City Club of Chicago

November 18, 2024

Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton – State of Illinois

City Club event description:

Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton proudly represents all 13 million Illinois residents with compassion and empathy. She actively brings people together and takes a community-centered approach to solving problems. She firmly believes that the solutions to Illinois’ most pressing challenges can be found by tapping into the wisdom that already exists in our communities.

City Club video

The Lieutenant Governor is a highly qualified, experienced advocate for women’s rights, civil rights, and restorative justice. Her career is dedicated to making Illinois the best state to call home, especially for those who have been historically left out or behind. With any initiative or policy proposal, her focus is on uplifting every resident and ensuring they have the resources to thrive.

Lieutenant Governor Stratton’s joyful approach to leadership has made her a recognizable voice across the state. Above all, she is committed to making Illinois a safe, vibrant, and empowering place for many generations to come.

November 7, 2024

Election ’24 Results: The Known and Unknown – Dive into the preliminary election outcomes and what they mean for Chicago and the region – Featuring: Anne Caprara, Greg Hart, Christian Perry, and Paris Schutz

City Club event description:

Featuring Anne Caprara, Chief of Staff to Governor J.B. Pritzker, Greg Hart, Former DuPage County Board Member, Christian Perry, Political Director to Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Paris Schutz, Political Correspondent for Fox Chicago, this dynamic conversation will explore the path forward, focusing on how innovative partnerships and collaborations can continue to strengthen our communities.

Speakers

Anne Caprara
Anne Caprara is the Chief of Staff to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. Anne Caprara has managed and consulted with candidates and elected officials at every level of state and federal government. Caprara was also the campaign manager for Pritzker’s successful gubernatorial campaign in 2018 where he defeated the Republican incumbent by almost 16 points. Before that, Caprara served as the Executive Director for Priorities USA Action, the main SuperPAC supporting Hillary Clinton for President in 2016.

In 2014, she was political director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, helping to oversee Senate races in 33 states. In 2011 and 2012, Caprara served as the DSCC’s Deputy Political Director, covering all Senate races east of Wisconsin. In 2008, she was the campaign manager for Betsy Markey, a first-time candidate running against a 3-term Republican Congresswoman in Colorado’s 4th congressional district. Markey won by the race by 12 points and over 41,000 votes in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats by 45,000 voters. Caprara subsequently served as Markey’s Chief of Staff from 2008 until 2010. She has also worked as Chief of Staff for Ohio Congresswoman Betty Sutton and as the Deputy Research Director at EMILY’s List.

Caprara obtained her Master’s degree from George Washington University and her undergraduate degree from American University.

Greg Hart
Greg Hart is a management consultant and former DuPage County Board Member who represented nearly 1 million residents in the western suburbs of Chicago from 2017-2023.

Greg was appointed to the DuPage County Board in 2017 by Chairman Dan Cronin and was subsequently elected to a full, four-year term in 2018 at the age of 30 – becoming the first millennial of his party to serve on the board of Illinois’ second largest county.

During his time on the County Board, Greg led DuPage’s response to the opioid epidemic as Co-Chair of the Heroin-Opioid Prevention & Education (HOPE) Taskforce. His leadership of the HOPE Taskforce won DuPage County two national achievement awards from the National Association of Counties for innovation. During the final year of Greg’s tenure as Co-Chair, opioid overdoses in DuPage decreased by 9%, outperforming state and national averages. As a result, he is widely credited with helping establish DuPage as a national leader in fighting substance use disorder.

Greg also served as Chairman of DuPage County’s Technology and Human Services Committees, where he respectively led the largest investment in IT infrastructure in the last quarter century and saved taxpayers one million dollars annually by implementing operational efficiency practices. Greg also spearheaded a “first of its kind” initiative to for new business enterprise programs for minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned firms in DuPage County. Greg was consistently regarded as the most bipartisan member of the DuPage County Board.

Outside of politics, Greg serves as a Senior Managing Consultant and Owner at Point B, Inc., where he advises Fortune 100 clients on how to implement organizational change during mergers, acquisitions, and enterprise-wide technology transformations. Prior to joining Point B in 2018, he served in management roles at Deloitte Consulting and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Greg graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Greg is philanthropically active in Chicagoland, serving on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Boy Scouts of America Three Fires Council, Path to Recovery Foundation, and the Selection Committee for the Edgar Fellows Program at the University of Illinois. He lives in Hinsdale with his wife Alexandra and his three young children Madeleine, George, and Catherine.

