Announcing the Second Cohort of The Daniel Burnham Fellowship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2020

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Candice Warlitier, CS-Effect
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Top Chicago Area Executives Selected for Premier Civic Leadership Experience
Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) announces cohort of The Daniel Burnham Fellowship

CHICAGO, IL (January 28, 2020) – Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) (www.lgcchicago.org) announced today 25 C-level and senior executives selected for the second cohort of The Daniel Burnham Fellowship. The Fellowship, an accelerated civic onboarding experience for top executives new to Chicago or new to their role, is designed to inspire these leaders to mobilize and exert their combined influence and intellect to positively impact Chicago, its future, and the continued economic progress of the region.

Through cross-industry learning and connections with renowned speakers and peers, The Daniel Burnham Fellowship participants leave with broadened perspectives and strategic opportunities that would otherwise remain unrealized.

“LGC is honored to convene this influential cohort of senior executives from diverse industries and backgrounds in Greater Chicago. They will immerse themselves in an exclusive experience providing a deeper understanding of our region, its networks, and the business community,” said Leadership Greater Chicago CEO and Founding Daniel Burnham Fellow Maria Wynne. “Our leaders immediately apply their new learnings and perspectives to their approach to business and civic engagement. We arm these leaders with the opportunities to connect and explore key issues affecting our region so they can ultimately drive change needed to make a positive impact in Chicago and beyond.”

By the year 2030, Chicago is projected to become the next U.S. megacity, defined by a population of 10 million. To become a megacity with opportunities for all, LGC recognizes that the civic community and its leadership will be important drivers of this trajectory. The Daniel Burnham Fellowship engages participants in Chicago’s vibrant structure of civic leaders, providing an interconnected view of the key opportunities and challenges facing the business community and region.

"In recognizing the changing landscape of Chicago’s civic infrastructure, we developed an opportunity for high level executives to connect with one another and explore key issues that affect the framework of our city, impact businesses and our communities," said LGC Board President Connie L. Lindsey, Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity & Inclusion for Northern Trust. “The relationships forged during this cohort hold promise for both the respective organizations and our collective community.”

On January 30, 2020, participants will begin the six-session series which includes the history of Chicago through the lens of urban planning, the region’s workforce forecast, building strategic partnerships for economic development, and driving innovative solutions to build an inclusive Chicago. Ultimately, the call to action for these leaders is to drive and impact transformative change to make it possible for Chicago to reach its full potential.

The 25 executives who will participate in the second cohort include:

• Josh Earnest, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, United Airlines
• Jean Franczyk, President and CEO, Chicago Botanic Garden
• Dr. Sherine Gabriel, President, Rush University
• Dr. Helene Gayle, President and CEO, The Chicago Community Trust
• Verónica Gómez, Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Energy Policy & General Counsel, ComEd
• Michael Gonda, Vice President, Global Communications, McDonald's Corporation
• José Ramón González, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, CNA Insurance
• Barry Greenhouse, Senior Vice President and President, Global Supply Chain and Customer Experience, W.W. Grainger, Inc.
• Steve Hamman, President, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
• Teresa Harmon, Managing Partner, Chicago Office, Sidley Austin LLP
• Brad Henderson, Chief Executive Officer, P33
• Greg Hughes, President – North America, Beam Suntory, Inc.
• Samir Mayekar, Deputy Mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development, City of Chicago
• Cindy Moelis, President, Pritzker Traubert Foundation
• Tracie Morris, Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer, NA, BMO
• Sam Nicita, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
• Lynn Osmond, President and CEO, Chicago Architecture Center
• John Palfrey, President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation 
• Stephanie Platz, Managing Director, Programs, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
• Doug Rose, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, First Midwest Bancorp
• John Russick, Senior Vice President, Chicago History Museum
• Judith Toland, Vice President, Head of Scaled Solutions, Global Business Marketing, Facebook
• Roopa Weber, Chief Marketing Officer, Ariel Investments
• Denis Weil, Dean, Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology
• Amy Yuhn, US Chief Marketing Officer, CIBC

The Daniel Burnham Fellowship is the latest addition to a portfolio which fulfills Leadership Greater Chicago’s longstanding mission to convene, connect, and mobilize the region’s most promising leaders around key socioeconomic issues through dynamic education and experiences. This is the second cohort of The Daniel Burnham Fellowship, which launched in 2019. The inaugural Fellowship included C-level and senior executives from PwC, United Way of Metro Chicago, United Airlines, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Aon, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Approximately 40 percent were new to Chicago.

About Leadership Greater Chicago
Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) is the region’s premier civic leadership development organization. LGC convenes, connects and mobilizes the area’s most promising leaders around key socioeconomic issues through dynamic education and experiential activities. These diverse individuals represent the most prominent corporate, nonprofit, government, and education organizations.

Since its founding in 1983 by The Chicago Community Trust, LGC has developed more than 1,200 leaders through its Signature Fellows Program – an intensive 10-month program that provides the foundation for a lifelong commitment to civic engagement. The Program equips participants with the resources they need to understand how decisions are made, how complex policies are shaped, and how to influence meaningful change. Using the city as a classroom, LGC Fellows learn through interactions with private, public, and nonprofit decision makers, and work as a group to develop critical thinking, analytical, governance, and leadership skills.

LGC creates connectivity among its Fellows to positively impact not only themselves but their employees, their constituents, their clients, their neighbors and their families. This connectivity is the backbone and strength of the LGC network, enabling leaders to leverage collective resources to make the Greater Chicago Region a more dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative community.

LGC Fellows are a distinguished group that includes former First Lady Michelle Obama, Managing Partner of Emerson Collective and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, former Executive Chairman of Urban Partnership Bank David Vitale, General Partner of Henry Crown & Company Steve Crown, President and Chief Executive Officer of World Business Andy Zopp, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Chairman, Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Ariel Investments John Rogers, Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity & Inclusion at Northern Trust Connie Lindsey, Chief Marketing Officer of KemperSports Lucino Sotelo, Chancellor of Chicago City Colleges and MacArthur Genius Juan Salgado, President and CEO of Metropolitan Family Services Ric Estrada, President and CEO of Cara Chicago Maria Kim, President of Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) MarySue Barrett, and the late Marca Bristo, former President and CEO of Access Living.

LGC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. To learn more about Leadership Greater Chicago, please visit lgcchicago.org.  To learn more about The Daniel Burnham Fellowship, please visit lgcchicago.org/danielburnhamfellowship.