi-powered cars for Dodge back in the late 1960s. That attachment to cars from a very young age has led Paul to become an avid racetrack driver himself, and to start critiquing cars, trucks, and SUVs for Sons of Speed LLC, the online car review company he co-founded. Paul publishes automotive reviews for Greet Western Springs and Greet La Grange magazines, and is a regular fill-in host for the weekly Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast. When he’s not talking about cars, Paul enjoys traveling, spending time with family, and very “spirited” highway drives.
Robert Duffer, President Emeritus Twitter: @DufferRobert Robert Duffer is an award-winning writer, editor, teacher, and the Senior Editor for The Car Connection. As the former autos editor for the Chicago Tribune, Robert's syndicated auto review column appeared in hundreds of publications in print and online. He has written for Forbes.com, Cars.com, US News Autos and publications ranging from the New York Times to Canadian Builders Quarterly. A master’s graduate of Columbia College Chicago and Skip Barber Racing School, Robert believes in the Oxford comma, electrified powertrains, and the minivan as the greatest utility vehicle. His most enduring automotive lesson was imparted by his father, who would speed up to sports coupes and luxury cars and say, "Don't look. Don't give the jerk the satisfaction." The elder Duffer is the jerk driving the ‘68 Mustang convertible. |
