Board of Directors

ChiArts is grateful to the following people who serve on the Board of Directors of Chicago High School for the Arts, a 501(c)3 corporation committed to supporting this high school and providing it with leadership and encouragement.

James L. Alexander

An attorney specializing in estate planning, charitable trust, and not-for-profit law, James L. Alexander is the owner of the Chicago law firm Alexander & Alexander. Along with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Bank of America, N.A., Mr. Alexander is a Co-trustee of The Elizabeth Morse and Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trusts. Mr. Alexander currently serves on the boards of The Field Museum and Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he also is a Vice-President, and on the Steering Committee for the Burnham Plan Centennial. Previously, Mr. Alexander has served on the boards of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Donors Forum of Chicago, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, and the Chicago Children’s Choir.

Armando M. Almendarez

Armando M. Almendarez is an independent educational consultant specializing in strategic planning in the areas of policy and curriculum. His most recent projects have been with the School District of Philadelphia, the Recovery School District of New Orleans, and the East Baton Rouge School District. Previously he was an educator with the Chicago Public Schools for 32 years. At the time of his retirement, he was serving as the Deputy Chief Education Officer for Curriculum Development. Mr. Almendarez is a graduate of Loyola University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. He also has a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Roosevelt University. He is currently a Member of the Board of the National Museum of Mexican Art  and serves as the Education Chair for the Mexico City, Sister City Committee.

Carlos M. Azcoitla

Formerly the Deputy Chief Education Officer of the Chicago Public Schools, Dr. Azcoitia has also been both a teacher and an administrator with the Chicago Public Schools. He is the Founding Principal of a new “Comprehensive Community School” concept in Chicago’s Little Village Neighborhood. He served as principal of John Spry/Community Links High School, a PreK through Secondary program, which has a 100% graduation rate and the goal of 100% post- secondary enrollment. Currently, Dr. Azcoitia is an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership at National-Louis University and a School Achievement Coach with New Leaders for New Schools.

Joo Youn Boe

Joo Boe is currently with Credit Suisse Private Banking USA having come to Credit Suisse from the Private Wealth Management Group at Goldman Sachs. She joined Goldman in 2000 after receiving her MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Joo also earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Piano Performance at the Indiana University School of Music where she studied with Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio. Prior to business school, Joo was a recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and performed as an Artist in Residence with the Emile Beaux Jeux piano trio. Joo currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Protective Association and is a former board member of the Minnesota Orchestra and the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. She lives in Winnetka with her husband, Stephen, and their two children.

Carole L. Brown

Carole Brown recently joined Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., LLC as a Senior Managing Director, heading the firm’s Chicago office.  She has primary responsibility for managing the firm’s Midwest municipal practice and will head several national accounts.  Prior to joining Siebert Brandford Shank, Carole briefly worked at Mesirow Financial as Senior Managing Director and Head of Public Finance.  Carole joined Mesirow after a 10-year career as Managing Director at Lehman Brothers.  She has served since 2003 on the Chicago Transit Board as its Chairman.  Ms. Brown was on the board of the Lawndale Community Academy, a private school in North Lawndale, which then became the L.E.A.R.N. Charter School.   She currently serves on several boards, including Chicago Children’s Museum, The Chicago Network, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and The Auto Club Group (an affiliate of AAA).  She is also a member of The Economic Club of Chicago and serves on the President’s Board for Uhlich Children’s Advantage Network.  Ms. Brown is a 2002 Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago and was named that organization’s 2007 Distinguished Fellow.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a Master’s of Management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Marge Collens

Marge Collens served for three years as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the nationally and internationally acclaimed contemporary dance company. She continues to serve on the Facilities Committee and is leading a space utilization study. Ms. Collens has served on the Boards of Directors of the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Children’s Home and Aid Society of Illinois, the Chicago Foundation for Women, and WBEZ Chicago Public Radio.

