More than 50 resident and nonresident fellows offer research, analysis, and commentary on US foreign policy and public opinion, global food security, and global cities.
Ross Shelleman is the CEO of Aisle Rocket, after previously serving as president and CEO of Target Data, a venture-backed "Big Data" and analytics company focused on the life event of moving. Before founding Target Data, Shelleman held various senior business development positions across a multitude of industries, including technology, healthcare, and managed services.
J. Jordan Shields joined Juniper Advisory, a specialized investment banking firm that provides government-owned, non-profit, and faith-based hospitals strategic transaction support, in 2011, in part due to the work his class of Emerging Leaders did exploring the opportunities and risks of privatizing public infrastructure, specifically hospitals.
Roger Shores founded Life 4.0, a consulting endeavor focused on his passion for spreading his proven business philosophies across various well-established start-up and non-profit organizations. He's a leader in Chicago civic and charitable affairs, including as an active member and past board chairman for the Chicago Youth Centers organization.
Ted Souder is a former Google insider, former vice chair of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and current board director at 1871, one of the top-rated technology incubators in the world. Today, Souder speaks at events worldwide on the topic of digital transformation and its positive impact on business, community, and life.
Working at the intersection of business, government, and public interests, Jordan Stark counsels clients on communications, coalition building, and crisis management. He formerly served as communications director for Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during his time in the US Senate. Stark worked on a wide range of issues associated with Hagel’s activities as a senior member of various committees.
Based in Chicago, Julie Steffen-Layda leads the Midwest hub for the international desk for JLL. In this role, she is responsible for expanding the growth of the company's international business across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Before her move to Chicago, Steffen-Layda was part of the Palo Alto hub of the international desk.
Linhard Stepf, a 10-plus-year veteran in foreign direct investments and economic development marketing, is currently the vice president of VISTRA. Previously, he was president of FrankfurtRhineMain Corp., where his responsibilities included promoting the Frankfurt region (Germany) in North America and Brazil to recruit and attract companies for relocation or expansion.
Previously, while at the American Jewish Committee, Amy Stoken managed their largest regional office, which included overseeing advocacy efforts with diplomats and faith-based leaders visiting or stationed in Chicago. She was also responsible for all Chicago-based programming and for the coordination of lay leader participation and activism.
Before joining Invenergy, Robert Taylor led initiatives and advised senior Exelon leadership on broad energy issues, including electricity generation, efficiency, finance, markets, transmission, regulatory affairs, strategy, and policy development. Previously, he was an energy policy and programs manager with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and also has a background in radiation health physics.
During his consulting career, Yves Thill has had the opportunity to work with numerous leading companies across various industries on a range of issues. More recently, he has been focused on supply management in the consumer goods and retail industry, particularly in the food and beverage sector. Before joining A.T. Kearney, Thill worked in international banking in Europe.
