Meet the Staff

Stephen L. Lamb

Steve Lamb

Stephen L. Lamb, CAE, has been Executive V.P. of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago since 1993. MCA represents 400 union piping contractors with the 9,000 member Pipefitter LU 597. Lamb has negotiated five contracts for MCA; is a trustee on the LU 597 Pension, Welfare, Training, and 401(k) Funds; and is a member of the JATC.

Lamb’s other duties include lobbying at the city and state level, representing MCA to some 7 outside organizations, and running an association with an annual budget of $2.5 million.

Nationally, Lamb is past President of the AEC (Association Executives Council), and has facilitated strategic planning sessions for several large local associations as well as the MCAA Market Recovery Committee.

Attaining the Certified Association Executive designation in 1997, Lamb now teaches the CAE legal review seminar, and has been acknowledged by the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association for his knowledge of association antitrust law.

His major (and most expensive) hobby is collecting fine wines and presenting seminars on “Entertaining With Wine At Work and At Home.”

Daniel Bulley

Dan Bulley

Daniel Bulley, Senior Vice President, has worked passionately for the MCA and its members since 1987. Bringing with him his engineering experience from IIT and a local piping firm, he had the good fortune to hone his skills to become a broad based association management professional with a strong technical knowledge base.

When Dan first started at MCA, there was only one working committee. Dan is now responsible for the Service, Safety, and Green Building Committees and in the past has been the point person on the Education, Management Methods and IT committees. He also works with the Apprentice Committee and runs the Certified Welding Bureau. One of his hallmark duties is to be a resource on code and technical information for the membership.

Bulley works closely with the leadership of the local ASHRAE and Green Building Council Chapters and contributes to both organizations. Bulley also had the opportunity to add to his skill set as a speaker and media representative for the Identity Theft Resource Center. He writes several bulletins for MCA Chicago and other associations and especially enjoys writing on various emerging technologies.

Bulley lives with his wife and two children in Naperville where he grew up. He is involved in the community there and jokes that homeowner’s associations can sometimes be tougher to manage than the real thing.

Evan Williams

Evan Williams joined MCA in the fall of 2006 and serves as the Vice President of External Relations. Williams has graduated from the Institute for Organization Management (IOM), a professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Congress. The IOM designation signifies 96 hours of course instruction in nonprofit management. Williams’ role for the Association includes government advocacy before federal, state and local agencies and developing appropriate proactive and reactive strategies. MCA maintains a number of important strategic alliances that assist him in this regard. Williams also assists the membership with labor relations, regulatory matters and is a resource on a variety of special issues.

Williams has particular experience in government advocacy, coalition building, and client and member relations. Prior to joining MCA, Williams worked with nearly 100 clients, including professional trade associations, non-profits, private firms, units of government, educational institutions, hospitals and law firms, on the completion of various advocacy goals. Other professional experience includes serving the State of Illinois representing two state agencies before the General Assembly and as Governor Jim Edgar’s travel aide.

Evan is a passionate Chicago sports fan (particularly rabid about the White Sox and Bears) who enjoys outdoor activities, travel, and a good book. Evan and his wife Carla reside in Chicago.

Daniel C. Day

Dan Day

Daniel C. Day, Vice President of Education, has been at Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago since 2004. Dan directs the educational programming, MCA/PEC Business Conference and the annual Golf Outing, as well as other industry events. He is the staff liaison to meetings and events, education, and membership committees. Dan has earned the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation. The CAE is the highest professional credential in the association industry and is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)

In addition to his duties at MCA, Dan also serves as Executive Director of the CEA and is Secretary of the Joint Conference Board (a jurisdictional dispute resolution board for the Chicago and Cook County construction industry).

Dan loves to play golf in his spare time, currently serving on the board of the Western Trade Association as Handicapper and is a fanatic when it comes to the Chicago Bears. GO BEARS!

Laurie Leonard

Laurie Leonard, Director of Program Services, has been with MCA since 1988. She has coordinated the education program since its infancy. (Would you believe that in the beginning all of the registrations were stored in a Word Perfect file?) She assists in the administration of virtually all MCA activities from the collection of dues to the management of the welding bureau. Not only does she help develop many of the education programs, but she also oversees the certification programs, production of meetings and presentations, coordinating arrangements with speakers and venues.

Laurie and her daughter reside in Woodridge, Illinois.

Patty Elliott

Patty Elliott, Director of Communications, joined MCA Chicago in Summer 2011. Patty will lead the association’s overall communications strategy, and the marketing of MCA’s diverse program offerings. She brings more than 15 years of experience in corporate and association communications, with expertise in implementing pro-active strategic marketing plans, building trade and media relationships, writing, creating trade show displays and social media.

Patty loves to travel, is an avid reader and has been a life-long Cub fan (mostly because she prefers going to Wrigley Field).

Patty has one son and resides in LaGrange.

Susan Rocque

Susan Rocque, Director of Finance, has been with MCA since 2001. With over 20 years accounting experience, she is responsible for managing the day to day finances of MCA as well as PEC, CWB, MIPAC, Coordinating Committee & IEBB. In addition, she is responsible for the Human Resource department.

She is very well acquainted with all things number-related, being proficient with GAAP, FASB and all IRS stuff. Now, how exciting is that?! She has the professional designation of TNTM (too numerous to mention).

Susan and her husband reside in Midlothian along with their two dogs. She enjoys going on hikes, camping and just being with nature and all its beauty.

Kay Gray

Kay Gray, Staff Assistant, has a B.S. degree in Elementary Education. After parenting two children to adulthood, she entered the workforce again to pursue a new career as “jack of all trades and master of none” at Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago.

As well as helping out wherever needed, she handles the Certified Welding Bureau requests for papers on certified welders. She has been with MCA and CWB since December of 2000.

For enjoyment she likes to travel, listen to classical music, spectator sports and interacting with her five grandchildren.