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CRAIN’S 2022
This cohort of 72 Notable Black Leaders worked for decades to reach prominent places in law, banking, media and nonprofits and lift their communities. Following the murder of George Floyd and reckoning over systemic racism, they found themselves in new positions. For the first time, they say, they’ve had an opportunity to share their experiences with racism and how they overcame obstacles. They’ve been encouraged to share their views and open deeper conversations on race with colleagues. Many observe that their insights have a wider impact
and are aiming to use that visibility to speak out on inequality in the workplace. Many have taken on new roles leading new or expanded diversity initiatives as companies vow to improve their practices in recruiting, hiring and retaining talent from diverse backgrounds. And these leaders have redoubled efforts to boost the next generation through nonprofits that help young people succeed in school and prepare for a career. These leaders are seizing the moment. By Judith Crown and Lisa Bertagnoli
METHODOLOGY: The individuals featured did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from the nomination materials submitted. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by editors. To qualify for the list, nominees demonstrated that they made a difference in contributing to the Black community in any number of ways.
JUDITH ALLEN Chief operating officer and clinical director Communities in Schools of Chicago
As COO and clinical director of CIS of Chicago, Judith Allen advances the organization’s goal of promoting high-school graduation through her oversight of finance, human resources and programming. During the pandemic, Allen adapted CIS’ capabilities to online platforms and launched new programming initiatives to support the mental health of families of color. These include certification training to empower teachers, parents, social service staff and concerned community members to act as first responders to signs of youth mental health crisis, as well as providing essentials like school supplies, hygiene products and cash assistance to families impacted by the pandemic-induced recession. She is a certified youth and adult mental health first aid instructor with the National Council on Mental Wellbeing and vice chair with the CircEsteem board of directors.
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BRENDA B. ASARE
BRENDA PALMS BARBER
President and CEO The Alford Group
President and CEO North Lawndale Employment Network
Brenda B. Asare oversees vision and strategy for growth and is responsible for all sales, client service and day-to-day operations at the Alford Group, a professional consultancy for mission-based, not-for-profit organizations. Advising on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts is a specialty, and Asare is said to have coined the term “equity-centered philanthropy” and developed a first-of-its-kind culture of equity assessment. Prior to joining the Alford Group, she was chief development officer with the American Red Cross in Chicago, where she spearheaded its campaign to build the country’s first disaster operations center. She is vice chair of the Giving Institute, a board member with the Children’s Place Association and an advisory board member with Women of Color in Fundraising & Philanthropy.
Brenda Palms Barber is president and CEO of North Lawndale Employment Network and CEO of its social ventures, Sweet Beginnings and Beelove Cafe. Recently, she led NLEN—which focuses on workforce development, digital literacy and financial-capability programs—in its partnership with Chicago Public Schools elementary and high schools to provide broadband access, computer equipment and training. From 2019 to 2021, she led “The Campaign That Works,” raising $11.5 million to develop a new campus. Known as the “Bee Lady” of the West Side, Barber in 2020 was selected by the Elevate Prize Foundation as one of five international fellows for her social impact work. She is an advisory board member of DePaul University’s Social Enterprise Collaborative and chair of the Workforce Development committee for the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council.
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CRAIN’S 2022
KELLY POWERS BARIA
KEIANA BARRETT
ROBERT BLACKWELL JR.
Vice president Powers & Sons Construction
Director, diversity and strategic development Sterling Bay
Founder and CEO EKI-Digital
Kelly Powers Baria manages Powers & Sons Construction operations in the northwest Indiana and Chicago markets for multimillion-dollar public and private clients. This includes leading business development, negotiating contracts and overseeing marketing communications. She also represents the firm within the Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture of five companies overseeing the construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, and leads their DEI efforts. Within the Obama Center procurement process, more than 50% of all contracting dollars awarded have gone to diverse businesses including women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community. She is on the board of trustees for the Chicago Architecture Center and an operations committee member for the Lincoln Park Zoo.
As Sterling Bay’s director of diversity and strategic development, Keiana Barrett is responsible for designing the company’s public-facing DEI strategy, targeting minority- and women-owned businesses. She manages community cultivation initiatives with a concentration on the South and West sides of Chicago, develops the communications plan with an emphasis on crisis management and is cultivating external partnerships to buttress local government compliance guidelines. Recently, she developed a partnership with radio station WVON-AM 1690 titled “Bay Breaks” that helps to socialize key equity milestones. She also developed a DEI summer internship and scholarship program and a strategic partnership with Gallery Guichard on a multicultural art exhibition at Prudential Plaza. She is a member of Dems on the Move.
CIERE BOATRIGHT
ANDRE BRUMFIELD
WILLIAM COLLINS
Vice president of real estate and community development CRG/Clayco
Principal, design director and Cities & Urban Design global leader Gensler
Chief advancement officer Surge Institute
Ciere Boatright, who joined CRG during the summer of 2021, oversees the planning and development of some of its real estate projects in Chicago, including securing land entitlements and public/private financing, negotiating terms of agreements with government, working with community organizations and developing feasibility studies. She’s helping to launch a program to support commercial developers of color as well as a national philanthropic program, CRG Cares. She joined CRG from Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, a nonprofit community development organization in Pullman, where she helped achieve 30% to 50% minority business enterprise contractor participation on projects. She’s addressed food and retail deserts in Chicago neighborhoods, helping to bring Mariano’s to Bronzeville and Whole Foods to Pullman. She also is on the board of the Urban Land Institute Women’s Leadership Initiative, the Metropolitan Planning Council and Landmarks Illinois.
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Andre Brumfield leads teams working with developers, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations to revitalize economically challenged urban environments and develop affordable and mixed-income housing. In the past 18 months, he joined Gensler’s board of directors, was appointed to the Chicago Plan Commission, and was named to Chicago’s first Committee on Design, advising Commissioner Maurice Cox and his staff. Brumfield helped establish Gensler’s global race and diversity committee, working with the board to pursue equitable design solutions in cities and communities. Prior to his nine years at Gensler, he was a principal and director of urban design and planning at AECOM for five years, and an associate and senior designer at Skidmore Owings & Merrill for 10 years. He’s a board member for the South East Chicago Commission.
Robert Blackwell Jr. is the founder and CEO of EKI-Digital, a Chicago-based software solutions provider, and founder and chairman of Killerspin, a Chicago-based table tennis company. A member of the U.S. Black Business Participation Taskforce, he launched Alpha Mission Chicago, an initiative to help generate $2 billion in contracts for Black businesses with a special emphasis on mathematics instruction for young Black males. Blackwell began his career at IBM in 1981 building technology. As an entrepreneur, he’s also founded several Chicago-based companies, including Urban Fishing Development, a company focused on digitally enabling Black neighborhoods. Blackwell is on the executive committee of the Business Leadership Council and on the board of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
As chief advancement officer, William Collins leads strategies to build a large, diverse coalition that can advance Surge Institute’s cause of educational equity. He is responsible for creating an integrated vision for external affairs and directly managing external partnerships, new site growth, fundraising and alumni impact. In recent years, he has raised more than $7.7 million nationally in support of Surge’s work, launched several new sites to expand its national footprint, and helped to expand the organization from a startup team of 11 to a national staff of 20, alongside plans to extend the Surge Fellowship to five more cities by 2023. He was selected as an inaugural member of the Black Bench Chicago fellowship in 2021 and is a board member of Open Books Chicago.
