President and Chief Executive Officer, Digital Latinos

Jaime Viteri, born in Chicago, started his professional career as a Computer Engineer after graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago and practiced software development and product management within a wide range of small to large-cap companies and organizations for nine years before he ventured into the world of entrepreneurship.

In 2000, Jaime launched the first Internet platform with content relevant to Chicago’s acculturated Latinx market. Twenty-one years later, the Chicago Latino Network (CLN) is the largest network of its kind, currently reaching nearly 80,000 Chicagoland Latinx professionals and entrepreneurs. CLN caters to this niche audience of trendsetters via digital & social media platforms and events. His clients include Fortune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations interested in this emerging audience for brand and event marketing, talent acquisition, and DE&I initiatives.

Jaime serves as board member of the American Cancer Society (IL region) and chairs its DE&I committee. He has served as a board member for the Illinois Latino Cultural Center of Chicago, Victory Gardens Theater, and Goodman Theatre. Jaime is also a Past President of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Young Professionals Chapter.

Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago

Dorri McWhorter became the CEO of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago in March 2013. She has embarked upon a journey to transform the 140 year old social service agency to a 21st century social enterprise. Dorri is moving the agency into the digital age and has led the YWCA’s expansion of digital services with the launch of YShop.org (e-commerce platform), womenshealthexchange.org (health insurance and information) and the MPWR, pronounced “empower”, mobile app (community engagement).  Dorri leverages her large-scale change experience from working over 20 years in management consulting to the work that the YWCA does to create social change. Dorri led the process for the YWCA to develop an exchange traded fund (ETF) for women’s empowerment (NYSE: WOMN) in partnership with Impact Shares, which is the first non-profit investment advisor to develop an ETF product. Dorri was included in the inaugural list of “The Blue Network”, comprised of the top 100 innovators in Chicago, by Chicago Tribune’s Blue Sky Innovation and recognized by Good City Chicago receiving its Innovative Leader Award. Dorri is a 2019 Inductee in the Chicago Innovation Hall of Fame.

Dorri prides herself on being a socially-conscious business leader and is committed to creating an inclusive marketplace by leveraging a multi-sector approach across business, civic and community organizations. Most recently, she was a partner at Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the largest accounting firms in the U.S. She has also held senior positions with Snap-on Incorporated and Booz Allen Hamilton. Dorri serves on the Board of Directors for Lifeway Foods, William Blair Funds and Skyway Concession Company (Chicago Skyway). Dorri is also active in the accounting profession having served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the current Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Illinois CPA Society. Dorri serves as Co-Chair of the Advisory Board of the First Women’s Bank (in organization).

Dorri is dedicated to empowering women as a founding member of the Women in Entrepreneurship Institute at DePaul University and Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University. Dorri’s civic and philanthropic leadership includes the board of directors for the Chicago Center for Arts and Technology, 1871 (Technology Business Accelerator), Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Civic Consulting Alliance, and the Civic Federation. She is also a member of the Illinois Charitable Trust Board. Dorri received a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a master of business administration degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Lake Forest College.

Author and Writer

Judith Crown is a freelance journalist specializing in business. Her recent work has focused on issues of equity and the wealth gap as well as fallout from the pandemic, mostly for Crain’s Chicago Business where she was on staff for nearly 15 years. Her work also has been published in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Chicago Magazine and the Chicago Tribune. Crown is co-author of a book on the iconic Schwinn Bicycle Co, “No Hands.”  Before launching her freelance career five years ago, she was an editor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business where she oversaw the alumni magazine. She serves on the board of the League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest.

Senior Human Resources and Diversity Partner, Advanced Group

Victoria has her Masters Degree in Human Resources, Certified Professional in Human Resources, Certified Staffing Professional, and Certified HR Business Partner.  Victoria has 15+ years of experience in the human resources marketplace.  She is skilled in all aspects of employee relations, training & development, payroll, benefit administration, and management.  Victoria is currently working as a Sr. Human Resources and Diversity Business Partner for Advanced Group.  Advanced Group offers contingent and permanent staffing solutions, talent acquisition and management, consulting, outsourcing, and professional services.

In 2018 she started and now leads the company’s Diversity & Inclusion (D & I) Committee which focuses on awareness, training, recruitment process, and public relations.  The D & I Committee won its first award in 2019 from the American Staffing Association – ASA Care Honorable Mention.  Victoria also facilitates Conscious Inclusion, Interview Bias, Building Inclusive Relationships, and many other D & I trainings for her organization.  Victoria and her husband live in Chicagoland and enjoy hosting karaoke parties for fun and relaxation.  Victoria’s Blog  Article in Forbes

Mary Ellen Messner
Acting Commissioner
Chicago Public Library

Dr. James H. Moore
Principal, Economic & Valuation Services
KPMG LLP

JD Hoye
CEO
NAF

J.B. King Jr.
President and CEO
The Education Trust

Derek Neal
The William C. Norby Professor in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics
University of Chicago

Natalie Moore
WBEZ Race, Class, and Communities reporter
Author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation

Jahmal Cole
Founder and CEO
My Block My Hood My City

Acting Commissioner, Chicago Public Library

Mary Ellen Messner has over 25 years’ experience improving outcomes for children, youth, and families in Chicago. She administers one of the largest big-city library systems in the world, with an annual budget of $130 million, 81 branches, three regional hubs and a 750,000-square-foot central library. As CPL’s First Deputy Commissioner since 2018, Messner led the organization in the development of its five-year strategy (2020-2024). She also oversaw program design and delivery, with over 35,000 events offered annually, as well as performance management and strategic partnerships.

