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.
Lisa G. Thomas has extensive experience in venture capital and private equity investing, governance, and operations in emerging markets. She is the founder and managing director of Samata Capital, a fund management company dedicated to making private sector investments in small and growing businesses in sub-Saharan Africa that advance opportunities for women and promote gender diversity.
Before joining the Zeno Group, Courtney Thompson served as Boeing's government operations leader for the Great Lakes region, which included Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In this capacity, she led the company's community outreach efforts for the business, government, and international communities as well as Boeing's Chicago Global Corporate Citizenship team.
As a partner at A.T. Kearney and former executive vice president of crisis, issues, and risk at Edelman, Jennifer Thompson develops strategy and mitigation solutions for corporate crisis and risk avoidance. Working with multinational clients to respond to situations and also proactively develop reputation management plans, she engaged Edelman's team to help guide the practice internationally.
Noah J. Toly is currently the Provost at Calvin University. Previously, he was a professor of urban studies and politics and international relations at Wheaton College. He has previous experience as a senior fellow at the University of Chicago's Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion and as a lecturer at the Free University of Berlin’s Center for Global Politics.
With a unique multicultural upbringing and an extensive entrepreneurial background, John Trainor was previously a publisher and general manager of the Chicago Tribune's Hoy newspaper. In this role, he oversaw the publication's editorial, circulation, operations, sales, marketing, and financial functions.
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.
Shalini Unnikrishnan is a core member of Boston Consulting Group's healthcare and social impact practices. In healthcare, she advises clients in the biopharma, medtech, and payer space on a broad range of strategic issues. In social impact, Unnikrishnan serves as BCG Chicago's office node and works across public education, global health, and economic development teams globally.
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.
In his current role, Eric Weinheimer offers tailored consulting and advisory services to the boards of directors and senior leaders of nonprofit clients. His expertise spans strategic planning, board governance, revenue diversification, and social enterprise. He also has significant experience working with high-net-worth individuals to identify and achieve their philanthropic goals.
Maggie Westdale is the business chief financial officer for Aon, where she is responsible for managing the financial results across functions, regions, and solution lines. Previously, she served as chief financial officer for Aon’s reinsurance and retirement solutions. She also held roles at CNA Insurance and Price Waterhouse.