City Club video

Christian Perry
Christian Perry is the Political Director for Mayor Brandon Johnson. Christian is a Political Scientist, Community Organizer and Civic Innovator from the Southside of Chicago. Christian is a proud Navy Veteran, Board of Trustee Member at Trinity Christian College, and serves on the Board of Directors for the South Suburban Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. He is the Co-Founder of Black Millennial Renaissance, a network of Black Millennials and their allies fighting to end systemic racism. In the summer of 2020 BMR executed The Right To Breathe March & Rally leading over 500 people in Palos Heights as they honored the lives of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, they called for justice, equity and active Allyship. Christian is an MPA candidate at Northern Illinois University, he was the inaugural Director of Community Development for the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and served as Deputy Political Director for Governor JB Pritzker’s re-election campaign.

Paris Schutz
Paris Schutz is Political Correspondent for Fox Chicago.

Schutz comes to Fox after 19 years at WTTW Chicago, most recently as investigative reporter and anchor of the nightly “Chicago Tonight” program and moderator of “The Week in Review.”

Before that, he was the station’s chief political correspondent, covering multiple political conventions, elections, and corruption investigations.

Schutz has earned two Midwest Emmy’s and 8 Peter Lisagor Awards, three of them for “Best TV reporter,” and one for a documentary he produced and reported about the candidacy of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

Schutz is a native of River Forest, Ill., a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep, and a keyboardist and singer-songwriter in his spare time.

October 29, 2024

Collaborating for Economic Opportunity: Chicago Prize, Community, and Civic Leaders – Moderated by Kareeshma Ali (Pritzker Traubert Foundation) – Panelists: Deputy Mayor Kenya Merritt (City of Chicago), Cindy Moelis (Pritzker Traubert Foundation), Carlos Nelson (Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation), Marshall Hatch Jr (MAAFA Redemption Project)

City Club event description:

Building new assets in neighborhoods on the South and West sides requires these three things, among others: the support of City government, private funding and bold ideas.

And those ideas should come from the people who know their communities best. 

That’s why the Pritzker Traubert Foundation (PTF) launched the Chicago Prize in 2020 and has committed $40 million to support bold plans. Cindy Moelis and Kareeshma Ali from PTF will offer insights from the Chicago Prize and announce a new opportunity to apply for the next Prize.  

At the luncheon, we will hear from Chicago Deputy Mayor Kenya Merritt, as well as two community leaders who have received the Chicago Prize — Carlos Nelson in Auburn Gresham and Marshall Hatch, Jr. In West Garfield Park.

Their stories are inspiring and show the tangible impact of public-private partnerships driven by a community’s vision. Join us.

Speakers

Kenya Merritt
Kenya Merritt is the Deputy Mayor of Business and Neighborhood Development. Deputy Mayor Merritt brings over 20 years of experience to the role as a public service executive and expertise with developing and leading large-scale neighborhood and economic development initiatives. Merritt comes to the role after serving as Program Officer for the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Previously she has served as the Chief Small Business Officer and First Deputy Commissioner for the City of Chicago’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief Operating Officer for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Service Management from DePaul University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Cindy Moelis
Cindy S. Moelis is President of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. Pritzker Traubert Foundation is primarily focused on making investments that increase economic mobility and opportunity in Chicago. The Foundation’s two main strategic areas focus on increasing equitable investment in Chicago’s west and south sides and investing in scalable workforce solutions throughout the city.

Throughout Cindy’s career in government and philanthropy, she has worked to promote social justice, youth development, and economic mobility. Prior to leading the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Cindy served in D.C. for five years as the Director of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, appointed by President Obama. Prior to her time in DC, she worked as an Assistant to Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley for social policy, at the MacArthur Foundation for President Adele Simmons, and as a Program Officer at the Steans Family Foundation.

Cindy currently serves on the Boards of the Crown Family Philanthropies, the Civic Consulting Alliance, Leadership Greater Chicago, and Tenement Museum. She is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network, and an LGC Burnham Fellow (Class of 2019).

Cindy earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Robert Rivkin. She is extremely proud of her three adult children, two of which live and work in Chicago

City Club video

Carlos Nelson
Carlos Nelson is the CEO of the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation a position he has held since 2003. Since then, Carlos has grown the organization from a one-person operation to a staff of forty full-time and part-time associates; with over 100 volunteers helping the organization carry out its mission of using comprehensive community development strategies to improve the quality of life of the residents and revitalize the underserved southside communities that make up greater Auburn Gresham.

Prior to his work on the south side of Chicago, Carlos used his technical talents as a mechanical engineer with Whirlpool Corporation in Tennessee. He then returned home to Chicago’s Auburn Gresham community where his grandparents settled in the 1960s and lead telecommunications design and development work for Andrew Corporation throughout North and South America.