Amina J. Dickerson

Amina J. Dickerson, recently retired from Kraft Foods where she led Kraft’s global community involvement initiatives, has spent over three decades in the field of nonprofit institutional development, arts, education and cultural programming with an emphasis on museums and public/private collaboration. Previous to joining Kraft, Ms. Dickerson held senior appointments for the Chicago Historical Society, the DuSable Museum of African American History, the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum of Philadelphia, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art, and numerous boards, panels and consultancies. Currently a board member of the Harris Center for Music and Dance at Millennium Park, she has co-chaired the Peer Network for International Giving of the Donor’s Forum of Chicago, and served as vice chair of the International Committee of the Council of Foundations.

Helen Eaton

Helen Eaton is the President/Executive Director of Chicago Children’s Choir which is currently the largest comprehensive choral music education program in the country serving 2,800 children, ages 8-18 through choirs in 47 schools, after-school programs in eight Chicago neighborhoods, and the internationally acclaimed Concert Choir. Prior to joining the Choir in November 2007, Eaton was the Dean of Programs for the Merit School of Music where she also taught viola, violin, music theory and history. As Dean, she was responsible for overseeing all of Merit’s programs including on-site serving 1,500 students at its downtown location and off-site serving over 6,000 students. Ms. Eaton is on the Board of Directors for Leadership Illinois, an organization dedicated to education relating to the advancement of women.  She has also been a presenter at national conferences on youth and faculty development in the arts.  Eaton received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she studied viola with William Lincer, and received her Master of Arts in Music History and Theory from the University of Chicago.

Sondra Berman Epstein

Sondra Berman Epstein has decades of experience in marketing and public relations. She is the former President of Sondra Berman Public Relations, a mid-sized public relations firm, as well as the co-founder and partner of Group One Associates, a public relations firm serving social service agencies and a variety of clients in the entertainment and hospitality industries. For three years, Ms. Epstein was an elementary school teacher in Mount Prospect, Illinois. She is a board member at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, a member of the Executive Board of the Auditorium Theatre, former trustee of Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a former member of the Advisory Board for the City of Chicago Cultural Arts Department, board member of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, Advisory Board member of the Chicago Foundation for Women, member of the Acquisitions Committee of the Photography Department of the Art Institute of Chicago, and former Commissioner of the Illinois Arts Council.

James Gandre

James Gandre is Provost and Executive Vice President of Roosevelt University. In his previous appointment as Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) at Roosevelt University, he oversaw a faculty of more than 100 and a student body of 575 students. Dr. Gandre also concurrently served as Interim Dean of the College of Education. From 1985 to 2000, he worked at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, where he was most recently Dean of Enrollment and Alumni. As a performer, Dr. Gandre has appeared as a soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, at New York’s Pepsico Summerfare with the London Classical Players, with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and with members of the San Francisco Symphony. His choral engagements include performances with the New York Philaharmonic as well as numerous national and international orchestras, symphonies and opera companies and more than 20 commercial recordings and television appearances. He has served on the board of the Grant Park Music Festival as well as the Board of Visitors of the Walnut Hill School (Massachusetts) and the Board of Advisors for Chicago’s Music in the Loft.

Sandra Guthman

Sandra Guthman has been Chair of Board of Directors of the Polk Bros. Foundation since 1988 and its fulltime CEO since 1993. The Polk Bros. Foundation is a private foundation with assets of approximately $375 million making grants of more than $20 million per year for direct services that impact innercity children, youth and families in Chicago. Prior to 1993, Mrs. Guthman spent 28 years with IBM Corp. in various marketing capacities, including branch manager and Director of Marketing for the Midwest. She serves on the boards of the Northern Institutional Funds and Northern Funds, Rush University Medical Center, as Chair Emerita of the board of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, former Chairman of the board of Window to the World Communications WTTW/Channel 11 and WFMT98.7, chairs the Advisory Board of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University as well as the Wellesley College Davis Art Museum Advisory Council. She was formerly a member of the Founders Committee for Millennium Park, Chicago, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Civic Consulting Alliance and is currently a member of the Business Leadership Council of Wellesley College, The Chicago Network, the Commercial Club of Chicago and The Economic Club of Chicago.

Francia Harrington

Francia Harrington is senior vice president and leads the JPMorgan Chase Community Relations group in Illinois, where she manages relationships with the numerous organizations supported by Chase throughout the state, many of which are engaged in community development, education, and arts and culture. Francia has extensive experience throughout the various businesses within the bank and works closely with Chase’s Bill Daley, who is a member of LISC’s national board of directors.