Before joining CPL, Mary Ellen served as Deputy Commissioner of Youth Services, leading the City of Chicago’s youth vision around summer employment, violence reduction initiatives and out-of-school time, and supporting over 230 community partners; and as an Assistant Commissioner, coordinating youth workforce initiatives, including the City’s signature summer jobs program employing over 31,000 youth each summer. Messner began her public sector career at the Chicago Park District.

Messner is an advisory board member of Dominican University’s School of Information Sciences and Chicago Children’s Museum and serves as a board member for Chicago Learning Exchange. She is a graduate of the Chicago Arts Leadership Institute and Menttium 100, a leadership and cross-company mentoring program. She earned a master’s in library and information science from Dominican University, a Master of Business Administration from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Marquette University.

Principal, Economic & Valuation Services, KPMG LLP

James H. Moore, Jr., Ph.D. joined KPMG, in April 2018 as a Managing Director. James brings 25 years of public-sector experience in labor economics, having held roles at the federal, state, and local levels. He joins KPMG from IMPAQ International, where, as a Senior Vice President, he managed a multi-million dollar portfolio including projects with federal, state, and local agencies. He directed an interdisciplinary team of highly-experienced researchers, economist, data scientists, and technologists who apply innovative methods to help agencies improve program performance and enforcement activities. Experts under his purview also specialize in an array of education topic areas and methodologies, applying their deep experience to inform policy decisions and program implementations.

Prior to joining IMPAQ, Dr. Moore served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for US Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy. Dr. Moore provided advice to Secretary of Labor, Deputy Secretary, and Departmental agencies on matters of policy development and supports the economic policy, research, and analysis agenda of the Department.

Dr. Moore previously served as the Deputy Director and Chief Economist for the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (DOES).

Dr. Moore has served as a Senior Policy Advisor with OASP. During his tenure with OASP, Dr. Moore advised the Secretary of Labor, Deputy Secretary, and the Assistant Secretary for Policy on a wide range of labor policies.

Dr. Moore also served as Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD). As Deputy Commissioner, .

Dr. Moore has held numerous federal government positions including Senior Economist for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, Office of Policy and Research, U.S. Department of Labor and as a Labor Economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics and with the Social Security Administration.

The William C. Norby Professor in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics and the Committee on Education at the University of Chicago

Professor Nealʼs recent research focuses on the design of incentive and accountability systems for educators. In 2018, he published Information, Incentives, and Education Policy (Harvard University Press). This book employs standard tools from information economics to examine a range of education reform agendas, from assessment-based accountability and centralized school assignments to charter schools and voucher systems. Professor Neal demonstrates where these programs have been successful, where they have failed, and why.

Earlier in his career, his research focused on the causes and consequences of measured skill gaps between blacks and whites in the United States. His current work explores how different aspects of criminal justice policy impact black-white inequality in the US.

He is a past President of the Midwest Economics Association, a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and a former Editor of the Journal of Human Resources, the Journal of Labor Economics and the Journal of Political Economy.

President and CEO, The Education Trust

John B. King Jr. is the president and CEO of The Education Trust, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to identify and close educational opportunity and achievement gaps. King served as U.S. Secretary of Education in the Obama administration. Prior to that role, King carried out the duties of Deputy Secretary, overseeing policies and programs related to P-12 education, English learners, special education, innovation, and agency operations. King joined the department following his post as New York State Education Commissioner. King began his career as a high school social studies teacher and middle school principal.

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CEO, NAF

JD Hoye is the Chief Executive Officer of NAF. With a deep commitment to preparing students for college and meaningful careers, Ms. Hoye has worked at both the grassroots and the highest levels of government for decades, to reform how young people are engaged in learning and how they are positioned to pursue their academic interests and career goals.

In this leadership role, Ms. Hoye provides strategic direction and leads NAF’s national profile work. During the 2019-2020 school year, over 110,000 students attended 620 NAF academies across 34 states, plus DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

NAF academies focus on one of five career themes — finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences — with an educational design that includes industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals, that culminate in a paid internship, to transform the high school experience and engage businesses in playing an active role in developing the talent pipeline.

#BeFutureReady

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Co-Creator, March to the Polls

A recent graduate of Harvard Business School, Chelsea Celistan was inspired to create March to the Polls as a result of seeing the need for non-partisan education to help young professionals become civically engaged. She works with a team of talented volunteers to produce weekly calls to action around participation in the political process, recruiting poll workers and executing a voting plan. Chelsea is also passionate about promoting diversity in business, serving in leadership roles in several organizations and co-founding Black Women in Investing. Chelsea’s day job is as a private equity investor and her time away from work is spent as a certified fitness instructor, avid traveler, and NFL enthusiast.

Director, Goodness Solutions, Benevity

As Director of Goodness solutions at Benevity, Kathryn Pisco helps brands bring their social mission to life with technology to build a positive workplace culture, amplify the impact of corporate giving, and power pro-social brand engagement. For almost a decade, Kathryn has worked at the intersection of purpose and profit. Before her time at Benevity, Kathryn served as Founder and CEO of Unearth the World, a social enterprise that plans transformative international exchange and skills-based volunteer opportunities for professionals and students. In her time away from work, Kathryn is a world traveler, budding foodie, wannabe yogi and mother to three beautiful kiddos: Lucia (4), Olivia (4) and George (1).

CEO and Co-Founder, BallotReady

Alex Niemczewski is CEO and co-founder of BallotReady, an award-winning voter guide to every race and referendum on the ballot. Previously she founded a human-centered design consulting firm and taught coding at the Booth School of Business and The Starter League. She has a background in workforce development and is an alum of the University of Chicago. She was recognized in Crain’s Chicago Business “20 in their 20’s” list, Techweek100, and as a Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellow.