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.
Gillian Darlow is the CEO of the Polk Bros. Foundation, which focuses its grantmaking on reducing the impact of poverty and expanding access to quality education, the arts, preventive health care, and essential human services for Chicago-area residents. She previously worked at the Civic Consulting Alliance, where she led numerous economic growth initiatives for the city, among other initiatives.
Tony Davis serves as the president and managing partner of Linden Capital Partners and has more than fifteen years of principal investing and consulting experience. He is a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), president of Americans United in Support of Democracy, and a member and former President of CityPAC.
John P. DeBlasio is chairman of DT Global and DT Institute, founder of the Global Peace and Development (GPD) Charitable Trust, and managing director of Bootstrap Capital. He also founded Sallyport Global Holdings to support reconstruction efforts in Iraq, later expanding its operations across the Middle East and Africa.
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.
As former president of Heartland Alliance, Evelyn Diaz—a member of the Council's Emerging Leader Program class of 2011—was responsible for directing domestic and global strategy for Heartland Alliance's five nonprofit corporate entities. Previously, she was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lead the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services.
Brian T. Edwards is currently the dean of Tulane University's School of Liberal Arts, the largest of the university's nine schools, encompassing 35 departments and programs in the social sciences, humanities, fine and performing arts. Previously, he was the director of the Middle East and North African studies program at Northwestern University.
Previously, Zach Egan was president, CIO, and fund manager at Columbia Wanger Asset Management, a globally recognized leader in small and mid-cap equities with peak assets under management exceeding $40 billion.
Before working at KittyHawk, Lincoln S. Ellis led Green Square's strategy and business development practices and headed the firm's Chicago branch, Green Square's first office outside of Memphis. He created Columbia University's Columbia International Affairs Online (ciaonet.org), one of the first and most comprehensive databases for theory and research in economics and international affairs.
Christian W. Fabian is a corporate lawyer who focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He has led M&A transactions involving Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Russia, Mongolia, Germany, Latin America, and China, among others. He formerly worked at Mayer Brown as part of a core group of M&A partners responsible for maintaining the excellence of the firm's global M&A practice.
Joshua (J.P.) Fairbank is a co-founder of Nymirum and has sat at the intersection of entrepreneurship and investments for two decades. He's an adjunct assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he also received his MBA.