As an engineer, to satisfy his urge to help communities and families in need, Carlos tutored for several years with the Cabrini Green Tutoring Program. In April 2002 he started volunteering for a small, upstart not-for-profit organization around the corner from his house. When the founding executive director left the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation in December 2002, Carlos was offered and accepted the position of Executive Director in January 2003, leaving corporate America behind. Under Carlos’ leadership, his organization designed innovative development strategies and won the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s $10MM Chicago Prize competition in 2020.

Carlos holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

Carlos serves on several boards, committees, and advisory councils including the board of directors of Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity, MAPSCorps, Inc.,; Greater Chatham Initiative and New Pisgah Community Service Organization; Local School Council for Richard J. Oglesby Elementary School, and Advisory Board of the Chicago Development Fund. Carlos also co-chairs the 006th Police District’s Business Subcommittee and is a former recipient of the Norm Bobbins Emerging Leaders Award. Carlos was the recipient of the first Chicago Prize award from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation.

Marshall Hatch Jr.
Marshall Hatch Jr. is the cofounder and executive director of the ​MAAFA Redemption Project​, a faith-based residential institute for Black and Brown young men who are furthest from opportunity. The project provides them with housing, job skills development, educational opportunities, and wrap-around social services. These supports are supplemented with programming that focuses on the arts, cultural identity development, spiritual enrichment, transformative travel, civic empowerment, and insistent life coaching and mentoring.

Kareeshma Ali
Kareeshma Ali is the Director of Community Investments at the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. She is committed to equitable community development and the design of human-centered tools, programs, services, and experiences through active listening and engagement, empathy and intersectionality. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kareeshma was the Director of Design Strategy at Greater Good Studio, and worked exclusively with non-profits, foundations, and public agencies on projects such as improving street design to reduce traffic fatalities, building child-centered communities, increasing access to sustainable open spaces, increasing homeownership for Black and Latinx households, and improving quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities.

Kareeshma holds a Masters in Architecture and Urban & Regional Planning, and a Post-Professional Certificate in Social and Environmental Design from Archeworks.

When she is not working or spending time with her husband and two young girls, she is an avid student of eastern healing philosophies, and you can often find her eagerly learning about sustainability, health and wellness, and in movement through dance and yoga.

October 24, 2024

Promoting Equitable Cancer Care and Research in Chicago’s Communities of Color in support of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Proceeds from this event will directly support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s vital work funding lifesaving blood cancer research to find a cure and improve the quality of life of patients and their families – Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo (Simbo) Ige, UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda, Dr. Edwin McDonald IV, Tawa Mitchell and Adrian Talbott

City Club event description:

While cancer affects all of us, due to systemic social, environmental, and economic disadvantages, African American and LatinX communities bear a disproportionate burden. Communities of color, including those on the South and West Sides of Chicago, face greater obstacles to cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and survival. This reality results in significantly higher death rates and substantially shorter survival rates for most cancers—a stark and unjust inequality that demands our attention. However, this disparity is not insurmountable.

Join Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Simbo Ige, University of Illinois Chicago Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda, Assistant Professor at University of Chicago Medicine Dr. Edwin McDonald, Member of the Board of Trustees, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Tawa Mitchell and cancer survivor and advocate Adrian Talbott for a meaningful conversation on how we can work to close this gap and promote equitable cancer care.

Speakers

Mayor Brandon Johnson
Brandon Johnson was sworn in as the 57th Mayor of the City of Chicago on May 15, 2023. Mayor Johnson began his career as a public school teacher, first at Jenner Academy in Cabrini-Green and then at Westinghouse College Prep on the West Side, where he experienced firsthand how school closures, unemployment and gun violence impacted his students and their communities. He then went on to become an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, where he led multi-racial coalitions to defend neighborhood schools from privatization, reduce high-stakes standardized testing and expand access to state funding. Mayor Johnson was elected Cook County Commissioner of the 1st District in 2018. During his five years on the Cook County Board, he led efforts to pass the Just Housing Ordinance which prohibited housing discrimination against formerly incarcerated people, legislation to secure legal representation for immigrants facing deportation, and coordinated COVID-19 resources for low-income seniors in nursing homes. In 2018, Mayor Johnson was elected Commissioner of the 1st District of Cook County. Here he led the effort to pass the Just Housing Ordinance, which prohibited housing discrimination against formerly incarcerated people. As commissioner, he also collaborated with colleagues to eliminate the gang database, secure legal representation for immigrants facing deportation and advance recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In the wake of civil uprisings in the summer of 2020, he organized the Cook County Board to commit to the “Budget for Black Lives,” bringing new investments in health care, public transportation, internet access, and affordable housing. Mayor Johnson and his wife Stacie live in the Austin community, where they are raising their children Owen, Ethan and Braedyn.

