Emerging Leaders Class of 2016

Steve Babitch works with Fortune 500 and other leading organizations to develop new products, services, and experiences. Examples range from helping the Mayo Clinic establish the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation to defining the next-generation digital ecosystem for United Airlines. He is a guest lecturer on design thinking and user-centered design at Northwestern University and CEDIM in Mexico.

Emma Belcher is the president of the Ploughshares Fund, a public grantmaking foundation that supports initiatives to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons. Before this position, she was the director of Nuclear Challenges at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and published research on nuclear weapons at the Council on Foreign Relations as a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow.

Christian W. Fabian is a corporate lawyer who focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He has led M&A transactions involving Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Russia, Mongolia, Germany, Latin America, and China, among others. At Mayer Brown, he is part of a core group of M&A partners responsible for maintaining the excellence of the firm's global M&A practice.

Alicia Farag is the co-founder and president of Locusview, which provides mobile and geospatial technologies to support integrity management, regulatory compliance, and cost reductions for the natural gas industry. Previously, they worked at the Gas Technology Institute, where they were responsible for the development and commercialization of mobile and geospatial technologies.

Ravin Gandhi is the founder of GMM Nonstick Coatings, a global manufacturer of nonstick coatings used in the cookware, bakeware, and electrical appliance industry. GMM supplies nonstick coatings to clients such as Calphalon, George Foreman, Black and Decker, Wilton, Sunbeam, Farberware, Baker's Secret, KitchenAid, Nordic Ware, and Food Network. GMM operates manufacturing facilities in China and India, employs 250 people, and sells products in 15 countries. Gandhi is also the founder and chief investment officer of Glenborn Partners, an investment company that has diversified holdings in private equity, technology start-ups, hedge funds, and real estate.

In his 15 years at the international architectural firm JAHN, Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido has designed and built projects on four continents. He currently shares the design leadership of the firm's work with the internationally acclaimed architect Helmut Jahn. Gonzalez-Pulido is actively involved with numerous organizations worldwide in the fields of architecture, film, art, and design.

Before joining Guggenheim, Adam Hitchcock served as the chief of staff of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. In this role, he managed the staff and operations and was the principal adviser to the Council’s chairman on strategy and policy. He also served as a special assistant in the White House Office of the Chief of Staff, where he provided support to President Obama’s senior advisors.

Harley Jones spent eight years overseeing Red Cross Disaster Programs throughout Central Illinois where he was chosen as one of the "40 Leaders Under 40." Since 2012, Jones has been the COO at the Red Cross of Greater Chicago, leading all of the organization's community programs including Disaster Cycle Services, Services to the Armed Forces, and International programs.

In her position, Abigayil Joseph leverages over a decade of experience as a senior leader at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to advise on strategic, policy, and operational priorities. She serves as a liaison for the Board with the Mayor’s Office and the Chief Executive Officer of CPS, and approaches this role through the lens that equity and access to high-quality educational opportunities are critical for every child, in every school and neighborhood. Joseph has been particularly focused on expanding international programming such as the International Baccalaureate Programme and Critical Language Academies for the city of Chicago, while bringing new innovations such as STEM, Montessori, and audition-based fine and performing arts to the district.

Natasha Krol's work has included facilitating collaboration across distributed higher education systems, supporting the government of Nigeria in reducing poliovirus cases, and designing innovation labs. Recently, Krol supported Chicago and UILabs in their winning bid to launch a $320M public-private "Digital Lab" to support advanced manufacturing technology research, development, and demonstration. In her role at World Business Chicago, she works with stakeholders across sectors to drive Chicago's economic growth.

Moté leads the department at YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago responsible for developing and managing cross-functional learning, evaluation, and innovation. She also serves as interim senior vice president of Mission Advancement. In this role, she oversees all fundraising efforts, including annual campaigns, major gifts, planned giving, sponsorship, capital campaign planning, and stewardship programs. Prior to joining the Y, she held positions at the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago, Teaching Strategies in Bethesda, Maryland, and the McCormick Foundation in Chicago.

As executive director of Heartland Alliance International (HAI) and a vice president of Heartland Alliance, Powley oversees HAI’s work in a dozen countries, which aims to secure the rights and well-being of marginalized people and communities. She's an expert in gender and post-conflict reconstruction, with more than 15 years of experience in non-profit leadership and program development. She's worked extensively on issues of governance and political participation in sub-Saharan Africa. Currenlty, Powley is an adjunct professor at several institutions, including DePaul University in Chicago.

Kathryn Reilly works to connect the worlds of commerce and public policy, shape business-related public policy, and create impactful communication campaigns. With more than 15 years of corporate experience, Reilly has led public affairs efforts at two Fortune 500 manufacturing and services enterprises.

Nicole Robinson has spent her career building a bridge between communities, individuals, and corporations. In her current roles, she leads community programs designed to promote good nutrition, healthy lifestyles, and inspire volunteer service. These award-winning programs span the globe touching five continents, while reaching underserved and under-represented neighborhoods.

Aaron Rudberg is a partner with Baird Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm that invests in the US, Europe, and Asia. He oversees the firm’s relationships with current and prospective investors globally, as well as its business development, communication, sales, and marketing activities. Rudberg is also involved in broader strategic and new product development initiatives

Mark Schneider is an assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, where he now serves as chief of appeals. A federal prosecutor based in Chicago, he's also served as deputy chief of financial crimes and special prosecutions, handled a multi-year national security investigation that resulted in the first successful prosecution for a violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act in 27 years, and served on detail for a year in Baghdad, Iraq. Prior to joining the Justice Department, Schneider clerked for the Honorable Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Dr. Aisha Sethi serves on the steering committee as an assistant director of outreach for the Center for Global Health at the University of Chicago. After attending medical school in Pakistan, she completed her post-doctoral fellowship, internship, and residency in dermatology at Yale University where she also served as chief resident.

Sean Shelby is a vice president at Isobar, a global digital marketing agency, where he partners with clients to create solutions integrating strategy, design, and technology into digital experiences. As a member of the Isobar US management team, he helps lead an agency powered by over 3,000 people in 63 offices, across 37 markets.

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 tenure in the United States Senate. In that capacity, Stark worked on a wide range of issues associated with Hagel’s activities as a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Banking, and Intelligence committees.

At AJC, Amy Stoken manages AJC’s largest regional office including overseeing advocacy efforts with diplomats and faith-based leaders visiting or stationed in Chicago. She is also responsible for all Chicago-based programming and for the coordination of lay leader participation and activism. Previously, she worked as an aide in the Supreme Court of the United States while in law school. After graduating with honors and as managing editor of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Stoken clerked for a federal district court judge in Southern California and then litigated for two large international law firms.

Robert Taylor leads initiatives and advises senior Exelon leadership on broad energy issues including electricity generation, efficiency, finance, markets, transmission, regulatory affairs, strategy, and policy development. Prior to joining Exelon, he was an energy policy and programs manager with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and also has a background in radiation health physics.

With a unique multicultural upbringing and an extensive entrepreneurial background, John Trainor was named publisher and general manager of the Chicago Tribune's Hoy newspaper to oversee the publication's editorial, circulation, operations, sales, marketing, and financial functions. Trainor has led the organization through a complete transformation, not only by converting Hoy into the leading, most awarded and most profitable Spanish-language daily newspaper in the United States, but also by effectively converting the Hoy brand into a multiplatform Hispanic content and entertainment enterprise.