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Honoring bold leaders.
Ann Marie Wright U.S. Chief Risk Officer, BMO Financial Group
Tracie Morris U.S. Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer, BMO Financial Group
Bernard Narine Regional President Chicago Metro South, Head of Retail Banking, BMO Financial Group
Darrel Hackett President, BMO Wealth Management U.S.
Leslie Anderson Global Head of Employee Tech Experience and U.S. Chief Technology, Resiliency and Experience Operations Officer, BMO Financial Group
Eric Smith Vice Chairman, BMO Harris Bank
Wallace Harris Head, BMO Investment Services
Our commitment to advancing POC in banking and finance is an essential part of our purpose: to boldly grow the good. This year, we’d like to congratulate our outstanding nominees and honorees featured on Crain’s Notable Black Leaders and Executives list.
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CRAIN’S 2022
TIANA CONLEY Vice president, global cereal Kellogg
MELODY SPANN COOPER Chair and CEO Midway Broadcasting
REGINA CROSS Vice president Goldman Sachs
Regina Cross leads a multibillion-dollar portfolio management team that creates optimized portfolios for ultra-high-networth clients, ensuring that long-term, intergenerational wealth management and legacy needs are met. Her responsibilities include business development, managing for operational efficiency and setting compliance/risk measures in a highly regulated environment. For the past two years, Goldman Sachs has recognized her group as a top growth team. She’s also an ambassador for Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women initiative, which is investing $10 billion in Black women entrepreneurs. At the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, she leads a task force recruiting Black candidates to its Emerging Leaders program, and at Victory Gardens Theater, she co-chairs the Inclusion/Diversity/ Equality Access committee that helped spur the hiring of its first Black artistic director.
Tiana Conley oversees Kellogg’s $6 billion flagship portfolio of brands, such as Special K, Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes. She is responsible for setting the growth vision, strategies and an innovation pipeline across the global portfolio. In 2020, she repositioned Special K, creating its first-ever global marketing campaign and returning it to growth for the first time in nine years. She implemented an innovation strategy that scaled six individual regional processes into one cohesive approach. Conley’s responsibilities included the creation of Feeding Freedom, a campaign spotlighting the intersection of racial injustice and food insecurity. She established Kellogg’s Black Marketers mentor program, personally mentoring 11 Black leaders. She is on the boards of the North Lawndale Employment Network and Ladies of Virtue, which helps underserved Black girls in Chicago.
Melody Spann Cooper is chairman of Midway Broadcasting, an independently owned media boutique with various broadcast and digital platforms, including WVON-AM 1690, one of the nation’s legacy radio stations. Her responsibilities include management, marketing and community engagement; developing public/ private partnerships; and melding Midway’s strategies with the socioeconomic impact of emerging communities and constituencies. Cooper’s deal with Clear Channel (now iHeart Communications) expanded the coverage of the company’s flagship station, leading to increased revenues of 60% within two years. She’s a commissioner on the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Council for the Obama Foundation, and vice chair of the Illinois Broadcasters Association.
RONALD DAMPER
LINDSEY D.G. DATES
GWEN PERRY DAVIS
President and CEO Damron
Partner Barnes & Thornburg
Ronald Damper is the founder of Damron, a 100% veteran- and minority-owned tea manufacturer that was McDonald’s first diverse national supplier. With expertise in corporate and financial management, product distribution and contract packaging, Damper is also a principal in Vivacelle Bio, a biotech company, and Damron Packaging & Logistics, which is involved in hemp cultivation and processing. Located on Chicago’s West Side, Damron hires through North Lawndale Employment Network’s U-Turn Permitted program, which offers opportunities to previously incarcerated individuals. In April, Damper submitted a grant application to become a Minority Business Development Agency export center to provide opportunities to African Americans and other disenfranchised groups. The grant submission was the impetus for a further-reaching program called Safer Cities, designed to reduce crime in the community.
Lindsey D.G. Dates guides U.S. and global clients (companies that conduct business in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) through litigation in both federal and state courts. He focuses on complex breach-of-contract cases and large-scale litigation that requires coordination among parties in multiple jurisdictions; he also offers general counseling services with respect to dispute resolution using alternative methods. He created and is the chair of the Don Hubert Scholars program, a mock-trial competition for at-risk minority boys, as well as the Black Boy Joy experience, a one-day event that consists of seminars, workshops and games. Dates is on the board of the Black Men Lawyers’ Association and is the immediate past chair of the Chicago Committee, an organization that seeks racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession.
Senior director of operations Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
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Gwen Perry Davis leads strategy for the museum’s physical campus, information technology, human resources and permanent collection programs. She is the leadership sponsor for the MCA’s first Black Employee Resource Group and recently led the museum through the creation of its first external compensation audit, resulting in a transparent compensation philosophy that has become the model for its future. Under her leadership, the MCA has also committed to and is measuring the museum’s recruitment and talent development plans for Black employees. For 20 years, she has been an adjunct faculty member at Indiana University. She is also on the board of the Poetry Foundation.
12/3/21 10:07 AM
Congratulations To our very own Judy Toland & Lizette Williams for being named Top Black Executives by Crain’s.
We see your excellence every day and we are glad the rest of the world sees it too. From your friends at Meta.
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CRAIN’S 2022
ZENA DIGGS
LA TOYA DIXON
DONNA DORSEY
Midwest market executive Bank of America
Partner and chief administrative officer Comprehensive Construction Consulting
Senior vice president, chief people and culture officer Navistar
La Toya Dixon manages human resources, marketing, legal, accounting and finance operations for CCC, and was named a partner in 2019. Her responsibilities include reviewing and negotiating contracts, acting as liaison to government officials and community organizations, and ensuring that company policies follow employment law. She also conducts investigations into workplace complaints and advises management on the appropriate resolution and any legal response as needed. Under Dixon’s leadership, CCC was recently selected to serve the Illinois Tollway’s Technical Assistance Program, which prepares minority- and women-owned firms to participate on construction contracts. In 2019, she was the youngest member appointed to Planned Parenthood Illinois Action as fundraising chair, and in 2021, she was appointed to the advisory council of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls by U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly.
Donna Dorsey leads all human resources activities at Navistar and, as a member of the executive leadership team, interacts extensively with the compensation committee to revamp programs during a period of changing business conditions. She led the strategy and execution of the company’s first-ever Organizational Health Index Survey and Pulse Survey, which has resulted in a six-point improvement in six months, considered best-in-class results. She has been a catalyst for change within Navistar in how it recruits, retains and mentors Black Americans through alliances with the YWCA Racial Justice League and My Block, My Hood, My City as well as a partnership with Howard University’s Supply Chain Management Program. She holds board positions with Allen Robinson’s Within Reach Foundation, HealthConnect One and Junior Achievement of Chicago.