Marie Lynn Miranda
Marie Lynn Miranda, a nationally renowned leader in higher education and geospatial health informatics, became the 10th chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago in July 2023. She also serves as a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science. Chancellor Miranda brings a focus on access and excellence at scale across UIC’s educational, research, and clinical enterprises. She champions a vision that prioritizes the success of students and seeks to enhance faculty scholarship and UIC’s $500 million research profile.

As chancellor of UIC, Miranda has introduced five strategic priorities essential to UIC’s continued success as Chicago’s only public research university. These priorities reaffirm UIC’s commitment to student success; expand the research profile to position the university at the forefront of innovation and Chicago’s knowledge economy; engage with the region’s communities with a focus on educational and health equity; forge productive partnerships with businesses, nonprofits, and the government sector to create opportunities for faculty and student engagement; and elevate UIC as a destination to recruit and retain world-class faculty and staff. These priorities are advancing the university’s equity-focused mission to provide the broadest access to the highest levels of educational, research, and clinical excellence.

Miranda is also director of the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI), a research, education, and outreach organization committed to fostering environments where all people can prosper. The initiative is best known for its work on childhood lead exposure — contributing to the CDC’s decision to set a more protective standard for childhood blood lead levels, developing strategies for combating lead in drinking water, and identifying lead in aviation gasoline as a contributor to elevated blood lead levels. CEHI’s most recent work focuses on racial residential segregation and how segregated neighborhoods experience greater exposure to social and environmental stressors, which drive health and educational disparities. CEHI now calls UIC and Chicago home.

Miranda’s tenure at UIC is also marked by her active involvement in Chicago’s civic life. She serves on the Board of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and The Chicago Network. She also serves on several national boards, including the Doris Duke Foundation, the Environmental Defense Fund, the National Institute for Nursing Research, the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Hispanic Serving Research Universities.

Before joining UIC, Miranda held leadership roles at several prominent institutions. She served as provost at Notre Dame, where she led the academic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and launched diversity initiatives. At Rice University, as provost she implemented $230 million in strategic investments centered around molecular nanotechnology, data sciences, neuroengineering, inequities and inequalities, and general research competitiveness. At the University of Michigan, she restructured the doctoral program and enhanced alumni relations as dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment. Miranda started her academic career at Duke University, where she was a faculty member for 21 years and served as director of undergraduate programs for the Nicholas School of the Environment.

Miranda is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Duke University, where she earned a bachelor’s in mathematics and economics and was named a Truman Scholar. She has a PhD and master’s from Harvard University, where she held a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Miranda is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Miranda and her husband, Christopher Geron, are the proud parents of three children, two English Setters, and roughly 500,000 honeybees.

City Club video

Dr. Olusimbo (Simbo) Ige
Dr. Olusimbo (Simbo) Ige’s public health career spans nearly two decades. Before her appointment as the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, she served as the Managing Director of Programs at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Ige oversaw partnerships with health organizations nationwide working towards making public health and health care systems accountable and equitable. She also previously served as the Assistant Commissioner for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she provided oversight to a wide range of programs, including the city’s pandemic response, food security programs, housing and health initiatives, mental health programs, violence prevention, and the Public Health Corps initiative.

Dr. Ige received her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and her Master of Science in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. She received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Edwin McDonald
Edwin K. McDonald IV, MD, is dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities through nutrition education. Dr. McDonald is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He works with patients with small bowel diseases, obesity and other conditions affecting the digestive system. His work also focuses on health care disparities and colon cancer prevention.

Dr. McDonald’s interest in the effects of nutrition on health and disease stem from his experience with Project Brotherhood — an innovative clinic dedicated to providing accessible, affordable care for black men on Chicago’s South Side. While training barbers to serve as health educators, he became keenly aware of the impact of social determinants of health, including the role of nutrition. In 2012, Dr. McDonald received a certificate in professional cookery from Kendall College School of Culinary Arts.

Dr. McDonald also is an active researcher. He recently investigated the effects of vitamin deficiency in patients requiring parenteral nutrition (intravenous feeding) and studied the usefulness of fecal calprotectin in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. He also created a web-based mobile program to assess the utility of applications in managing inpatient hepatology patients. Dr. McDonald’s work has been funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Tawa Mitchell
Tawa became involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) after her husband, Mark, was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) in 2011. LLS has been a consistent source of reliable information and support for the Mitchell family for over a decade and the Mitchells have attempted to reciprocate with a deep commitment to the organization and its initiatives.

