Influential Chicago Leaders Selected for 2023 Cohort of Esteemed Civic Leadership Fellowship

Influential Chicago Leaders Selected for 2023 Cohort of
Esteemed Civic Leadership Fellowship
Leadership Greater Chicago marks fifth anniversary of The Daniel Burnham Fellowship

CHICAGO, IL (February 9, 2023) – Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) (lgcchicago.org) announced today 27 C-level and senior executives selected for the 2023 cohort of The Daniel Burnham Fellowship. Created in 2019 by LGC Chief Executive Officer Maria Wynne, The Daniel Burnham Fellowship is a strategic partnership accelerator designed for top executives to urgently impact the region’s workforce and economic progress in their roles as change leaders and decision makers. Through cross-industry learning and connections with renowned subject matter experts, participants gain broadened perspectives and build strategic connections to drive social innovation that is equitable and inclusive. In its fifth year, the Fellowship has welcomed more than 120 high-ranking leaders and resulted in collaborations for COVID-19 relief efforts (funding, public policy, food distribution), community investments, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“I’m honored to announce the latest cohort of senior executives to join our purpose driven network of change makers who are committed to closing the gaps in our region’s workforce and have the ability to make an immediate impact in Chicago’s most deserving communities,” said Leadership Greater Chicago CEO and Founding Daniel Burnham Fellow Maria Wynne. “With more than 120 Daniel Burnham Fellows now called to action, we are continuing to witness collaborations among these leaders that are positively changing the socioeconomic trajectory of the region.”

One such collaboration between Daniel Burnham Fellows is the recent launch of a rehiring coalition for laid-off H1-B tech workers formed by World Business Chicago President and CEO and City of Chicago Chief Marketing Officer Michael Fassnacht and P33 CEO Brad Henderson. The city and nonprofit teamed up with 35 firms to help workers on H-1B visas find new jobs within 60 days. The initiative is the first of its kind and could help companies fill the more than 160,000 vacancies in Illinois.

“As a CEO new to Chicago, I found The Daniel Burnham Fellowship to be essential in learning the region’s business and civic landscape,” said Daniel Burnham Fellow Gil Quiniones, chief executive officer of ComEd. “LGC helped me quickly form real, lasting connections with other senior leaders, many of whom were also new to the community, and establish a network across Chicago. I was honored to join a cohort of distinguished professionals who are committed to progress for our region and its residents.”

The 27 senior executives who will participate in the 2023 cohort are as follows:

· Lauren Allnutt, CPA – Corporate Controller, Northern Trust

· Daniel O. Ash – President, The Field Foundation of Illinois

· Tracy L. Brown – Chief Content Officer, Chicago Public Media

· Carlos Calderon – Chief Financial Officer, Ariel Investments

· Meghan Curran – Chief Marketing and Experience Officer, Shedd Aquarium

· Wendell Dallas – President and CEO, Nicor Gas

· Gillian Darlow – CEO, Polk Bros. Foundation

· Katie Fitzgerald, MSW – President and CEO, Ronald McDonald House Charities Global

· Kimberley Goode – Chief Communications and Social Impact Officer, BMO

· Lisa Graham – SVP, CFO and Treasurer, ComEd

· Kelly Graves – CEO, President, FCB Chicago

· Kristin Kroeger – Head of Strategic Initiatives, CIBC US

· Connie L. Lindsey – Former Executive Vice President, Northern Trust

· Robert L. Manuel, Ph.D. – President, DePaul University

· Declan McGovern – Executive Director, Music of the Baroque

· Dia Nichols, FACHE – President, Central Chicagoland Patient Service Area and President, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Advocate Health

· Marisa Novara – Commissioner, Chicago Department of Housing

· Darlene Oliver Hightower, JD – President and CEO, Metropolitan Planning Council

· Melissa Root – Partner, Managing Partner Chicago Office, Jenner & Block LLP

· Andrea Sáenz – President and CEO, The Chicago Community Trust

· Kristen Seeger – Partner, Executive Committee Member, Sidley Austin LLP

· Smita N. Shah, P.E., LEED AP BD+C – CEO, SPAAN Tech

· Whitney Smith – Executive Vice President of Programs and Chief Strategy Officer, The Joyce Foundation

· Christina Speh – Chief Compliance Officer, Wintrust Financial Corporation

· Andrés Tapia – Senior Partner, Global ESG and DE&I Strategist, Korn Ferry

· Cedric D. Thurman – Executive Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, Group Head, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

· Jonita Wilson – Chief Diversity Officer, Discover Financial Services

The Daniel Burnham Fellowship is the latest addition to a program portfolio that fulfills LGC’s longstanding mission to deliver the knowledge and network to lead bold, transformative change. Some of the prominent executives selected for the Fellowship since inception are President and CEO of Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago Michael Ericson; President and CEO of WTTW | WFMT Sandra Cordova Micek, President of AT&T Illinois and AT&T Great Lakes Eileen Mitchell; Vice Chairman of BMO Harris Bank Eric Smith; CEO of Chicago Public Media, Matt Moog; President of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL), Stephen Harris; President, Midwest Division at CBRE, Inc. John A. Latessa, Jr.; Deputy Mayor of Economic and Neighborhood for the City of Chicago Samir Mayekar; President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John Palfrey; President and CEO of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chevy Humphrey; CEO of Thresholds Mark Ishaug; President and CEO of Choose Chicago, Lynn Osmond; SVP and Chief Diversity Officer for Wintrust Financial Corporation Melissa Donaldson; Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations for United Airlines, Kate Gebo; and Senior Vice President for Community Health Transformation and Chief Equity Officer at UChicago Medicine, Brenda Battle, RN, BSN, MBA.

About Leadership Greater Chicago

Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) is the region’s premier civic leadership development incubator, delivering the knowledge and network to lead bold, transformative change. 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.

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 Executive Chairman of Urban Partnership Bank David Vitale; General Partner of Henry Crown & Company Steve Crown; Managing Partner, Cleveland Avenue, Andy Zopp; Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services Grace Hou; Chairman, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities Rachel Arfa; Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Ariel Investments John Rogers Jr.; President of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Brett Hart; Chancellor of Chicago City Colleges and MacArthur Genius Juan Salgado, President and CEO of Metropolitan Family Services Ric Estrada; and President and CEO of Access Living Karen Tamley.

Leadership Greater Chicago is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. To learn more, click here. To learn more about The Daniel Burnham Fellowship, click here.