Emerging Leaders Class of 2010

They heard from experts on issues such as the global economy, international diplomacy, energy, and the environment. In addition to meeting regularly as a class, they worked on individual projects with Council experts to examine key global challenges.

This cohort of leaders from around Chicago was chosen by an independent selection committee from a highly competitive pool of applicants.

Learn more about the Emerging Leaders Program.

Class of 2010

Olga Camargo

Senior Vice President
Mesirow Financial

Olga joined Mesirow Financial in 2004 and launched the firm’s Hispanic Outreach program. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, a board member of the Instituto del Progreso Latino, a board member of Chicago United, and was designated by Chicago Latino Network as the Latina Professional of the Year in 2007. She earned her B.S. in marketing and her M.A. in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Piyush Chaudhari

Executive Vice President
Aon Consulting

Piyush joined Aon Consulting in 2006 after having worked at IBM, Motorola, and McKinsey and Company. He has been awarded two U.S. patents in the area of microelectronics. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Zach Egan

Director of International Research & Fund Manager
Columbia Wanger Asset Management, LP

Zach joined Columbia Wanger Asset Management in 1999. He was a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow in Germany in 1998-99 and is a trustee of the Lycée Français de Chicago. He earned his B.A. in philosophy from Middlebury College and his A.M. in political science from the University of Chicago.

Stephen Haggerty

Global Head of Real Estate and Development
Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Stephen joined Hyatt in 2007 after 13 years with Marriott International. He is responsible for global development activity for all of Hyatt's lodging brands, owned real estate, and related asset management activities. Steve has extensive international experience, having held positions in Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. He earned his B.A. from Cornell University.

Joshua Hale

Executive Director
Big Shoulders Fund

Josh became the executive director of Big Shoulders in 2005 which provides scholarships and programmatic support for ninety-three inner-city Catholic schools and more than 25,000 children. Previously, he worked at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, as management consultant with The Hale Group, Ltd., and as a volunteer school teacher with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in the Marshall Islands. He earned his B.A. in communications from Marquette University.

Minoo Javanmardian

Vice President
Booz and Company

Minoo is focused on developing corporate and business strategies and strategy-based-transformation in healthcare industry including payors (heath plans) and providers (e.g. hospitals and clinics) sectors. Born in Iran, she completed undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at the University of Tehran, received an M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Manchester in Britain, a Ph.D. in chemical/biochemical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

S. Raja Krishnamoorthi

President
Sivananthan Laboratories

Raja recently joined Sivananthan Laboratories, a company focused on basic scientific research and development. In 2010, he ran for Illinois State Comptroller, losing by 1% in the 2010 Democratic Primary. Prior to this, he was deputy treasurer for Illinois, making him the highest ranking South Asian to have served in Illinois government. Before that, he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, a special assistant attorney general in the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and a member of the board of the Illinois Housing Development Authority. Raja earned his BSE in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University and his JD from Harvard Law School.

Katherine Maehr

Executive Director
Greater Chicago Food Depository

Kate was selected in 2006, after ten years with the Food Depository, to lead the nation’s premier food bank. She has been recognized by Crain’s "Who’s Who" in 2006 and 2007, Crain’s "40 Under 40" in 2004, and participated in Leadership Greater Chicago in 2005. She earned her B.A. in English and art history from Macalester College and her M.A. in public administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Lisa McClung

Executive Vice President
Lismore International

Prior to joining Lismore International, Lisa had worked at W.M. Wrigley Jr. Company since 2000 and has over fifteen years of global marketing and product development experience. She has lived in Africa and Europe. In Chicago, Lisa is a member of several boards including the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the Women's Board of the Field Museum, and the Ravinia Associates. She earned her B.A. from Smith College and her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She was also a visiting scholar at Harvard College.

Sean Ryan

Partner
A.T. Kearney

Sean has over ten years of consulting experience with U.S. and European clients. He specializes in growth related issues in consumer products and healthcare and leads the North America practice area. He has published articles on Europe, the global economy, and finance. He earned his B.A. in history from Boston College, his M.A. in international relations from The Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), and his MBA from the University of Chicago.

Tracey Scruggs-Yearwood

Vice President of Multimedia
Chicago Urban League

Tracey joined the Chicago Urban League in 2007 after having previously worked with the Illinois Department of Human Services and cable news networks around the country. She produced segments for the Oprah Winfrey Show and was an Ethel Payne Fellow in South Africa in 1998. She has studied in Italy and earned her B.S. in communications from Northwestern University.

J. Jordan Shields

Vice President
Juniper Advisory

Jordan 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 had done exploring the opportunities and risks of privatizing public infrastructure, specifically hospitals. Before Juniper, Jordan worked with Navigant supporting hospitals with strategic planning and transaction services. He studied in Chile and volunteered for the Ecuadorian government for a year. Jordan earned his B.A. from Bowdoin College and his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University where he was named Top Student in Health Industry Management.

Roger Shores

Group President
The Marmon Group

Roger has nearly ten years of experience in global business. He was a member of the board of directors of the Jesse White Tumbling and Scholars Program for four years. He earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

Juliet Sorensen

Assistant Clinical Professor, Northwestern Law School
Senior Lecturer, Kellogg School of Management

Juliet recently joined Northwestern Law School. Prior to this, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2003-2010 focusing on fraud and public corruption, and a litigation associate and a judicial clerk in Boston. She was also a maternal and child health volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in Morocco and volunteered in Colombia as a trial advocacy instructor. She received her B.A. in politics from Princeton University and her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.

Nik Theodore

Associate Professor, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
University of Illinois at Chicago

Nik teaches, writes, lectures, and consults on urban planning and labor markets in the United States and Britain. He was an Atlantic Fellow in Public Policy at Manchester University in England and was recognized by Crain's "40 Under 40" in 2003. He earned his B.A. in urban studies and political science from Macalester College and his M.A. in urban planning and Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Charles Wheelan

Senior Lecturer
Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago

Charlie teaches at University of Chicago and Dartmouth College and is the author of Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science, a monthly columnist on Yahoo! Finance, and a correspondent for WBEZ Radio. Previously, he worked for Chicago Metropolis 2020 and The Economist. He earned his B.A. from Dartmouth College, his M.P.A. from Princeton University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Reza Yassari

Director of Spinal Oncology
Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Reza directs the spinal oncology unit at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. He earned his M.D. from the University of Vienna and his M.S. from the University of Chicago. He was a fellow at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics and previously taught at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, as faculty in the Spine Division. He has published extensively in Neurosciences and has been awarded numerous scholarships and awards in the U.S. and abroad. He works as a volunteer for the Virtue Foundation where his main interest has been the development of sustainable educational and medical infrastructures in developing countries, with special focus on Chiapas, Mexico.