Over the years, the Mitchell family has enthusiastically created teams and solicited financial support for several LLS campaigns including the now-defunct Blood, Sweat, and Tears cycling event, the Leukemia Cup Regatta, Light the Night, Student Visionaries of the Year, Visionaries of the Year (formally, Man/Woman of the Year), and Scenic Shore. In 2015, Tawa served as an inaugural member of the LLS Illinois African American Advisory Committee and was honored to attend the 2017 LLS Volunteer Leadership Conference in Washington, DC where she amplified Mark’s story and joined others in lobbying members of congress for additional resources to support vital cancer research efforts. Tawa joined the LLS Illinois Region Board of Directors in 2018 and she served as Vice Chair at the conclusion of her term in 2024.

Tawa is a Senior Program Officer at the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation where she has responsibility for grantmaking in the Chicago Commitment program. Prior to joining MacArthur, Tawa spent thirteen years in a variety of education policy and program roles in city government, including the Offices of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Mayor Richard M. Daley, the City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools.

Tawa holds an M.A. from the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and a B.A. from Spelman College. In addition to LLS, Tawa currently serves on the Board of Directors for Illinois Humanities, the Parks Foundation of Oak Park, and Oak Park – River Forest Community Foundation. Tawa is a Class of 2018 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, the region’s premier civic leadership development program and is also a member of the Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and the Lake Shore (IL) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, organizations dedicated to community service and advocacy.

Adrian Talbott
Adrian Talbott is participating in this event in a personal capacity, as a cancer survivor and advocate. He also serves as the Associate Dean for Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. In this role, he develops strategic partnerships with elected officials, community organizations, and other civic leaders that leverage the University’s strengths in research and teaching to collaboratively address pressing social issues impacting communities across Chicago. Prior to joining the University, he co-founded and ran Generation Engage, a nonpartisan youth civic engagement initiative and directed CGI Lead, the Clinton Global Initiative’s program for emerging global leaders. Adrian chairs the board of Sunshine Enterprises, a Woodlawn-based nonprofit that develops community entrepreneurs. Adrian earned a B.A. from Amherst College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Adrian is a 2022 USA Justice Eisenhower Fellow.

October 8, 2024

Teens, Social Media, and Reducing Gun Violence: A Roadmap – Moderated by WTTW’s Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices Host Joanna Hernandez – Nina Vinik (Project Unloaded), Jadine Chou (CPS), Dr. Selwyn Rogers (UChicago Medicine), Olivia Brown (Project Unloaded), Laia McClain (Whitney Young High School)

City Club event description:

The Joyce Foundation is hosting a three-part series, Ending Gun Violence in Chicago: Connecting Policy, Practice and Community, in partnership with the City Club of Chicago and WTTW’s Firsthand Initiative & WTTW News, join us for the final program in collaboration with Project Unloaded.

In Chicago and beyond, there’s no shortage of concern for how social media platforms are impacting today’s teens. From mental health worries to online arguments spilling into offline conflicts, the conversation on how social media can be a problem is vast. But what if teens on social media could also help solve a pressing public health problem?

That’s the idea that’s brought together leaders from Chicago Public Schools, University of Chicago Medicine Trauma Center, After School Matters and the teen-powered gun violence prevention group Project Unloaded. In light of a WBEZ report finding over half of Chicago’s mass shootings involve victims under 20, teens must be part of the solution to Chicago’s gun violence problem. Project Unloaded works to reach teens through social media campaigns and community partnerships and shares with them the facts on how having a gun makes them less safe. In the last year, Project Unloaded reached more than 150,000 Chicago teens through social media campaigns and hundreds more through offline partnerships.

Join us as Chicago leaders delve into strategies to reduce violence that put young people in the driver’s seat of making change.

Speakers

Nina Vinik
Nina Vinik is the founder and executive director of Project Unloaded, an organization working to inspire the next generation to decide against having guns through teen-facing cultural campaigns and community partnerships. Prior to founding Project Unloaded in 2022, Vinik spent two decades working in gun violence prevention. At the Joyce Foundation, Vinik oversaw the distribution of more than $50 million in grant funds to support evidence-backed gun violence prevention work.

Before her role at Joyce, Nina had a successful career as a civil rights attorney with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc., and the ACLU Foundation of Florida. She also served as Legal Director of Legal Community Against Violence (now Giffords Law Center), and Director of the American Bar Association’s Litigation Assistance Partnership Project.

