SCHOOL SPIRIT
College trustee Clare Ollayos making ‘wider impact’ in hometown By MELISSA RUBALCABA RISKE
W
hen it comes to serving her community, Dr. Clare Ollayos isn’t afraid to step up. From task forces and committees to serving more than 20 years as an elected community college trustee, Ollayos relishes an opportunity to be involved in improving the community. “I think you would be hard-pressed to find an organization in Elgin that hasn’t benefited from Clare,” says Susan Van Weelden, a friend and neighbor of Ollayos. “She is really very incredible.”
care field and a dedication to serving the community. She has been a practicing chiropractic physician since 1987 and maintains a practice in Elgin, while her husband, Dr. Scott Fladland, maintains a practice in downtown Chicago. While she enjoys providing care for her patients, as a young woman, she pursued the arts. Her first love was dance.
For the last 20 years, Ollayos has served as a trustee for Elgin Community College District 509, including a term as from Clare” the chairwoman of Today, Ollayos continues her the board of trustees. -Susan Van Weelden love of the arts and culture Ollayos says she didn’t as a member of the Fox set out to become an elected official; she saw Valley Beaux Arts, the Elgin Symphony League, an opportunity to serve on the board and make advisory board of the Elgin Youth Symphony a difference. Orchestra, the selection committee of the Fox “It was a way to make a positive impact and also make a wider impact,” Ollayos says. Born and raised in Elgin, Ollayos saw community service and care through the work of her parents. She was one of six children born to Dr. Robert Ollayos, a pediatrician, and Margaret, a nurse. She remembers how her mother worked on the campaign to build St. Thomas More School and Church, located on the west side of Elgin. The school building was completed in time for Ollayos to start first grade. Her mother also was a chairwoman for the capital campaign to relocate St. Joseph Hospital – later known as Provena St. Joseph and, today, Presence St. Joseph – to the west side of the city. Today, Ollayos embodies qualities from both parents through a career in the health
Valley Arts Hall of Fame and a board member of the Elgin Public Museum of Natural History and Anthropology. She says she loves the diversity in Elgin, from the varied programming and festivals to the residents who work hard to support the community. “I feel like it’s interesting, and there’s something for everybody,” Ollayos says. Ollayos is wrapping up an appointment to the Hemmens Cultural Center Task Force, designed to look at current and future roles and improvements for the center. “I think we came up with something very doable,” Ollayos says. “We have recommendations to make it better in the near future and in the next 20 to 25 years.”
Photo by Ron McKinney
At age 9, she began studying at the Lisa Boehm School of Ballet in Elgin, where she enjoyed the art of dance and countless performances “...You would be hard-pressed to find an through her teen and adult years. She danced in 30 of organization in Elgin 33 seasons of the school’s that hasn’t benefited “The Nutcracker” ballet, from 1970 to 2002.
She’s also a long-time member of the Altrusa International Club of Elgin and is involved in the chapter’s programs to promote literacy. In addition to her roles at ECC, Ollayos serves at the national level as a board member with the Association of Community College Trustees. Ollayos says working in collaboration isn’t hard, when the majority is able to be decisive and flexible: decisive in making decisions and moving on to the next topic and flexible in working together. “I have very much enjoyed doing it,” Ollayos says. “Sometimes it is a challenge, but – I have always said – as long as the inspiration factor outweighs any aggravation factor, we’re on the right track.”
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KANE COUNTY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2015 | 19