With more than 300 members, the Emerging Leaders community is a dynamic cross-sector network of Chicago’s visionary, globally minded, locally committed leaders.
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.
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.
S. Mayumi "Umi" Grigsby is the chief of policy for the City of Chicago. She's also the chair and a commissioner on the Cook County Human Rights Commission and serves on the board of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. Previously, she was chief of staff at the Chicago Foundation for Women and the chief of policy and advocacy for the Office of the City Clerk of Chicago, under City Clerk Anna Valencia.
Alaina Hampton is a Democratic political consultant and strategist with more than a decade of experience working in political and advocacy campaigns. Hampton’s career focuses on government reform in Cook County–supporting reform-minded and ethical leaders. Her job responsibilities include building and leading campaign strategies and oversight of operations.
At the Cook County Assessor's Office, Kelwin Harris leads public participation and stakeholder outreach for nearly two million property owners. Previously, he was a senior outreach planner with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) where he led outreach for Chicago's official regional plan, ON TO 2050, and helped communities find more equitable solutions to improve quality of life.
Prior to his role at eRacing Association, Kevin Johnson was the senior manager of mergers and acquisitions and led federal market business development for Acciona Energy North America Corporation. Before joining Acciona, Johnson served as a captain in the United States Army and deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the 1st Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery Regiment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
Esther Joy King began her legal career as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago and later had the opportunity to serve the State of Illinois in the office of entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology. Her entrepreneurial spirit also led her to start a marketing firm after obtaining her law degree, GRP21, where she learned firsthand about creating jobs and opportunities.
In her current role, Tina Kotrych leverages broad networks on both sides of the border to help Midwest-based firms navigate all aspects of setting up and expanding operations in Canada. In addition to her foreign direct investment (FDI) expertise, Kotrych also has a keen sense for policy analysis built over a decade of advocacy efforts promoting Canada's trade priorities.
Raja Krishnamoorthi represents the 8th District of Illinois, which includes Chicago’s west and northwest suburbs. He is the Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party and is also a member of the Emerging Leaders Class of 2010.
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.
