With more than 300 members, the Emerging Leaders community is a dynamic cross-sector network of Chicago’s visionary, globally minded, locally committed leaders.
William Burns was elected alderman of Chicago's 4th Ward in 2011. He previously served as an Illinois Representative and vice president of Conlon Public Strategies. Before that, he worked for the Office of the Senate President, the Chicago Urban League, and the Metropolitan Planning Council.
As a scientist, clean energy entrepreneur, CEO, and now a member of Congress representing Chicago's western suburbs, Congressman Sean Casten has dedicated his life to combating climate change. In Congress, Casten leverages his private sector experience to develop market-based solutions that reduce emissions, create jobs, and spur economic growth.
Prior to his time at Equator Capital Partners, Paul Christensen was a faculty member of the finance department at Northwestern University and the president and COO of ShoreCap Management, an international private equity company based in London. He also led Shorebank Enterprise Group, an economic development organization in Cleveland, and worked for McKinsey & Company in Pittsburgh.
Before becoming a conference minister, Lillian Daniel was the senior minister of the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Glen Ellyn. She has taught preaching at three seminaries, is a trustee of the Chicago Theological Seminary, and board president of Arise (formerly Chicago Interfaith Committee for Worker Issues).
Tony Davis serves as the president and managing partner of Linden Capital Partners and has more than fifteen years of principal investing and consulting experience. He is a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), president of Americans United in Support of Democracy, and a member and former President of CityPAC.
As former president of Heartland Alliance, Evelyn Diaz—a member of the Council's Emerging Leader Program class of 2011—was responsible for directing domestic and global strategy for Heartland Alliance's five nonprofit corporate entities. Previously, she was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lead the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services.
Before joining Beacon Building Products, Prithvi Gandhi worked at Dover Corp., where he was responsible for corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic investments. Before that, he worked at Zebra Technologies and Morgan Stanley.
Jeanne Gang, a 2011 MacArthur Fellow and member of the 2011 class of the Council's Emerging Leaders Program, is the principal architect of Studio Gang Architects, a Chicago-based firm that has been recognized internationally for its innovation in design. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology and has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
Previous to joining EMPLOYERS, Barbara Higgins was the senior vice president of customer experience and retention at Allstate Insurance Company. Before that, she was vice president of customer experience at United Airlines, where she led the global customer experience function and managed contact center operations in nine countries.
Tom Levinson has spent much of his professional life working with families and family-owned businesses. In addition to owning a registered investment advisory firm, Levinson is a writer whose work on religion, values, and American life has been featured in national magazines, major newspapers, and on TV and radio.
