With more than 300 members, the Emerging Leaders community is a dynamic cross-sector network of Chicago’s visionary, globally minded, locally committed leaders.
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.
Appreccia D. Faulkner is the founder and CEO of Global Strategists Association, an international nonprofit striving to increase global engagement among the African Diaspora. The organization promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in global affairs. She has hosted and curated several events designed to platform emerging and established women and leaders of color on today's issues.
Johannes Favi is a committed community and human rights advocate. As deputy director of the Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants (ICDI), he oversees strategic planning, fundraising, and development efforts. Favi has played a key role in advocacy for immigrant rights, including efforts that led to the Illinois Way Forward Act abolishing immigrant detention centers in Illinois.
Rachel Hermes manages programs of scale at Rotary International. Rotary is a worldwide organization comprised of 1.2 million business and professional leaders that promote local community initiatives with global action. In her role, she leads Rotary’s five-year global grant model evaluation to understand the effectiveness of the estimated $80 million of grants awarded annually.
Tim Jones is an 11-year veteran of organizational leadership, community outreach, and project management, with extensive experience leading nonprofit enterprises. Jones’ tenure at Willow Chicago, a multicultural church in downtown Chicago, consisted of roles in project management, program management, budget process, volunteer/database management, and fundraising.
In her previous position, Abigayil Joseph leveraged over a decade of experience as a senior leader at Chicago Public Schools to advise on strategic, policy, and operational priorities. She served as a liaison for the board with the mayor’s office and the CEO of CPS. She's guided by a deep commitment to equity and access to quality education for all children, in every school and neighborhood.
Jamia Jowers is the executive director of the What's Your Forté Foundation where she designs innovative programming to solve pressing challenges faced by Chicago's South and West side neighborhoods, as well as a security fellow with the Truman National Security Project, a Boren scholar, and president of the Chicago Refugee Coalition.
Sam Kendall is an accomplished strategic relationships officer at Rotary International, where he skillfully cultivates partnerships with institutions such as the German government, the United Nations Environment Programme, and UNICEF. His efforts focus on aligning the interests of various organizations to foster impactful collaborations that support Rotary International's mission and its members.
Amy Maglio is the founder and executive director of Women’s Global Education Project (WGEP), an organization recognized for its innovative women's empowerment approach by the Obama Foundation, IBM, and the UN Girls Education Initiative.
Beth McCostlin partners with philanthropists, their families, and UNICEF colleagues to pursue a better world for every child. Based in Chicago, she leads engagement across the Midwest to connect supporters with global impact. Before UNICEF USA, she worked in development at the Joffrey Ballet and served as a US Army Reserve Public Affairs Officer, including a deployment to Baghdad, Iraq.