Zena Diggs leads a team of senior relationship managers and manages a $12 billion loan portfolio. She led the recast of a private-equity investor’s maturing term loan that was oversubscribed with $729 million in commitments, sparking a return to normalcy in the local bank debt market. She also is a commercial banking adviser to the inaugural class of Yield Cohort, a program created by the Urban Land Institute and LISC Chicago. It supports diverse developers on projects with the potential to spur wealth creation in Black and Brown
communities. An HBCU graduate who is African American and Native Alaskan Indian, she is a board member of the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Brookfield Zoo and a member of the ULI Yield Cohort and the National Black MBA Association.
CHICAGO COMMUNITY LOAN FUND &ംഁഅഇഈഇആ
“Chicagoland has punched above its weight on a per capita basis compared to other global capitals for a long time. In order for our region to continue to prosper and remain globally competitive, every community – especially our underinvested ones – must operate at their full potential. This is CCLF’s vision.”
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One of Crain’s 2021 Notable Black Leaders and Executives
&&/) SURYLGHV ORZ FRVW ÁH[LEOH ÀQDQFLQJ DQG WHFKQLFDO DVVLVWDQFH IRU FRPPXQLW\ UHDO HVWDWH DQG VRFLDO HQWHUSULVH GHYHORSPHQW WR FUHDWH HFRQRPLF HTXLW\ IRU DOO RI &KLFDJRODQG
&ംഁഇഇ &&/) ംഅ ആംഅഇ ംഅ ംഁ ഇഅഀ ഃഇ 3അ ഉംഃഀഁഇ &ംഁആഇഅഈഇംഁ ഁ 0ഁ ഃഅഀഁഁഇ ഁഁഁ 29 E. Madison Street, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60602 • Phone: (312) 252-0442 www.cclfchicago.org • info@cclfchicago.org
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THE BOOK
BOBBY EARLES Partner Cooley
Bobby Earles’ law practice focuses on private-equity, venture-capital, and mergers and acquisitions-related disputes. He regularly advises on white-collar cases, including international risk assessment, internal investigations and anti-corruption compliance. His pro bono work is focused on victims of domestic violence and those who have been or are currently incarcerated. In 2017, he co-founded “It’s Just [Black Lawyers Having] Lunch,” a 250-member group that provides a platform for strengthening the network of Black attorneys in Chicago. He is a member of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms and is a fellow of the Chicago Urban League IMPACT Leadership Development Program. He’s also a mentor with Link Unlimited Scholars and is a member of Chicago Lincoln American Inn of Court.
COLLETE ENGLISH DIXON
CHIMAOBI ENYIA
Executive director Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University
Executive vice president of SEED Cresco Labs
Collete English Dixon oversees all real estate academic programs, including two graduate degrees, an undergraduate business degree major and two graduate certificate programs within MBIRE at Roosevelt University. She manages all finances and operations and developed a curriculum that combines urban economics with hands-on real estate learning. In recent years, she has doubled enrollment of new undergraduate majors in real estate, established a new $1 million Louis & Ruth Kahnweiler Scholarship, and partnered with minority-owned real estate development firm DL3 Realty to provide scholarships for certificate programs for students from disadvantaged communities. English Dixon is a global governing trustee and member of the ULI Americas executive committee, chair of the investment committee for Housing Partnership Equity Trust and on the board of directors for the Community Investment Corp.
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Chimaobi Enyia leads Cresco’s Social Equity & Educational Development initiatives, which are focused on restorative justice, community business incubation, education and workforce development. He oversees lobbying efforts to change national and state drug laws, financial and legal resource programs to support cannabis entrepreneurship, and college/university partnerships to develop culturally competent curriculum and career fairs. In recent months, Enyia was involved in spearheading a summerlong social justice campaign featuring more than 20 community expungement events in support of more than 1,000 people; the release of a documentary examining the impact of unjust cannabis offense prosecution; $100,000 in donations from Sunnyside store promotions and Cresco brand proceeds, plus another $150,000 in financial contributions from Cresco Labs and its third-party vendors.
Congratulations,
DR. DEREK ROBINSON
for being honored as one of Crain’s 2021 Notable Black Leaders and Executives. Through your professional and philanthropic achievements, you help champion an inclusive community that supports our company’s commitment to health equity for all our members. Thank you for your continued dedication to our company and our communities.
A Division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
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CRAIN’S 2022
MELVIN FLOWERS
CORLISS GARNER
Midwest market unit CE legal lead Accenture
Senior vice president First Midwest Bank
President Governors State University
Corliss Garner works closely with First Midwest’s board, executives, and colleagues to develop and integrate corporate social responsibility and diversity, equity and inclusion goals and strategies into its processes, practices and programs. In recent months, Garner developed a DePaul University finance school partnership to build diverse talent and recruit for the bank’s early career programs; guided leadership to sign a CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge; launched CEO listening sessions for Black and Latino colleagues; and doubled employee-match for donations to COVID-19 funds as well as social justice, anti-racism and racial equity causes. Garner created the Murry L. Garner Scholarship Fund supporting college aspirations for African American girls from the West Side of Chicago, as well as the West Side Giving Circle.
Cheryl Green has oversight, accountability and responsibility for GSU’s strategic direction, ensuring academic excellence and an engaging experience for an estimated 5,000 students. After taking office on July 1, 2020, during the pandemic, she successfully led and implemented a return-to-campus plan. She also hired GSU’s first chief diversity officer and director of compliance, refinanced GSU’s debt service for a net value savings of $4.5 million, completed the initial work on a strategic enrollment plan and led a GSU Economic Impact Study to identify the university’s impact ($324 million) on the region. Green currently or previously served on 10 boards and task forces, including the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Regional Economic Recovery Task Force and the Will County Center for Economic Development.
Melvin Flowers leads a team of lawyers located throughout North and South America focused on developing and managing client legal/contractual relationships, supporting venture and acquisition opportunities, and providing legal advice to Accenture senior leadership in relation to legal strategy, marketing, disputes and client account teams. A member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar and an English solicitor, Flowers is also the Chicago lead for Accenture’s Black Founders Development Program, which is focused on venture investing in promising Black entrepreneurs. As president of the Chicago alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, he leads an organization that feeds more than 1,000 Woodlawn residents each month through a weekly food pantry.
Midwest native. Global perspective.
CHERYL GREEN
Congratulations to Bobby Earles, a founding partner at Cooley’s Chicago office, on his recognition as one of Crain’s 2021 Notable Black Leaders and Executives.
© 2021 Cooley LLP, 444 W Lake Street, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60606 www.cooley.com
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THE BOOK
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TOINETTE GUNN
DARREL HACKETT
Executive director Chicago Debates
President, BMO Wealth Management U.S. BMO Financial Group
Principal at Michael Best Strategies Senior counsel at Michael Best & Friedrich
Darrel Hackett leads BMO Financial Group’s private-wealth management businesses in the U.S., which includes BMO Private Bank, BMO Family Office and BMO Investment Services, and accounts for more than $130 billion in assets under management and assets under administration. Over the past 18 months, he led the acceleration of growth within BMO Wealth Management and the business achieved its highest customer net promoter score (a gauge of client loyalty) in several years under his leadership. Before joining BMO, he was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. Hackett is on the board of directors of BMO Harris Bank, as well as the board of the Art Institute of Chicago. He’s also on the Adler Planetarium Executive Committee and is a trustee for Rush University Medical Center.