She chaired the board of directors of the March For Our Lives Action Fund until 2021. Vinik also created the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, the Fund for a Safer Future, and the Toward a Fair and Just Response to Gun Violence cohort. Nina serves on multiple professional boards, as an Advisory Board member of the NYU Policing Project; an Advisor to the American Law Institute, Principles of the Law-Police Investigations; a Member of the Council on Criminal Justice; and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Nina earned her law degree from the University of Chicago and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan. She lives in Chicago.

Olivia Brown
Olivia Brown, MPH, CHES is a public health professional who works to prioritize what she calls “people-powered, joy-centered, cultural and systems change.” At Project Unloaded, Olivia combines her industry expertise, art activism, and community engagement experience, leading community programming engagements that educate and empower teens to be part of the gun violence solution.

Olivia brings to her work the lived experience of a Gen Z Black woman raised in an under-resourced community. As a teen, she organized her community to address underage drug use. Before joining Project Unloaded, Olivia worked on environmental justice campaigns for a national organization in Manhattan. Her love for people and community building inspired her to incubate and lead two of her own nonprofit organizations that focus on arts in the Black community in Gainesville, Florida and climate resilience in Miami. Most recently, Olivia worked for a community foundation in Miami to bring together nonprofit organizations to strategize around economic development.

Olivia holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida and a master’s in public health from Columbia University.

City Club video

Dr. Selwyn Rogers, Jr.
Selwyn O. Rogers Jr., MD, MPH, FACS, is a widely respected surgeon and public health expert. As founding director of the University of Chicago Medicine Trauma Center, Dr. Rogers is building an interdisciplinary team of specialists to treat patients who suffer injury from life-threatening events, such as car crashes, serious falls, and gun violence. His team works with leaders in the city’s trauma network to expand trauma care on the South Side.

Dr. Rogers has served in leadership capacities at health centers across the country, including most recently as vice president and chief medical officer for the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Rogers has also served as the chair of surgery at Temple University School of Medicine and as the division chief of trauma, burns, and surgical critical care at Harvard Medical School. While at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), he helped launch the Center for Surgery and Public Health to understand the nature, quality and utilization of surgical care nationally and internationally.

Additionally, as executive vice president for community health engagement, Dr. Rogers works with faculty across the University of Chicago as well as members of the community to develop a multidisciplinary approach to trauma care and health disparities. His work will help enhance the understanding of social factors that affect victims of violence and underserved populations, in addition to identifying approaches necessary to achieving better outcomes for trauma victims.

Dr. Rogers sits on Project Unloaded’s Board of Directors. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School and holds a master’s degree in public health from Vanderbilt University.

Jadine Chou
As the district’s chief of safety and security, Jadine Chou helps schools maximize student achievement by promoting safe and calm environments and building relationships with students. Jadine oversees the safety operations for more than 380,000 students in more than 640 schools, and is responsible for supporting school administrators in their efforts to provide a safe and welcoming learning environment for all students and staff.

Under Jadine’s leadership, the CPS Office of Safety and Security helps district schools plan and implement proactive practices to encourage calmer school climates and positive student behaviors. These efforts ultimately result in significantly fewer incidents of misconduct, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and police notifications.

Prior to joining CPS, Jadine worked for the Chicago Housing Authority, where she was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the agency’s operations, including safety and security, for over 18,000 traditional public housing units across the city.

Jadine holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University and a master’s of business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Laia McClain
Laia McClain is a 16-year-old Project Unloaded Youth Council member. Laia first connected with Project Unloaded this past spring through Project Unloaded’s community partnership with After School Matters. In the program, she learned how to leverage social media to spread the information on risks of guns and created content for the Guns Change the Story campaign.

Laia now serves on the Project Unloaded Youth Council, advising national social media campaigns and projects. Her perspective is shaped by several personal experiences with gun violence.

Laia is currently a sophomore at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago.

Joanna Hernandez
Joanna Hernandez is a on-air reporter and host of Latino Voices at WTTW/Chicago PBS. Joanna grew up in Rogers Park and graduated from Columbia College. Before joining WTTW in 2021, Joanna spent 5 years as a journalist in New York City. While in New York, Joanna worked as bilingual morning reporter and assignment editor or News 12 Networks in Brooklyn and the Bronx. She also served as a freelance assignment editor for Univision NY.

September 30, 2024

Investing in Illinois Innovation – Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs and RockCreek Founder & CEO Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss

City Club event description:

Join Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs and RockCreek Founder & CEO Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss for a conversation about the FIRST Fund, the Illinois Growth and Opportunity Fund (ILGIF), and the importance of investing in infrastructure and the tech ecosystem.

