With more than 300 members, the Emerging Leaders community is a dynamic cross-sector network of Chicago’s visionary, globally minded, locally committed leaders.
Mike Lombardo is principal, managing broker, and attorney for Blue Star Properties, which owns over one million square feet of office, entertainment, retail, and industrial properties in Chicago. Notable projects include The National, a historic 600,000-square-foot property in the Loop, the recently transformed Salt Shed, Thalia Hall, as well as multiple office properties and restaurants.
Emilia Lopez is the former vice president in the strategy group at CapitalOne, based in the McLean office. She worked to support CapitalOne's lines of business in critical strategic efforts. Before joining CapitalOne, Lopez was a principal with The Boston Consulting Group in Chicago.
Flavia Lorenzon, the Council's 2026 Hart Fellow, works to support countries and territories in strengthening social protection systems and building equitable, people-centered emergency preparedness and response. With over a decade of experience, she has worked with UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
John Lucas has two decades of experience in higher education and student mobility. He has served as provost of the School for International Training and associate vice president of IES Abroad. He also spent 12 years working in Spain, directing international programs for IES, CIEE, and the Institute for Social and International Studies at Portland State University.
Before joining Brooks, Chris Lyons was a vice president and general manager at Prince Castle, a foodservice equipment business within the Marmon Retail Technologies Company. In this role, he led a business focused on developing proprietary technologies for some of the largest global brands in the restaurant industry with an emphasis on automation and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.
Kate Maehr has led the Greater Chicago Food Depository in its mission to provide food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community since 2006. In this role, she has guided a number of strategic initiatives and accomplishments to distribute nutritious food across Cook County while addressing the root causes of hunger.
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.
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.
Jeff McCarter is a media producer, director, cameraman, and editor who founded Free Spirit Media, a media education, production, and workforce development nonprofit organization.
At the University of Chicago, Eileen McCarthy, now retired, facilitated and oversaw global initiatives, including the development and management of university centers in China and India. Before this role, she served as the director of strategic initiatives and planning in the office of the president and directed the Center for Policy Practice at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies.
