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Civic Leadership Steering the Trust

Executive Committee

The Trust is guided by a diverse, dedicated Executive Committee of our region’s most committed civic leaders. This governing body is responsible for all grant allocations made from Trust funds, for overseeing asset development and for guiding our general operations.

Frank M. Clark, Chairman

Frank M. Clark retired in 2012 as the chairman and chief executive officer of ComEd, where he started in 1966 in the mailroom. Today Clark serves on the boards of the Museum of Science and Industry, Adler Planetarium, Metropolitan Family Services, DePaul University, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, University of Chicago Medical Center, Big Shoulders Fund, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and Illinois Manufacturers Association. He is co-founder of the Rowe-Clark Math and Science Academy and co-chair of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership Board. Clark also serves on the boards of Waste Management, Inc., Aetna Inc. and Harris Financial Corporation.

Appointed in 2006 by the Trustees Committee

María C. Bechily

María C. Bechily created one of the first public relations and marketing agencies to identify and reach Hispanic consumers in Chicago. Previously, she hosted Spanish language television shows on WSNS-TV and Channel 44 (now Univision). Two of her shows received Emmy nominations. Bechily has significant government and public policy experience, having worked for a former U.S. Senator from Illinois. Presently, she is a life trustee of the Goodman Theatre and a board member of the Northwestern Memorial Foundation. She has served by mayoral appointment on the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, the Chicago Tourism Council and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. By presidential appointment, she served on the National Advisory Council on Women's Educational Programs and the White House Advisory Committee on Personnel.

Appointed in 2004 by the Trustees Committee

Leslie Bluhm

Leslie Bluhm is founder and president of Chicago Cares Inc., a nonprofit volunteer service organization. Chicago Cares builds stronger communities in Chicago through volunteerism and is a leader in creating, managing, and leading hands-on service projects that meet Chicago’s critical social, education and environmental needs. Since inception, Chicago Cares has created service projects for over 300,000 individuals and corporate teams. Prior to founding Chicago Cares, Bluhm was a practicing attorney. Bluhm earned her B.A. degree from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. She sits on the board of directors of the Latin School of Chicago.

Appointed in 2013 by the President of Northwestern University

Carole L. Brown

Carole L. Brown is the managing director of Barclays Capital, heading the firm's Midwest municipal practice. Brown serves as the senior investment banker for local municipal clients including the City of Chicago, the States of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana, the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Board of Education. She has held several civic leadership positions, including chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority Board, member of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's transition team and member of Governor Pat Quinn’s Budgeting for Results Commission. Brown currently serves on several boards, including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Rush University Medical Center, Metropolitan Planning Council, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and Chicago High School for the Arts. She is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Executives' Club of Chicago and The National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP).

Appointed in 2013 by the Mayor of the City of Chicago

Martin R. Castro

Martin R. Castro is president of Castro Synergies, LLC, which provides consulting to corporations, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations that wish to collaborate with and have a positive social impact on diverse communities. Castro serves as chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights by appointment of President Barack Obama. He is a trustee of the National Museum of Mexican Art and chair of the Illinois Human Rights Commission. He is active as one of the founders of Nuestro Futuro, the Trust's Latino philanthropy initiative, and is also a co-founder of New Futuro, LLC which helps Latino students get to college.

Appointed in 2011 by the Presiding Judge of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County

John H. Catlin

John H. Catlin is a founding partner of LCM Architects, an architectural and accessibility consulting firm located in Chicago's South Loop. A fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he is one of the nation's leading authorities on accessibility for people with disabilities. Catlin was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the U.S. Access Board, the federal agency which is responsible for developing accessibility guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was the first practicing architect to serve as chair of this Board. Catlin has also served on the board of directors for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Transit Authority.

Appointed in 2007 by the Mayor of the City of Chicago

Shawn M. Donnelley

Shawn M. Donnelley is president of Strategic Giving, a Chicago-based philanthropy consultation firm. She is a Guild Fellow of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, and serves on the boards of United States Artists, Northwestern Memorial Foundation and American Associates of the National Theatre. Donnelley is also a member of the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago's Division of the Humanities and a past chairman and current trustee of the Goodman Theatre. She has been recognized by Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network, Today's Chicago Woman magazine as one of "100 Women Making a Difference in Chicago" and Crain's Chicago Business as one of "Forty under Forty." Donnelley is the former head of political affairs for R.R. Donnelley. She received a B.A. from Loyola University New Orleans and an M.A. from Emerson College. A Florida native, she resides in Chicago and Cambridge, England.

Appointed in 2011 by the Trustees Committee

Michael W. Ferro, Jr.

Michael W. Ferro, Jr. is chairman and CEO of Merrick Ventures, LLC, and Chairman of Merge Healthcare. As the founder of Click Commerce, Ferro was an early pioneer of enabling business to business commerce over the Internet. He is a director on the board of trustees of The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, The Field Museum, The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Northwestern University and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Ferro also serves on the boards of Children's Memorial Hospital and The Northwestern Memorial Foundation. He is vice chairman of the World Health Imaging Alliance, a board member of the Economic Club of Chicago and a member of YPO and The Commercial Club of Chicago.