Speakers

State Treasurer Michael Frerichs
Michael Frerichs was first elected Illinois State Treasurer in November 2014. He has been re-elected twice and started his third term in January 2023. Frerichs is the 74th person to serve in this role.

In Illinois, the Treasurer is the state’s Chief Investment and Banking Officer. The office invests money on behalf of the state and local units of government. Frerichs also believes in providing individuals with financial tools so they can invest in themselves.

He does this by encouraging savings plans for college and trade school, increasing financial education among all ages, removing barriers to a secure retirement, and reuniting Illinois residents with their unclaimed property.

The Treasurer’s Office actively manages approximately $56 billion. The investment approach is cautious to ensure the preservation of principal, but the investment returns are significant. Under Frerichs’ tenure, the office has earned more than $2 billion for taxpayers through safe, smart investing.

Since taking office, Treasurer Frerichs has made significant strides in the fight for consumers by making sure Illinois residents get what is owed to them through the Unclaimed Property Program. A record- breaking $2 billion in forgotten cash and stock has been returned to individuals, employers, and nonprofit organizations under his watch.

Treasurer Frerichs also has worked to make college more affordable for families saving for their children’s future. He made changes to the Bright Start college savings program, taking it from worst to among the nation’s best. Independent analyst Morningstar awarded Bright Start their top Gold rating five years in a row. The treasurer lowered fees and provided more investment options for families.

In November 2018, Treasurer Frerichs launched Illinois Secure Choice, a retirement savings program that will help an estimated 1.2 million private-sector workers who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan retire with dignity.

Treasurer Frerichs was born and raised in the small, downstate farming community of Gifford, Illinois. He graduated from Yale University and spent two years in Taiwan, where he taught English to young students and learned to speak Chinese. He returned to Champaign County and launched his own technology business. He served as a volunteer firefighter. He was elected to the Champaign County Board and elected Champaign County Auditor, where he became a Certified Public Finance Officer.

In 2006, Frerichs was elected Illinois State Senator representing east-central Illinois. As chairman of the Higher Education Committee, he championed efforts to make college more affordable. He also served as chairman of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee.

Frerichs was unanimously elected president of the bipartisan National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers in 2022. He also was unanimously elected by his bipartisan peers to serve as president of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) in 2023. Among his numerous honors, the College Savings Plans Network presented Frerichs with its Distinguished Service Award in 2022. He was awarded the ESGR Patriot Award in 2020 for his commitment to Illinois veterans. He also serves as vice chair of the Illinois State Board of Investment which manages over $26 billion in pension assets for state employees.

Treasurer Frerichs is married to Erica. He has a daughter, Ella, and two sons, Max, and Theo.

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Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss
Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss is Founder and CEO of RockCreek, one of the largest diverse firms in the US with groups investing in impactful early and growth stage companies. Previously, she was Managing Director and partner at the Carlyle Group. As the World Bank’s Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer, she led the Bank’s investments, balance sheet management, ratings, borrowings, and innovations in financial products. Prior to this, she led the World Bank’s investments and policy work for renewable energy, power, and infrastructure, as well as pioneering investments in wind and solar energy. Previously, she worked in corporate finance at JP Morgan.

Afsaneh has advised governments, central banks, and regulatory agencies on financial policy and energy policy. She serves on the board of trustees of the Council on Foreign Relations, Georgetown University, as well as the Rockefeller Foundation, and National Geographic, where she chairs their Investment Committees, and chairs the PBS Foundation.

She was recognized by Carnegie Corporation in their “Great Immigrants, Great Americans 2020” list, received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award and the Institutional Investor Lifetime Achievement Award, and been listed among the “Most Powerful Women in Banking” by American Banker. She is the co-author of The Economics of Natural Gas (Oxford University Press) and author of numerous journal articles on innovations in finance, energy economics, and renewable energy investing. Afsaneh holds an MPhil (Honors) in Economics from the University of Oxford, where she taught international trade and economic development.

September 26, 2024

Rachel Arfa – Commissioner – Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities

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Commissioner Rachel Arfa

Rachel Arfa serves as the Commissioner of the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD). Commissioner Arfa is a visionary and transformative leader, and was the first deaf person to serve as a member of a Mayor’s Cabinet nationwide. Under her leadership, Commissioner Arfa has modernized MOPD to increase services to Chicago’s disability community and leads inter-agency collaboration with fellow City departments and sister agencies to advance accessibility.