Aaron Harris operates in a dual capacity, working for the law firm of Michael Best as an attorney specializing in regulatory and cannabis law, while also employed as a government relations lobbyist and public policy specialist for Michael Best Strategies. In May 2021, he partnered with various HBCUs to launch a public policy internship, a 10-week paid program that enables two college students to work in either Washington, D.C., or Chicago in state or federal government. In previous positions held within government, Harris oversaw 16 state agencies and helped draft legislation improving infrastructure, creating jobs and expanding public services that disproportionately affect Black individuals. He is a member of the Center for Conflict Resolution, Gordon Foundation for Kids and University of Illinois College of Law Alumni board.
Toinette Gunn has more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector working with at-risk youth. At Chicago Debates, she is responsible for the strategic direction, overall management and all aspects of the organization’s operations. Due to COVID-19, students were forced to forgo all extracurricular activities. Knowing that student debaters are three times less likely to drop out of high school, Chicago Debates quickly pivoted to virtual programming, helping nearly 1,100 students (30% identify as Black) from 66 schools and facilitating 50 virtual tournaments. Chicago Public Schools data finds that Black students, particularly males, perform at extremely lower rates than their counterparts, so Gunn doubled the number of Black male students participating in debate and established programs at 10 new Title I schools on the South and West sides.
AARON HARRIS
Congratulations Crain’s Notable Black Leaders & Executives Zena Diggs, Midwest Market Executive Commercial Real Estate Banking
Mark Williams, Managing Director Debt Private Placements
Bank of America believes in the power of diversity and our leaders reflecting the communities where we live and work. Congratulations, Zena Diggs and Mark Williams, on being named to Crain’s Chicago Business’s 2021 Notable Black Leaders & Executives List. We are so proud of you. Visit us at bankofamerica.com/chicago.
©2021 Bank of America Corporation
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CRAIN’S 2022
MELLODY HOBSON
JENNIFER HODGES
CALVIN HOLMES
Co-CEO and president Ariel Investments
Vice president, Whole Child Initiative & Community Impact
Mellody Hobson is responsible for the management, strategic planning, and growth for all areas of Ariel Investments outside of research and portfolio management. Hobson is also chair of the board of trustees of the Ariel Investment Trust, the company’s publicly traded mutual funds. She is co-founder of the Black Corporate Directors Conference, which fosters corporate diversity and inclusion and encourages directors to promote the civil rights agenda. She also chairs After School Matters; is a co-founder of Ariel Alternatives, a private investment initiative introduced in February 2021 to support Fortune 500 supply-chain diversity; and founded the Ariel Community Academy, a public school on the South Side dedicated to providing financial literacy to underserved children, providing them with a $20,000 investment portfolio.
President Chicago Community Loan Fund
KIPP Chicago Jennifer Hodges is responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of KIPP Chicago. During the pandemic, she led food distribution efforts and also coordinated with the Illinois Department of Public Health to provide free and immediate access to vaccine clinics for Englewood and Austin residents. In recent months, KIPP implemented the 1619 Project into the curriculum of middle schools to help reframe how history is taught and to share the contributions of Black people to U.S. and global societies. Another initiative featured 18 weeks of content aligned to topics that parents said was critical to their families’ success, such as nutrition education, financial literacy, mental health and assisting formerly incarcerated people. Prior to joining KIPP, she was director of corporate development at the United Way of Metro Chicago.
Calvin Holmes leads a 26-person team that provides loans and technical assistance for community development projects in low-income neighborhoods. Under his leadership, the fund has grown from $3.7 million in total assets to $137 million. During the pandemic, Holmes transitioned CCLF to remote working to ensure it could continue to provide loans when other markets were closing to Black borrowers. CCLF completed 48 loans totaling $24.2 million, which created 567 housing units and 1,156 jobs. He also led CCLF to operate a Paycheck Protection Program call center and online guide of grants and loans, and shifted work within CCLF to help disburse $11.9 million in COVID relief funds to small businesses of color. He is also a board member for the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs.
CONGRATULATIONS
Delia Jervier
A CRAIN’S 2021 NOTABLE BLACK LEADER AND EXECUTIVE Thank you for your continued and inspiring work as the Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter executive director and a region leader. Your passion and strategic leadership make a difference in the lives of the millions of Americans impacted by Alzheimer’s. Your commitment to growth and inclusion help drive us toward our vision of a world with Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.
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THE BOOK
PATRICIA BROWN HOLMES
DELIA JERVIER Regional lead/ executive director Alzheimer’s Association, Illinois chapter
Managing partner Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila
In addition to managing her company’s 145 employees, Patricia Brown Holmes serves Fortune’s Future 50 and other highprofile clients in complex commercial, regulatory and class-action litigation. She is on the executive committee of the board of trustees for the University of Illinois System. In March 2021, she led the Civil Procedures session in the Illinois Judges Association and Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s educational series, addressing racial disparities and other equity issues in Illinois’ legal system. She was appointed special prosecutor in the matter related to Laquan McDonald’s death, was a trustee of the Burr Oak Cemetery Oversight Task Force and was on the Illinois Judicial Conference COVID-19 Task Force.
Delia Jervier is responsible for the operations and management of the Illinois chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and oversees Region 9, which includes the Greater Kentucky and Greater Indiana chapters. Alzheimer’s affects African Americans disproportionately and Jervier has worked to partner with community organizations (including the Chicago Urban League and Northern District of the Prince Hall Masons) to spread knowledge on how early detection can help positively affect outcomes. During the pandemic, she led her team as it pivoted key programs and services to remote service, using virtual platforms and Zoom to reach almost 8,000 people. In addition, the chapter and region posted positive revenue results, ending the year in a financial surplus instead of an expected budget deficit.
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DERRICK JOHNSON Senior vice president Zeller
Derrick Johnson oversees the management of Zeller’s Illinois and Indiana assets, providing supervision to assist property managers and helping to ensure consistency of services and reporting throughout the region, which includes Zeller-owned properties and third-party management assignments. Other responsibilities include directing, reviewing, writing and submission of business plans, operating budgets and support schedules for all properties, and coordinating and directing all contractual management relationships with Zeller-affiliated owner/clients. He was on Zeller’s Forward Vision committee, which formulated the company’s COVID response, developing safety protocols and procedures for the Zeller portfolio across the country, while also overseeing tenant reengagement efforts.
EXCEPTIONAL LEADERS
CREATING SUCCESS FOR CLIENTS AND COLLEAGUES
Congratulations to our RSHC Partners recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business among Crain’s Chicago Notable Black Leaders & Executives 2021.
#ProudtobeRSHC rshc-law.com CHICAGO | SAN FRANCISCO | NEW YORK | ANN ARBOR | LOS ANGELES / IRVINE
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CRAIN’S 2022
RASHOD JOHNSON President and CEO Ardmore Roderick
Rashod Johnson is the president and CEO of Ardmore Roderick, one of the top five Black-owned infrastructure and construction engineering firms in the United States, with more than 250 employees and six offices across the country and Puerto Rico. During the pandemic, he helped increase Ardmore Roderick’s diversity percentages (currently at 57%), grow top-line revenue by 50% and firm headcount by 35%. He is an advocate for raising city of Chicago equity caps and helped persuade the City Council to increase the revenue caps on minority-certified businesses in September 2021. Previously, he was president and CEO of Material Service Testing laboratories. He also has vested interests in multiple minority-owned firms, ranging from equipment rental and leasing to multifamily and commercial real estate.