 

David G. Herro

David Herro is a Portfolio Manager of The Oakmark International Fund and The Oakmark International Small Cap Fund. He also serves as Chief Investment Officer of International Equities. David has been managing international portfolios since 1986, previously managing an international portfolio for The State of Wisconsin Investment Board. He also served as a Portfolio Manager for international equity portfolios with The Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa. David, who joined Harris Associates in 1992, holds a B.S. in Business and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (1983) and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1985). He is a CFA charterholder. David currently sits on the boards of The Chicago Dancing Co. NFP, Chicago 2016, and The Field Museum. He is also on the board of Chidren’s Children’s Memorial Hospital and on the finance committee of Human Rights Watch.

Betsy Holden

Betsy Holden began serving as a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company in 2007. Prior to that, Ms. Holden was with Kraft Foods, Inc. from 1982 to 2005 holding a variety of positions including Co-CEO of Kraft Foods, Inc., CEO of Kraft Foods North America, and President of Global Marketing and Category Development. In addition to her Master of Management degree from Northwestern’s J. L. Kellogg School of Management, Betsy received a B.A. in Education from Duke University and an M.A. in Teaching from Northwestern University. She taught for four years in public schools with a focus on integrating arts into the curriculum. Ms. Holden serves on the boards of the Tribune Company, Western Union, Media Bank, Duke University’s Trinity College Board of Visitors, and the Kellogg School of Management Dean’s Advisory Board. Betsy also is President of the Board of Off the Street Club, serves as a Senior Fellow to the Kellogg Innovation Network and is a trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry.

Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz icon, composer, and pianist. His early gospel playing and classical training along with his love of jazz and other musical forms led him to a career that now spans over 50 years as a world-renowned professional musician. He has recorded over 80 albums and has received five gold records and three Grammy Awards. In addition to recording and performing, Lewis. His weekly syndicated radio program “Legends of Jazz” is heard in 60 U.S. cities and overseas. Lewis is artistic director of Jazz at Ravinia and helped organize Ravinia’s Jazz Mentor Program. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Merit School of Music.

James Mabie

Jim Mabie joined William Blair & Company as a Partner in 1983 after 13 years as a Managing Director with A.G. Becker & Company. Mr. Mabie is a Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee of Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He serves in the same capacity at Lyric Opera of Chicago. He is active on the boards of WBEZ Public Radio (past Chairman), WTTW Public Television, Public Radio Capital, Thresholds (past Chairman), Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (past President), the Old Town School of Folk Music (past Chairman), The Cara Program, and the Ravinia Festival. Jim has also served on the Board of the Northfield Public Schools and as a Trustee of the Village of Northfield. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.

Kay Mabie

Kay Mabie has been director of Glenbrook Meals at Home since 1987. She is also a community volunteer with several organizations including the Music Institute of Chicago (trustee since 1993 and former Chair of Board of Trustees), the Women’s Association of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Goodman Theatre Women’s Board. Ms. Mabie is also a former Public Library Trustee, former Girl Scout Leader (nine years), and former district PTA President. She managed the Northfield Public Schools’ lunch programs from 1975-1981. From 1965 to 1970, Ms. Mabie was director of two summer day camps for elementary school students from the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago (one held in Wilmette for four years and one held in Northfield for three years). These camps were run in cooperation with Urban Gateways.

Carlos M. Martinez

Carlos Martínez is a Principal and Firmwide Design Director for Gensler, a global architecture, design, planning and consulting firm.  With over 25 years of diverse experience in architecture, design, and business strategy consulting, he is acknowledged as one of the industry’s innovative and influential designers. In addition to serving as an Adjunct Professor of Design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Carlos is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors for DIFFA Chicago.  He serves on the Board of Trustees at the Harrington College of Design, the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and the Board of Directors of the Marwen Foundation.

