Brenda Krause Eheart

Brenda Krause Eheart, Ph.D. created Hope Meadows, the first Generations of Hope Community (GHC), in 1994 in Rantoul, IL on a former military base. Hope Meadows, an intentional intergenerational community, supports families adopting children from the foster care system; it successfully demonstrates a new model of social service delivery that serves as a powerful complement to traditional service systems. Brenda is currently the founder and Executive Director of Generations of Hope Development Corporation, formed to accelerate the advancement of neighborhoods nationwide based on the GHC Model. This model is being adapted to other groups such as disconnected youth, adults with disabilities and their caregiving parents, and disabled veterans and their families. GHCs are dedicated to enhancing the lives of vulnerable populations by tapping the transformative power of intergenerational community living. Prior to her current position, Brenda was a professor at the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign for over 20 years.