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VALINDA SCARBRO KENNEDY Global university specialty programs manager IBM
Valinda Scarbro Kennedy drives engagement with HBCU faculty and students to use industry resources (including access to data, analytics and security) to bridge the gap between academic programs and the skills needed worldwide. She led the deployment of more than $103 million of “In Kind Give” in student labs across the United States and created partnerships with the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, 100 Black Men of America, Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering and the United Negro College Fund. She also published a paper on the power of partnering with HBCUs. She was a recipient of the 2020 IBM Research Landmark Cube for her diversity initiatives. Kennedy is a member of Chicago Women’s Networking Group and is an academic officer for Chicago Black Networking Group.
ALAN KING Partner Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila
Alan King chairs the firm’s national labor & employment practice. Recent accomplishments include defending a Fortune 100 retailer and an international airline in discrimination suits, with both clients winning summary judgments on all claims. King joined Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila last year from Drinker Biddle & Reath (now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath), where he was partner and vice chair of the national labor & employment practice. King is also legal counsel for a number of Chicago-based, Black-owned businesses. Outside of the law, King is board chair of the Children First Fund: The Chicago Public Schools Foundation, which helps raise funding for CPS initiatives and schools. He’s a producer of the Chosen Few Picnic, a music festival that’s a signature annual event of the Black community.
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THE BOOK
HUGH LAROCHE
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JAMAL MALONE
ZEB MCLAURIN
Chief executive officer Tandem HR
CEO Ada S. McKinley Community Services
CEO McLaurin Development Partners
Earlier this year, Hugh LaRoche joined Tandem HR and oversees operations including finance, sales and marketing, benefits brokerage and the employee assistance program. The professional employer organization handles payroll, benefits and HR services for employers. Previously, LaRoche was product executive at HR outsourcing firm TriNet in New York. Earlier, LaRoche led business development initiatives at Ambrose Employer Group that led to a $200 million cash sale in 2013 to TriNet, where he continued in his leadership role assisting small and midsize businesses. LaRoche is vice chairman of the New York Peace Institute and a member of the National Black MBA Association. He’s established diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging as a regular part of the company’s recruiting processes, and designated Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as Tandem HR observed holidays.
Jamal Malone heads the human services nonprofit that serves 7,000 people each year at more than 70 program sites. During the pandemic, the organization focused on providing food, housing, mental wellness, employment and education to South Side residents. Malone expanded a jobs program to include COVID-19 cleaning for military bases, federal buildings and day care centers. He increased the use of technology and virtual mental health services, which reduced the number of mental health crisis arrests and emergency room admissions on the South Side. The organization’s college placement services went virtual to help 1,700 CPS high-school students pursue graduation and college, helping seniors win $14.2 million in scholarships. Malone led a campaign encouraging residents to complete their 2020 census forms to ensure congressional representation and essential program funding.
Developer Zeb McLaurin is part of the team developing the 100-acre, mixed-use, Bronzeville Lakefront project at the former Michael Reese Hospital site and is helping minority suppliers secure work on the megaproject. McLaurin and partner Farpoint landed one of the first projects awarded under the Invest South/ West program, which will convert a 98-year-old Englewood firehouse to an eco-food hub. In the past 18 months, McLaurin acquired a bankrupt multifamily housing portfolio on the South Side, preserving hundreds of affordable units. And he completed three Black-owned businesses/restaurants at Ogden Commons, Chicago’s largest mixed-use project in an Opportunity Zone, enabling entrepreneurs to take advantage of proximity to Cinespace Studios and Mount Sinai Hospital. McLaurin joined the ULI Chicago advisory board and the board of the cannabis accelerator Gromentum Lab.
CONGRATULATIONS TO
CORLISS GARNER Named one of Crain’s 2021 Notable Black Leaders and Executives
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CRAIN’S 2022
MICHAEL MCMURRAY
WILBUR C. MILHOUSE III
KIMBERLY MOORE
President, transportation and infrastructure Wight
Chairman and CEO Milhouse Engineering & Construction
Founder and president KDM Engineering
At the architectural, engineering and construction firm, Michael McMurray guides efforts to offer innovative solutions to complex transportation and mobility projects. He also is the Chicago office managing director. McMurray has overseen a revitalization of Wight’s transportation and infrastructure practice, piloting programs that focus on sustainability and equitable community engagement. Following George Floyd’s murder, McMurray recognized that his words could have a wider impact, and he leveraged the increased visibility to speak out on issues of race and the workplace. McMurray joined Wight in 2019 from Globetrotters Engineering, where he was president. As a board member at 1871, McMurray is active with BLK Tech, an accelerator program that supports Black entrepreneurs.
Wilbur C. Milhouse III in 2001 founded the engineering and construction firm, which has grown to what he says is the largest minority-owned engineering firm in the U.S. The firm recently has enjoyed a year-over-year increase in revenue and also has seen a 257% increase in headcount since April 2020. This year, Milhouse launched Milhouse Forestry, which provides line clearance services to the utility industry. Milhouse founded power and energy companies in Nigeria, where he is developing a 60-megawatt thermal power plant. He works through his own charity organization and community partnerships to support the Black community, including sponsoring Polished Pebbles, a mentoring program for Black and Latina girls. He helped form a partnership with Polished Pebbles that teaches girls about careers in the trades.
Kimberly Moore heads one of the largest Black- and woman-owned electrical engineering firms. Founded in 2009, KDM specializes in power distribution design, gas distribution and telecommunications design. The company has offices in Baltimore and Philadelphia and recently opened in Atlanta. KDM recently moved its headquarters from the Loop to the North Branch area, offering staff more space and amenities. Last year, Moore hired a career coach to help employees navigate the traumas of COVID and the exposure of racial injustice. Five years ago, Moore founded Calculated Genius to support students in engineering. This year, the nonprofit hosted 12 students at its six-week Summer Scholars Program and awarded $46,000 in scholarships to high school girls pursuing STEM studies. Moore is a member of the Chicago Affirmative Action Advisory Board.
Ranked among the Best in the Midwest for Social Mobility, Governors State University is the jewel of the Chicago Southland.
Dr. Cheryl Green, President
is among Crain’s 2021 Notable Black Leaders & Executives.
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THE BOOK
RALPH G. MOORE
TRACIE MORRIS
D.L. MORRISS
President Ralph G. Moore & Associates
U.S. chief human resources officer and chief inclusion officer BMO Harris Bank
Diversity, equity and inclusion partner Hinshaw & Culbertson
Consultant Ralph G. Moore is an authority on supplier diversity and minority business development. He developed a model for benchmarking supplier diversity initiatives and recently developed a digital assessment platform. And he’s recently led webinars and written articles on advancing supplier diversity. As a student at Southern Illinois University in 1968, Moore participated in marches in Cairo to protest racial discrimination by downtown merchants. That summer, he marched with the Rev. Jesse Jackson to protest discriminatory hiring and contracting practices at A&P. Moore started his career at Arthur Andersen and launched his consultancy in 1979. His clients have included Major League Baseball, the University of Chicago, McDonald’s and United Airlines. He created the state of Illinois’ first minority certification program and participated in supplier diversity training in South Africa.