Terry Mazany

Terry Mazany is President and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust. Prior to that position, Mr. Mazany served as director and senior program officer for the organization’s Education Initiative. In this capacity he led the design and implementation of the Trust’s $50 million, five-year commitment to supporting literacy, teacher and principal quality, and school improvement in Chicago. Mr. Mazany also had a distinguished career in public school administration prior to joining the Trust, during which he led improvement efforts in school districts in Michigan and California. His work in public education was an extension of his experience in a national project for public-sector performance improvement that was the precursor to what became known as re-inventing government. Mr. Mazany enjoyed his first career as an archaeologist and dendrochronologist at the University of Arizona where he also earned master’s degrees in Anthropology and Business administration.

Susan Mckeever

Susan McKeever is an attorney and is Principal of the law firm Susan L. McKeever Attorney at Law. She most recently (April 2009) was appointed as Principal of the accounting and management consulting firm of Washington, Pittman & McKeever, LLC, where she is responsible for new business development and strategic tax planning. Prior to founding the firm, she served as an Associate at Sidley & Austin. Ms. McKeever is treasurer and a director of WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. She also serves on the boards of Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago and St. Ignatius College Prep and is a Director of The Civic Federation. Originally trained as a dancer, Ms. McKeever is a strong advocate of the arts. She began her career as a professional dancer in 1986 touring with the Urban Bush Women and went on to dance with Laurie Carlos, David Rousseve/Reality, and Amy Pivar Dances. She concluded her dance career with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co in 1992 in New York City. A graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, where she received her J.D., and Amherst College, where she majored in Political Science and French, Ms. McKeever also earned a Certificate de Specialisation at the Universite de Dakar in Senegal, West Africa, as a specialist in African literature and civilizations.

Ralph W. Rydholm

Ralph W. Rydholm, who has enjoyed a 40-year career in advertising, has held such positions as Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Chairman and CEO of Euro RSCG Tatham Partners, EVP, Director and Chief Creative Officer of Ted Bates Advertising, and Executive Creative Director of J. Walter Thompson, Chicago. He is currently Principal of R2 Consulting. Mr. Rydholm serves on the boards of the Chicago Public Education Fund, Executive Service Corps, ProAdPac in New York, the Academy for Urban School Leadership, and served as a director of the Economic Club of Chicago and the Museum of Broadcast Communications. His wife, Jo, is a former Chicago Public School teacher, and one of his daughters is an Assistant Principal at a private school in Chicago.

Charles Slamar, Jr.

Charles Slamar, Jr. is a former Senior Vice President and Central Region Director for the Philanthropic Management Group of Bank of America, a group servicing philanthropic individuals, family foundations, and public charities across the country. Mr. Slamar is a former trustee of The Field Museum and board member of a number of family foundations. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on Planned Giving and past president of the Chicago Council on Planned Giving and the Exempt Organization Subcommittee of the Chicago Bar Association Federal Taxation Committee. He has written and spoken on various tax and charitable giving topics for bar, professional, and tax-exempt organizations both nationally and locally.

Steve Solomon

Steve Solomon is the President of the Exelon Foundation and the Director of Corporate Relations for Exelon Corporation. He has also managed the company’s corporate communications, advertising and audio-visual services departments. He currently serves as a board member of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Chicago Children’s Museum, and Pope John Paul II Catholic Elementary School, as well as on the advisory committee for the Rowe-Clark Math and Science Academy, the Chicago History Museum’s Making History Awards Committee, and the Museum of Science and Industry Energy Planet Advisory Committee. He has previously held board positions with the Energy Education Council, Chicago Public Schools – Student Science Fair, and Utility Communicators International.

Pamela B. Strobel

Pamela Strobel is the retired executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Exelon and retired president of Exelon’s Business Services Company. Currently, Strobel serves on the boards of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, ITW, Inc., and Domtar Corporation, and is on the boards of trustees for the Ravinia Festival Association, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and The Joffrey Ballet. She chairs the boards of the Civic Consulting Alliance and the Ravinia Festival Association. She is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Economic Club of Chicago, and the Chicago Network. Her honors include The 2003 Association of Professional Fundraisers Award for Executive Leadership; The 2003 Myra Bradwell Award for Excellence in the Profession from the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois; The 2002 Luminary Award from the Girl Scouts of Chicago; The Diversity 2000 Award from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association; The 1997 Founder’s Award from the Chicago Bar Association’s Alliance for Women; and the 1997 Women of Achievement Award from the Anti-Defamation League.