Recognizing the need for advances in disability employment, Commissioner Arfa launched the MOPD Career Center, which serves job seekers with disabilities and also partners with businesses on increasing inclusive hiring practices. With MOPD support, job seekers with disabilities obtain employment on an average of 81 days, far ahead of the national rate of six months. Commissioner Arfa also launched the Access Officer program, an inter-agency collaboration that designates a member of each Commissioner/Department Head’s leadership team as a point person on accessibility for their department, and provides subject matter trainings and individual consultation on best practices. As another important step towards increasing accessibility of City services, MOPD hired four American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters on staff, who provide communication access at Mayoral events, press conferences and for City services.  MOPD also works with departments to increase digital accessibility, use of social stories and other access needs.

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Commissioner Arfa utilizes an equity framework in evaluating MOPD services and removes barriers to services. She eliminated the hourly rate that participants in MOPD’s Personal Assistance program were previously required to pay in order to obtain services. MOPD’s Home Modification program previously only served individuals with disabilities up to age 59; due to consolidation of services from Department of Housing to MOPD, individuals of any age with disabilities can now apply for Home Modification services. The Accessibility Compliance Unit has also expanded its capacity and resources, which allows for increased ability to survey accessibility of city-wide buildings, conduct pre-permit and permit reviews, and provide technical assistance to stakeholders.

Arfa comes to this role with over 15 years as a disability and civil rights attorney, and has held numerous civic and leadership roles advocating for meaningful disability access. Arfa is a 2016 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and a 2013 New Leaders Council Fellow. Arfa is a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A. American Culture) and the University of Wisconsin School of Law (J.D.)

September 19, 2024

Dorval R. Carter, Jr. – President – Chicago Transit Authority

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Dorval R. Carter, Jr.
As President of the CTA, Dorval R. Carter, Jr. oversees more than 10,000 employees and helps ensure that everyone works together in adhering to the agency’s mission of delivering quality, affordable transit services that link people, jobs and communities.

Appointed as CTA President in 2015, Mr. Carter has led the way for unprecedented investment in CTA. Under Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot, Mr. Carter has overseen more than $8 billion of projects completed, begun or announced—including the largest construction project in CTA history (the Red and Purple Modernization), the largest railcar order in the agency’s history, and the reconstruction/rehabilitation of more than 40 rail stations.

Prior to becoming CTA President, Mr. Carter served as the Acting Chief of Staff to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, managing a department with more than 55,000 employees and a $70 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation.

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Prior to that, Mr. Carter served as Acting Deputy Administrator for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as well as FTA’s Chief Counsel, where he provided support to the Department of Transportation’s General Counsel on legal matters concerning the federal transit program.

Mr. Carter is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the 2019 Motorola Foundation Excellence in Public Service Award from the Civic Federation of Chicago; the Transportation Research Board’s 2021 Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lectureship; and most recently the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) 2021 Outstanding Public Transportation Manager Award, the same year the CTA was named APTA’s Outstanding Public Transportation System.

A graduate of Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Carter also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law. He is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., as well as the Illinois and Federal bar associations.

September 17, 2024

Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch – Illinois House of Representatives

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Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch
Emanuel “Chris” Welch was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2013.  In January 2021, He became the first Black lawmaker to be elected House Speaker.

Since joining the House, he has focused on improving the state’s fiscal health, creating more equity in Black and brown communities, delivering more funds for classroom education, and creating opportunity for all.

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In 2022, he led the effort to secure the largest Democratic majority in modern Illinois history.  This supermajority, known as the Great 78, is one of the most diverse state legislatures in the nation and has championed legislation that has made Illinois a leader in clean energy, reproductive freedom, and gun violence prevention.

September 16, 2024

Rosa Escareño – General Superintendent and CEO – Chicago Park District

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Rosa Escareño
As the General Superintendent and CEO of the Chicago Park District, Rosa Escareño manages one of the largest park systems in the country. The $475M system has nearly 9,000 acres of parkland, more than 600 parks, 26 miles of lakefront, 16 historic lagoons, 11 museums, 8 golf-courses, 7 harbors, two world-class conservatories and one sports stadium.  During Escareño’s three-year tenure, she has strengthened community vibrancy through renewed equitable sustainable efforts; and has led the District through transformational change building on inclusion and improving the lives of families, Chicagoans and visitors who rely on recreational programs and special events. 

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Escareño is a lifelong public servant with 30 years of government experience and is considered a reformer and strategist, leading large-scale agency reforms that support working class families, strengthen communities, build economic and income equity, and grow small business opportunities under three Chicago Mayors. Prior to her appointment at the Park District, Escareño served as the Commissioner of the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection where she championed shared economy licensing reforms, established the Office of Labor Standards and expanded small business economies.

Ms. Escareño holds a Master of Science in Communications from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University Chicago. Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, she is a lifelong Chicagoan who resides on Chicago’s northwest side.