As chief HR officer, Tracie Morris led BMO Harris’ pandemic response: transitioning 90% of employees to remote work and managing vaccine rollout, mandates and return to office. As the leader for DEI, Morris launched five-year diversity goals to address systemic barriers to inclusion with a final goal of zero barriers. She renewed BMO Harris’ talent acquisition strategy to simplify, integrate and digitize recruitment. She revamped practices to reduce turnover and improve retention, particularly for people of color. Morris is on the HR and benefits investment committees of BMO Financial and is chair of the U.S. compensation oversight and benefits administration committees. Morris previously held HR positions at Exelon and Commonwealth Edison. She is on the board of Junior Achievement of Chicago.
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With a team of three associates and two partners, D.L. Morriss manages firmwide cultural initiatives and affinity groups for Black, Asian, Hispanic, women, Mediterranean, LGBTQ and veteran employees. Following the George Floyd murder, Morriss worked to develop programming on a wider range of issues and included speakers on implicit bias and identity. He’s a member of the associate hiring and compensation committees and oversees recruitment, retention, talent development and advancement of attorneys from diverse backgrounds. Morriss was instrumental in the firm’s commitment in June to join the Mansfield Rule 5.0 certification process designed to diversify representation. Morriss specializes in commercial litigation. He’s been a Joffrey Ballet board member since 2016.
NOTABLE BLACK LEADERS & EXECUTIVES Aaron D. Harris, J.D.
Principal & Senior Counsel
Aaron understands the complexities of the most important regulatory and policy issues affecting the Illinois business community and navigates the processes of government to get things done. Congratulations Aaron and all 2021 Notable Black Leaders & Executives!
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
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Michael Best Strategies LLC
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CRAIN’S 2022
STEPHANIE NEELY
JENNIFER NICHOLS
Managing director J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Senior vice president and general counsel CRG/Clayco
At J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Stephanie Neely heads the North America Institutional Central U.S. & Canada team. In addition to managing the region, she is client adviser for several public, corporate and hospital pension funds. She’s also a member of the North America Institutional management team and the Asset Management CEO’s Black Employees Roundtable. Neely was part of a team that worked on improving the DEI data transparency and disclosure. She joined J.P. Morgan in 2018 from Allstate, where she was vice president and assistant treasurer. As the city of Chicago treasurer for two terms, Neely managed the city’s $7 billion financial portfolio. She developed a small-business, micro-loan program that targeted minority communities and pushed for inclusion of diverse managers for city pension funds.
Jennifer Nichols last year joined CRG, the real estate development and investment arm of Clayco. Nichols is facilitating CRG’s expansion in more than 30 markets with projects from student housing to big-box industrial. She also is helping lead CRG’s DEI initiatives. That includes increasing women- and minority-owned business partner participation to 25% in a Country Club Hills industrial spec development and targeting 10% minority and women investors in CRG’s $1.5 billion USLF II fund. Before joining CRG, Nichols was vice president and general counsel at Harsch Investment Properties in Portland, Ore. After George Floyd’s murder, Nichols took a leading role in establishing a corporate DEI program there. She co-chairs the in-house committee for the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, which helps women lawyers advance their careers.
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JANICE PARKS Chief human resources officer First Hospitality
As chief HR officer at the Rosemont hotel manager and developer, Janice Parks oversees talent management, organizational development and culture transformation. She is on the executive leadership team and helped the company form its first diversity and inclusion advisory council last year. She’s implementing a paid internship program for young adults from underserved communities that will provide educational tools and training needed to pursue a career in hospitality. Parks implemented training in branding and management for 1,000 operators. Her talent development program led to the promotion of 50 individuals in one year. And she worked collaboratively to move thousands of documents to digital files. Before joining First Hospitality last year, Parks spent nine years in HR positions at McDonald’s in the Chicago area, most recently in global HR.
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GERALD PAULING
NADIA M. QUARLES
ARNOLD RANDALL
Equity partner Seyfarth Shaw
Assistant vice president for business diversity University of Chicago
General superintendent Forest Preserves of Cook County
Nadia M. Quarles provides leadership in promoting consistency of business diversity practices and identifies opportunities to expand relationships with minority-owned businesses. Quarles hosted the university’s 12th symposium (virtually), which introduced firms in legal, money management, financial services and other fields. The companies present their capabilities during 45-minute closed door meetings. Bringing firms to the table this way has generated $166 million of spend with more than 100 minority- and women-owned professional services enterprises. Quarles’ efforts in 2010 paved the way for the university’s endowment hiring its first two Black money-management firms. There are now 26 minority- and women-owned asset managers investing university endowment funds.
As general superintendent of Cook County Forest Preserves, Arnold Randall manages one of the country’s oldest and largest conservation districts with 70,000 acres of public land and 500 employees. During the pandemic, Randall worked with staff to ensure that the preserves remained open during a time when people turned to nature to alleviate stress and safely socialize. The number of trail users nearly doubled in 2020. Under Randall’s leadership, the Forest Preserves in 2018 established a racial, equity, diversity and inclusion committee. Last year, the organization adopted a position paper that makes several recommendations, including applying a racial equity lens to future plans, programs, policies and investments. Before joining the Forest Preserves, Randall was the director of the Office of Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago.
Litigator and trial attorney Gerald Pauling is co-chair of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Action Team. Last year, he was elected to Seyfarth’s executive committee, becoming the first African American to serve in this capacity. Pauling was instrumental in the launch of the Belonging Project, a nationwide collaborative initiative developed by Seyfarth to combat the effects of the pandemic on attorneys of color. The project created a virtual hub through which industry organizations, law firms, and D&I professionals supported and delivered professional resources to students and attorneys from diverse backgrounds. Pauling is a trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its Negaunee Music Institute, which delivers classical music to a variety of communities including underserved groups. And he’s president of the Homewood-Flossmoor High School board of education.
The University of Chicago is committed to business diversity and making a strong, lasting contribution to Chicago’s economic health. Under the leadership of Nadia Quarles, named by Crain’s as a 2021 Notable Black Leader and Executive, UChicago’s efforts have been recognized as a model for advancing business diversity. Through our influential Professional Services Symposium over the past 13 years, UChicago leaders have engaged with more than 350 minority- and women-owned businesses, resulting in contracts with more than 100 firms totaling over $166 million. The University of Chicago Office of Business Diversity is honored by Crain’s recognition of the impact that Nadia and her colleagues have had on this vital priority.
businessdiversity.uchicago.edu @UChicagoOBD
NADIA M. QUARLES, ESQ. Assistant Vice President for Business Diversity
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CRAIN’S 2022
DAYLA RANDOLPH System vice president, organizational learning and development Advocate Aurora Health
CRAIG RICHEY Senior managing director Accenture
At Advocate Aurora Health, Dayla Randolph manages a team of 65 and oversees workforce, team member and leadership development. During the pandemic, she secured additional resources in the form of full-time employees and financial support to build a diverse talent pipeline. She recently secured organizational funding to support a community scholarship program and a strategy to connect with historically Black colleges and universities. Recognizing that she is one of the few leaders of color at her level, Randolph leveraged her platform to assist in advancing Advocate Aurora’s DEI strategy. Randolph joined the health care organization 15 years ago as an intern and was quickly promoted to leadership development consultant at Advocate South Suburban Hospital. She was promoted to her current position in 2018.
