Liisa Thomas is the Office Managing Partner of the Chicago office of Sheppard Mullin, where she supports the firm’s Chicago strategy, growth, and operations. She works closely with firm leadership and with Chicago’s business and...

Dr. Sulin Ba is Dean of the Driehaus College of Business and Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University. She previously held the Treibick Family Endowed Chair at the University of Connecticut School of...

Anne M. Vogel was appointed Region 5 Administrator in April 2025. As regional administrator, Vogel oversees EPA’s work across the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin and 37 Tribal nations. Prior to...

Commissioner Jamie L. Rhee is a leader in the aviation community, managing one of the world’s largest airport systems: Chicago O’Hare and Midway International Airports. Over the course of 29 years with the City of...

Regina Stilp is a leading commercial real estate developer with over 30 years’ experience developing properties that strengthen cities. As Founding Principal of Farpoint Development, Regina co-founded the firm in 2016 and has guided its...

Erin Amico is the President & CEO of The Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (“Nature Museum”). For 167 years, the Nature Museum has been connecting Chicagoans to nature and science....

Elizabeth “Betsy” Ziegler is the first female CEO of 1871, now the Number 1 ranked university affiliated-tech incubator in the world.Previous to 1871, Betsy was the Chief Innovation Officer at the Kellogg School of Management,...

Since 2022, Gina has served as the Chief Marketing Officer for Perkins&Will: a global design firm with over 2500 employees and 32 studios worldwide. In this role she is focuses on elevating the firm’s brand...

Leslie J. Sawyer is President and CEO of Environmental Design International inc. (EDI), and has been leading the firm since August 2016 after serving nearly 20 years on EDI’s Board of Directors. As businesses grappled...

Marcella believes in the transformative power of higher education, a commitment grounded in her family?s experiences. She grew up in New York City, the second daughter of parents who appreciated education all the more because...