With more than 300 members, the Emerging Leaders community is a dynamic cross-sector network of Chicago’s visionary, globally minded, locally committed leaders.
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.
Matt Meltzer is a co-founder and partner at Meltzer Hellrung, a business immigration law firm. In his capacity as an attorney, he advises corporate clients, ranging from individual entrepreneurs to large multinational corporations, on securing visas for foreign employees. He helps companies devise immigration programs to efficiently and effectively attract and retain foreign talent.
Juan Pablo Moreno is a partner of Mayer Brown’s banking & finance practice and the Latin American & Caribbean group. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Moreno has experience spanning more than 15 years, which includes working in Colombia, France, and the United States. He regularly represents large corporations, sponsors, and financial institutions in cross-border corporate transactions.
Paul Mower is an assistant United States attorney in the violent crimes section of the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, where he prosecutes federal crimes involving gang violence, racketeering, illegal firearms, and narcotics. He is also a major-select in the US Marine Corps Reserve, where he serves as a civil affairs officer and civil-military operations planner.
Lisa Pattis is president of Next Chapter Holdings, where she manages investments for the Pattis family and the Pattis Family Foundation, investing globally in a diversified range of assets. Previously, she was general counsel of Wintrust Financial Corporation and spent 17 years as a partner at Sidley Austin, LLP, specializing in corporate governance, securities law, and strategic counseling.
A former federal prosecutor, Shoba Pillay is a partner at Jenner & Block where she leverages her technical skills and depth of understanding on global issues and risk to provide guidance to clients across a range of sizes and sectors.
Nelson Rosario is the founding partner at Rosario Tech Law, the executive director of the Illinois Blockchain Association, and general counsel at the Decentralized AI Society. Licensed to practice in Illinois and before the US Patent & Trademark Office, he advises clients on commercial agreements, intellectual property, public policy, strategic counseling, and outside general counsel services.
Now with Kirkland & Ellis, Mark Schneider was previously an assistant US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and served as chief of appeals. A federal prosecutor based in Chicago, he also handled a multi-year national security investigation that resulted in the first successful prosecution for a violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act in 27 years.
Michael Scudder Jr. is a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He earned his BBA as co-valedictorian from Saint Joseph's College and his JD magna cum laude from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Before law school, Scudder worked as an auditor for Ernst and Young and is a certified public accountant.
Tejas Shah serves as primary outside counsel to Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, school districts, and universities, advising them on strategies for hiring top international talent, complying with workplace mandates in a high-risk environment, and ensuring educational opportunities for vulnerable populations.
