Emerging Leaders Class of 2017
The Emerging Leaders Class of 2017 spent one year examining key issues that affect the world and impact the global city of Chicago.
They heard from experts on issues such as the global economy, international diplomacy, energy, and the environment. In October 2017, they traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with senior government leaders. In addition to meeting regularly as a class, they worked on individual projects with Council experts to examine key global challenges.
This cohort of leaders from around Chicago was chosen by an independent selection committee from a highly competitive pool of applicants.
Class of 2017
Managing Director, GoodCitizen
Before joining GoodCitizen, Jailan Adly led strategy for Amplifier’s philanthropic partnerships and planned and executed internal strategic initiatives to build the agency’s capabilities. She is a social impact strategist who believes in the power of business to tackle and solve complex global challenges and brings over a decade of experience building impact-driven initiatives around the world.
Khadine Bennett
Director, Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs, ACLU of Illinois
Khadine Bennett is Associate Legislative Director with the ACLU of Illinois. She drafts, testifies, and lobbies on a wide variety of legislative issues.
Illinois State Representative; Chicago Mayoral Candidate 2023
Representative Kam Buckner represents the 26th Legislative District in the Illinois House of Representatives, a district completely situated in the City of Chicago. Previously, he served as executive director of World Sport Chicago, an organization that uses sports as a tool to provide life-skill training and opportunities to youth in Chicago's most under-resourced communities.
Vice President, Head of Government Affairs, ID.me
Before working at ID.me, Mike Cassel was director of global corporate citizenship (GCC) for Boeing's corporate offices in Chicago and in the broader Great Lakes region. Cassel managed the region’s charitable portfolio to ensure that all investments and activities align with company strategy and result in lasting success within the local community.
Founder, Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres
Before founding Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres, Patrick Croke was an attorney at Sidley Austin LLP where he has represented a wide variety of clients—including Fortune 100 companies, the US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, and international companies, among others—in a variety of litigation regarding transactional, regulatory, business, political, and criminal matters.
Director, Building Infrastructure and Design, Rivian
Now at Rivian, Rebecca Delaney was the youngest engineering team leader for the design firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill’s (SOM) sustainable engineering studio. She led multidisciplinary sustainable-engineering teams for projects including the design competition for the world's tallest office tower, a LEED Gold high school for CPS, and a boutique high-rise art museum in New York.
Consultant, Russell Reynolds Associates
Previously, Mark Fastabend was the general manager at a foodservice equipment division within the Marmon Group. He's spent his career building businesses around innovative solutions that meet the needs of the global market, ranging from medical devices to food and beverages. Specializing in new product development, Fastabend led a team working to grow conceptual ideas into commercialized businesses.
Senior Vice President, Government Programs, AAR Corp
Nicholas Gross is the senior vice president for government programs at AAR Corp, a leading provider of aviation services to the worldwide commercial aerospace and government/defense industries. He oversees a diversified portfolio of capabilities, including aviation supply chain and contractor logistics support, focusing on government agencies and commercial customers.
Founder, Chief Executive Officer, & Board Member, NuMat Technologies
Benjamin Hernandez is the founder and CEO of NuMat Technologies, a software-driven chemistry design company focused on solving generational challenges at the atomic level.
Supervisory Attorney, Legal Aid Chicago
Anna Maitland works alongside marginalized communities to support locally-owned and -led struggles toward progressive and sustainable change. She previously served as the inaugural Schuette Clinical Fellow in Health and Human Rights at the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Adult Education, City Colleges of Chicago
Luis Narváez, born and raised in Mexico City, is the former director of strategic projects for Chicago Public Schools' Office of Language and Cultural Education. He worked to support the city's 70,000+ English language learners and focuses on expanding postsecondary access for Chicago’s immigrant and Latino communities.
Director of Customer Intelligence & Insights, Citi/Citi Retail Services
In her current role, Hinsley Njila helps develop strategy and mitigation solutions for Credit Customer Lifecycle Management. Citi Retail Services delivers consumer and commercial credit card products, both private label and co-brand, to retailers and their clients across North America.
Head of Enterprise Clients, Health Plans, Datavant
Jacob Plummer's background is in management, operations, and investment in technology-enabled health services, and he previously led global business development at Allscripts, an international health software company. At Allscripts, he oversaw a variety of investment initiatives covering North America, the UK, Singapore, Australia, and beyond.
Executive Director, Chicago Refugee Coalition
Alisa Bhachu is the executive director of the Chicago Refugee Coalition. In her career, she has focused on the human rights sector as an advocate for women and girls, namely refugees and asylum seekers, especially those displaced throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Practice Director, Solution Ownership, Slalom
In 2009, after visiting his hometown of Jerusalem, Kais Salhut started a software development outsourcing company in Ramallah, Palestine, to tap into the largely underutilized talent pool Palestinian universities produced each year. The company he started later merged its operations into iConnect Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer.
Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle
Based in Chicago, Julie Steffen-Layda leads the Midwest hub for the international desk for JLL. In this role, she is responsible for expanding the growth of the company's international business across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Before her move to Chicago, Steffen-Layda was part of the Palo Alto hub of the international desk.
Dean, Liberty University School of Law
While at Northern Illinois University's College of Law, Morse Tan directed the international law certificate program. A US Supreme Court Fellowship finalist and a member of the US Supreme Court Bar, he previously worked at the University of Texas Law School as a visiting scholar and Senior Research Fellow.
Executive Director & Assistant General Counsel, JP Morgan Chase & Co
Kruti Trivedi is previously an assistant US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, where she served in the securities and commodities fraud section. A federal prosecutor based in Chicago, Trivedi has investigated and prosecuted a wide array of crimes, ranging from complex frauds to corruption to violent crimes.
Former Senior Attorney, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen, and Loewy, LLP
Rebecca van Uitert created a unique professional pathway that combined a successful business immigration practice with a sustained commitment to pro bono representation of vulnerable immigrants. At Fragomen, the world’s largest immigration law firm, she served as primary outside immigration counsel to multiple Fortune 500 international corporations.
Senior Director, Head of Commercial Partnerships, ALK
Shawn Zhou is a strategy consultant with a passion for addressing global healthcare needs. In his previous role at Deloitte Consulting, Zhou led projects for multi-national life sciences companies on their R&D, business development, and commercial strategies. Recently, he worked with a pharmaceutical company to improve access to care for patients who struggle to afford medications.