Craig Richey leads Accenture’s strategy and consulting business in the Midwest, with responsibility for 2,000 team members. The team consults in finance, talent and human potential, supply chain and operations, customer sales and service, applied intelligence and technology. Richey led the digital transformation for many of the consultancy’s largest global clients. He leads Accenture’s African American employee resource group, including efforts to celebrate Juneteenth and MLK Jr. Day as well as mentoring young professionals. He is on the board of LINK Unlimited Scholars, the nonprofit that supports high-potential, African American youth with academic and financial support, leadership development and mentorship. Richey joined Accenture in 2017 from EY, where he was a principal in the advisory performance improvement practice. He was named to his current position last year.
DERRECK ROBINSON
ANTHONY SIMPKINS
Managing director, national sales leader Deloitte
President and CEO Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago
At Deloitte, Derreck Robinson manages sales teams for Deloitte Consulting’s cloud engineering organization and also its ServiceNow organization, a platform for IT management. Early this year, Robinson created and launched Deloitte’s Connections Mentorship Program for Black professionals, which focuses on improving the experience of Black professionals through career development, network expansion, retention and advancement. He’s also the executive sponsor for the Deloitte Chicago Black & Allies Community and executive member of the organization’s Chicago/Midwest Inclusion Counsel. He joined Deloitte in 2007 from IBM Global Services, where he was a business development executive. Robinson is board president of Breakthrough Urban Ministries and is an executive sponsor for Deloitte’s volunteer program with the nonprofit. He is on the advisory board of his alma mater, Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.
Last year, Anthony Simpkins was named CEO of the 46-year-old community development financial institution and is the first person of color to lead the nonprofit. Neighborhood Housing Services provides lending, housing development, foreclosure counseling, advocacy and other services. The group works to close the racial wealth gap by increasing homeownership levels among Black Americans. It also strives to curb predatory lending, foreclosure, and disinvestment on the South and West sides. During the pandemic, the organization distributed more than $2 million in mortgage and rental assistance to people who lost income. Simpkins joined NHS from the city Department of Housing, where he was managing deputy commissioner. Earlier, he was a Cook County Circuit Court judge. He is on the board and is past president of the Muslim Bar Association of Chicago.
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DEREK J. ROBINSON Vice president and chief medical officer Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois
Derek J. Robinson oversees care management operations, clinical leadership and oversight. He’s founding chair of the Health Equity Steering Committee, which develops health equity strategy at parent Health Care Service Corp. Last year, Robinson led the launch of BCBSIL Institute for Physician Diversity to increase the number of physicians from minority and underrepresented groups. During the pandemic, Robinson has provided a scientific perspective in media interviews and regularly speaks on WVON-AM 1690 to the radio station’s predominately Black audience. Robinson joined Blue Cross in 2014 from the Illinois Health & Hospital Association, where he was executive director of the Institute for Innovations in Care & Quality. He is vice chair of the board of trustees at Xavier University of Louisiana.
ERIC SMITH Vice chairman BMO Harris Bank
As vice chairman, Eric Smith is engaged in several firmwide initiatives, including regulatory affairs, community affairs, and diversity and inclusion. Last year, Smith led the launch of BMO EMpower, the bank’s $5 billion commitment over five years to address barriers faced by minority businesses, communities and families through lending, investing, giving and engagement. The initiative has helped fund the new Rush BMO Institute for Health Equity and the Construction Workforce Initiative for the Obama Presidential Center. Smith joined BMO last year from Fifth Third Bank, where he was regional president. Earlier, he spent 12 years at JPMorgan Chase, most recently as chief financial officer for middle-market banking. Smith is board chair of the Chicago Urban League and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital Foundation.
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THE BOOK
JONATHAN SWAIN President and CEO LINK Unlimited Scholars
LINDA SWAYZE
SHEILA TALTON
Director of community engagement Joffrey Ballet
CEO and president Gray Matter Analytics
Sheila Talton leads the young data analytics/ predictive modeling consultancy that specializes in health care and financial services. Over the past year, Talton raised more than $2 million in funding. And she led negotiations that resulted in a three-year contract with a large health system in the Midwest. Talton had tenures at large organizations that have pioneered the technology environment. She managed the Midwest technology practice at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and held executive positions at EDS. She was a vice president at Cisco Systems, where she was global consulting executive responsible for international practices. Talton is on corporate boards at Sysco, John Deere Construction & Forestry and OGE Energy. And she is a member of the Chicago Urban League and Chicago Shakespeare Theater boards.
During the pandemic, Jonathan Swain led the nonprofit that supports high-potential Black students though a shift to virtual programs. Support from Kirkland & Ellis and Mesirow enabled the organization to double its fall 2021 class to 100 students. Swain also is president of his family business, Kimbark Beverage Shoppe, which temporarily closed in 2020 due to damage from looting. Swain organizes community events, including the Hyde Park Brew Fest. And he sits on the board of Black Bench Chicago, which aims to train the next generation of Black civic leaders. Swain was a Chicago Board of Elections commissioner for more than 14 years, including more than eight years as chairman. Earlier, he was deputy commissioner for legislative and intergovernmental affairs for the Department of Planning and Development.
Over the past 18 months, Linda Swayze was instrumental in developing the Joffrey’s virtual education curriculum, which brought dance education to students around the city. The Joffrey’s e-learning curriculum reaches more than 400 students in Chicago Public Schools. Last year, Swayze worked with the Joffrey artistic team to produce a “Nutcracker” documentary in lieu of live performances, which was seen by more than 17,000 CPS students. Swayze had a performance career with the Dance Theatre of Harlem for 17 years. She returned to her native Chicago and has held a variety of positions with the Joffrey, including as a teaching artist and community engagement program supervisor. She was named to her current position in 2020. Swayze was a lead architect of the Joffrey’s studio expansion in the South Loop.
ELIZABETH THOMPSON
JUDY TOLAND
ROXANNE WARD
Vice president and head of scaled solutions, global business marketing Meta Chicago
Chief of staff Women’s Business Development Center
President Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education
As president of the CAFE, Elizabeth “Liz” Thompson is engaged in education, Black philanthropy, and youth and professional development. The nonprofit founded with her husband, former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson, invests in organizations that help low-income students gain access to and succeed in college and prepare for a career. The couple are co-founders of Cleveland Avenue, a venture fund that provides financial resources and support to entrepreneurs. The couple last year launched the 1954 Project to raise $100 million to support Black educators. Before moving into nonprofit work in the 1990s, Thompson was a manager at Ameritech. She is on the board of Chicago Public Media/ WBEZ-FM. And she’s a national director for Braven, which supports low-income college students, and is chair of Braven’s Chicago board.
