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

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

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

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

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

Sarah Miller is an Audit Partner with 26 years of experience serving clients from global corporations to private enterprises across diverse industries. Sarah currently leads EY’s Chicago audit practice, managing a large team of partners...

Laurie Elish-Piper, Ph.D. serves as the Executive Vice President and Provost of Northern Illinois University (NIU). In this role, her work focuses on student experience and success, academic innovation and efficiency, adult learner and transfer...

Kate Lipuma joined Writers Theatre as Executive Director in 2007, where she serves as producer, overseeing all management, administration, and operations for the company. She led the fundraising, planning and construction of Writers Theatre’s new...

Wendy Davidson is a global executive, board director, and angel investor with over 25 years of leadership in the consumer goods industry. Most recently CEO and Board Director of The Hain Celestial Group (a $1.7B...

Karina Ayala-Bermejo has served as President and CEO of Instituto del Progresso Latino (Instituto), a leading community-based organization that provides education and social and legal services for nearly 8 years. She has 35 years of combined professional...