Skip to main content

Emerging Leaders Directory

More than 50 resident and nonresident fellows offer research, analysis, and commentary on US foreign policy and public opinion, global food security, and global cities.

Alicia Farag 

Co-Founder & President, LocusView Solutions
Headshot for Alicia Farag
Alicia Farag is the co-founder and president of Locusview, which provides mobile and geospatial technologies to support integrity management, regulatory compliance, and cost reductions for the natural gas industry. Previously, they worked at the Gas Technology Institute, where they were responsible for the development and commercialization of mobile and geospatial technologies.

Mark Fastabend 

Consultant, Russell Reynolds Associates
Cohort
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.

Scott Fehlan 

Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel, City of Chicago
Cohort
Industry
Law
sector
Scott Fehlan has served the City of Chicago since 2004, advising on finance and economic development programs. Previously, he worked for Shefsky & Froelich, Universal Access Global Holdings, Kirkland & Ellis, and Sidley Austin Brown & Wood.

Deb Fiddelke 

President & Founder, DSF Strategies
Deb Fiddelke has led strategic communications and government relations for some of the world’s most influential organizations. She served in the White House under President George W. Bush as a legislative liaison to the US Senate, focusing on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees.

Amy Francetic 

Managing General Partner & Co-Founder, Buoyant Ventures
Amy Francetic's career spans over 20 years of high-technology entrepreneurship, private equity, and research. She previously founded and led Energize Ventures, a $165 million venture fund that invests in digital energy technologies. She also held roles at the Stanford Research Institute, where she worked on an early version of the voice recognition technology that became Siri.

Aileen Furlong Caffrey 

Vice President of Sales, Southwest Airlines
Aileen Furlong Caffrey headshot
Aileen Furlong Caffrey leads premier programs and global air partnerships at Southwest Airlines. Previously, while under her leadership at United Airlines, Mileage Plus was named Best Elite-Level Program in the Americas for the second straight year at the Frequent Traveler Awards, as well as Best Frequent Flyer Program by Global Traveler magazine.

Bridget Gainer 

Commissioner, Cook County Board of Commissioners
Bridget Gainer is a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, where she chairs the pension committee and leads the reform of the county's foreclosure policy and treatment of women and mothers incarcerated at Cook County Jail. She also leads Aon’s public strategy group, directing national policy issues.

Prithvi S. Gandhi 

Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Beacon Building Products
Prithvi S. Gandhi headshot
Cohort
Before joining Beacon Building Products, Prithvi Gandhi worked at Dover Corp., where he was responsible for corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic investments. Before that, he worked at Zebra Technologies and Morgan Stanley.

Ravin Gandhi 

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, GMM Nonstick Coatings
Ravin Gandhi headshot
Cohort
Ravin Gandhi is the founder and CEO of GMM Nonstick Coatings, one of the world’s largest suppliers of nonstick coatings to the $10B housewares industry. Its products are found on iconic brands such as Calphalon, KitchenAid, Farberware, George Foreman, Black and Decker, Wilton, Sunbeam, and Pyrex.

Jeanne Gang 

Founding Principal and Partner, Studio Gang Architects
Black and white headshot for Jeanne Gang
Jeanne Gang, a 2011 MacArthur Fellow and member of the 2011 class of the Council's Emerging Leaders Program, is the principal architect of Studio Gang Architects, a Chicago-based firm that has been recognized internationally for its innovation in design. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology and has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.