With more than 300 members, the Emerging Leaders community is a dynamic cross-sector network of Chicago’s visionary, globally minded, locally committed leaders.
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.
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.
In his previous role at engineering consulting firm Sargent & Lundy, Jon Horek advised clients and delivered projects in the electric utility, gas utility, heavy industry, institutional, and commercial building sectors. He broadly focuses his work on three trends transforming global energy infrastructure—efficiency, decarbonization, and resiliency.
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.
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.
In her last role at Accenture, Allison Myers focused internally on Accenture’s efforts to grow and evolve its North American business. Previously, Myers was in a client-facing role within Accenture Strategy, focusing on energy, mobility, and built environment sectors, helping clients develop new strategies to solve challenges and opportunities related to new and emerging business models or technologies.
Chris Myers is a Chicago-based businessman, military officer, community servant, investor, and political activist. He's a partner in Ernst & Young’s merger and acquisition (M&A) consulting practice, where he specializes in international M&A transactions. He is also an officer in the United States Navy Reserves, where he currently supports Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25.
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.
Before joining Illinois' Department of Human Rights, Jason Rosensweig was assistant director for advocacy and international affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a global Jewish advocacy organization. He handled AJC's political advocacy, visiting dignitaries like ambassadors, and working with elected officials, community partners, and consuls general of the Chicago Diplomatic Corps.
Kendra Stead has extensive experience in every phase of litigation and typically represents companies and professional services firms in commercial disputes, securities litigation, and professional liability actions. She counsels corporate clients regarding their contractual rights and obligations and regularly pursues and defends large-scale contract disputes.