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In this global role at Facebook’s rebranded Meta, Judy Toland is responsible for digital marketing, marketing analytics, governance and operations, as well as business education and certifications for the Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger B2B brands. She’s also head of the Chicago office. Under Toland’s leadership last year, the Facebook business education team reached 20 million users with digital skills training. Toland led a team that worked with Coursera to launch the Facebook social media professional certification program. During the pandemic, she helped minority-owned businesses on the South and West sides by providing community grants, mentoring, and training on Facebook products and services. Toland joined Facebook in 2019 from Life Fitness, where she was vice president and chief marketing officer.
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At the Women’s Business Development Center, Roxanne Ward heads the staff and is director of community relations and corporate initiatives. Ward oversees marketing and communications, IT, management of certification appeals and coordination of government grant proposals. In the past 18 months of the pandemic, Ward managed the transition to work from home. She oversaw the WBDC team’s DEI initiative. And she handled oversight of a website redesign. In her time at WBDC, she’s worked with government agencies to enhance access to capital for small minority- and women-owned businesses. Before joining WBDC in 2014, Ward was project manager for the restructuring of regional councils at the National Minority Supplier Development Council. Earlier, she held positions at DeVry University, Business Leadership Council and Ariel Investments.
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CRAIN’S 2022
MELISSA Y. WASHINGTON Senior vice president, governmental and external affairs ComEd
GREG WHITE President and CEO LEARN Charter School Network
ANN CLAIRE WILLIAMS Of counsel Jones Day
Greg White leads a network of 11 public charter schools (pre-K through 8th grade) serving 4,200 students in Chicago, Lake County and Washington, D.C. The Chicago schools are located on the South and West sides and serve a 98% minority population. When schools closed in March 2020, White led a shift to remote learning. The network raised nearly $115,000 to support families in need. LEARN also distributed more than 6 million meals to students’ homes while schools were closed. Following the reckoning on race, educators received training in culturally responsive teaching. With a BBB investment grade rating from Standard & Poor’s, LEARN recently closed a $27 million revenue bond issue through the Illinois Finance Authority that will be used to fund expansion and the purchase of new facilities.
Retired federal Judge Ann Claire Williams joined Jones Day in 2018 after a long career on the bench. She leads the firm’s pro bono Rule of Law in Africa Initiative, in which she’s led six-day training of new Kenyan prosecutors and co-led 13-week mediation training for Zambian judges and leaders of the bar. Williams was appointed co-chair of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ newly created Racial Justice Diversity Committee by Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer. In 1999, President Bill Clinton’s nomination made her the first judge of color to sit on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the third Black woman to sit on any federal circuit court. Earlier, she served as judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District.
CHARISE WILLIAMS
CLAIRE WILLIAMS
LIZETTE WILLIAMS
Chief of staff Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Executive vice president KDM Engineering
Global head of vertical solutions marketing Meta Chicago
At the state agency, Charise Williams manages a $300 million budget, oversees 80 employees, and implements policy decisions and research on criminal justice reform. Williams also helps shape DEI strategies, which led to pay equity reform for minorities and women at the agency. Williams worked with the Illinois lieutenant governor’s office to administer the Restore, Reinvest and Renew Program, which invests 25% of revenue from cannabis sales in communities with the highest rates of unemployment, poverty, gun violence and incarceration. Under her leadership, ICJIA granted $35 million to communities affected by the war on drugs. Before joining ICJIA last year, Williams was director of external affairs for the Chicago Federation of Labor, where she was a founding member of Hire360, which trains minority candidates for union trades.
As executive vice president, Claire Williams works with the president to promote growth, while maintaining quality deliverables. She’s used her knowledge, experience and industry connections to help KDM bring in more public-sector work, including obtaining Illinois Department of Transportation prequalification in electrical engineering services. She helped oversee construction of and the move to the new Chicago headquarters in the North Branch neighborhood. Williams joined KDM in 2019 from Environmental Design International, where she spent 19 years and was president for four years. At EDI, Williams established the first African American construction management joint venture that oversaw a $225 million construction project on the Dan Ryan Expressway. She then took that same team to the Illinois Tollway to win a $15 million, three-year contract to oversee I-294 construction.
Lizette Williams leads a global marketing team of 20 at Facebook’s rebranded Meta, charged with B2B marketing for consumer-packaged goods, retail, auto and other sectors. She’s worked to introduce traditional CPG and retail companies to discovery commerce, where marketers anticipate what consumers are likely to embrace. She acts as executive sponsor for diverse employee resource groups in the Chicago office. As chair of a Chicago Advertising Federation diversity leadership group, Williams helped lead a collaboration with Feeding South Shore to address food shortages on the South Side after looting impaired grocery stores. The federation raised more than $5,000 in donations. Williams joined Facebook in 2020 from McDonald’s, where she was senior director, U.S. brand strategy.
Melissa Y. Washington leads legislative and external affairs, economic development, and relationships with civic and charitable organizations for ComEd. During the pandemic, Washington’s team coordinated with local organizations and municipalities to provide food, clothing and shelter to people in need. The team also joined with chambers of commerce to support small businesses. Washington elevates the Chicago Black community by raising awareness of the opportunities and resources available through ComEd, including partnerships with local businesses. She aims to create opportunities for students pursuing a career in the trades and in STEM. And she supports Black media through advertising dollars. Washington has been with ComEd and parent Exelon since 2003. She is board chair of the Metropolitan Planning Council and is a member of the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center board.
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THE BOOK
MARK WILLIAMS
ANN MARIE WRIGHT
Managing director, debt private placements Bank of America Securities
U.S. chief risk officer BMO Financial Group
At BofA Securities, Mark Williams is a managing director in the debt private placements group and head of distribution. He manages the Chicago office and leads the team responsible for marketing and executing private placements across a variety of industries globally. Williams also leads origination and structuring for the group’s sports-related transactions. Over the past 20 years,
he has led more than 100 transactions aggregating more than $30 billion for leagues, teams and venues. Following the racial reckoning of last year, Williams says he became more involved in conversations about systemic racism and was encouraged to broadly share his perspective. Williams started a new team focused on recruiting and retaining talent from diverse backgrounds in the high-grade capital markets business.
As the U.S. chief risk officer, Ann Marie Wright works to manage risk while not inhibiting the bank’s growth. She teams with other leaders to maintain the safety of employees as they return to the office. Wright was promoted to the position earlier this year from U.S. chief auditor, where she was responsible for ensuring the bank’s environment didn’t deteriorate while employees transitioned to remote work. She recently was named co-chair of BMO’s Leadership Council for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, in which she leads the DEI agenda for BMO globally. Wright has been with BMO since 2002 and has held positions in operations, compliance and supervision, business intelligence and treasury management. She is board chair for the Chicago Foundation for Women.
PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEES BY RACE Hispanic/Latino Asian Other employees of color
White Black
Front-line (hourly) 19% Front-line (salary) 13% Entry level 12% Manager 7% Senior manager 5% Vice president 5% Senior vice president 4% Executive 6% Board of directors 11% Note: Aggregated from 23 participating companies Source: McKinsey & Co.
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