Appointed in 2008 by the Trustees Committee

Denise B. Gardner

Denise B. Gardner is president of Insights & Opportunities, a marketing and strategic planning firm. She is a co-founder of Namaste Laboratories, the largest minority-owned beauty manufacturer in the United States, and the former vice president of Soft Sheen Products, where Advertising Age named her a Top 100 Marketer. Gardner sits on the board of The Art Institute of Chicago and co-chairs its Leadership Advisory Committee, is vice president of the Chicago Chapter of The Links, Inc. and is a member of the board of visitors of Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. She is a former board member of the Chicago Humanities Festival and chair of its Diversity Committee. In 2011, Gardner was named one of The Chicago Defender Women of Excellence. She holds a BSJ in Advertising and an MBA from Northwestern University.

Appointed in 2008 by the Presiding Judge of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County

King W. Harris

In addition to running his family's investment company, Harris Holdings, Inc., King W. Harris is the non-executive chairman of the board of NYSE AptarGroup, Inc. He is also chairman of the Tree of Life Foundation of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; trustee of the University of Chicago, where he chairs the Harris School of Public Policy Visiting Committee; chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art; member of the Illinois Housing Development Authority's Housing Task Force; and board member of Metropolitan Planning Council, World Sport Chicago and Metropolis Strategies.

Appointed in 2005 by the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Christopher G. Kennedy

Christopher G. Kennedy is chair of the board of trustees for the University of Illinois. He was appointed to the board by Governor Quinn in 2009 and was subsequently elected by his fellow trustees as chair of the board. Kennedy has since been reelected as chair in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He is also the former president of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. which manages The Merchandise Mart in Chicago. He is the treasurer of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and serves on the Boards for the Catholic Theological Union, Interface and Ariel Investments. Kennedy is a member of the advisory committee for the 100,000 Strong Initiative, the Association of Governing Boards Council of Board Chairs and the dean's advisory board at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.

Appointed in 2010 by the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago

Audrey R. Peeples

Audrey R. Peeples is the retired chief executive officer of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Metropolitan Chicago and the past board president of YWCA in the USA. She previously served as the executive director of the Girl Scouts of Chicago and as the trust manager of the Continental Bank. Peeples has been named to the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women in Illinois and serves on the board of directors of the Adler School of Professional Psychology.

Appointed in 2007 by the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Mary B. Richardson-Lowry

Mary B. Richardson-Lowry is a partner at Mayer Brown LLP, representing clients in general commercial transactions. Prior to joining Mayer Brown in 2002, she served as Commissioner for the City of Chicago’s Department of Buildings (1998–2002) managing the revisions of the Chicago Building Code, a staff of 500 regulatory employees and a budget of $36 million. Richardson-Lowry has been recognized by Crain's 100 Most Influential Women and is the recipient of the Abraham Lincoln Center Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2010, as well as the National Diversity Council's Most Powerful and Influential Women in Illinois Award in 2011, and has been appointed to numerous boards and commissions, including serving as the Immediate Past President of the City of Chicago Board of Education.

Appointed in 2013 by the Trustees Committee

Jesse H. Ruiz

Jesse H. Ruiz is a corporate and securities partner at the law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. He also serves as the general counsel of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation. Ruiz is the vice president of the Chicago Board of Education and chairman of the Illinois State Council on Re-enrolling Students Who Dropped out of School. He is a member of the Department of Education's Equity and Excellence Commission, and has previously served on the Chicago Public Schools Desegregation Monitoring Commission and the Illinois Supreme Court Character and Fitness Committee for the First Judicial District. Ruiz is a past president of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and past chairman of the Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois.

Appointed in 2009 by the Executive Committee

Michael Tang

Michael Tang is the vice chairman of Tang Industries and chief executive officer of National Material L.P. He previously practiced law in a private firm in Phoenix, Arizona, and with the Navajo Tribe. Tang is currently a member of the boards of trustees of the University of Chicago Medical Center, the Museum of Science and Industry and The Field Museum, the board of visitors of the College of William and Mary, and the advisory board for RAND’s Center for Asia Pacific Policy (CAPP). He previously has served on the boards of the Endowment Association of the College of William and Mary, the Graduate School of Business of the College of William and Mary and WBEZ Chicago Public Radio.

Appointed in 2009 by the President of The University of Chicago

Linda S. Wolf

Linda S. Wolf retired as chairman and CEO of Leo Burnett Worldwide in April 2005 after a 27-year career with the global advertising agency. As Worldwide CEO Wolf was responsible for the agency's operations spanning 80+ countries and more than 200 units. Prior to assuming the Worldwide CEO role in January 2001, she was CEO of Leo Burnett USA from July 1996 through December 2000. From March 1992 through June 1996 Wolf was an executive vice president responsible for Business Development at Leo Burnett USA. Wolf is a director of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Wrapports LLC and InnerWorkings, Inc. She serves on the board of trustees of Janus Funds. She is also a member of the board of trustees of the Field Museum, Lurie Children's Hospital, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Chicago Convention and Tourism Board.

Appointed in 2013 by the Chair of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago

Trustees Committee

Five financial institutions manage a large portion of the Trust’s assets. The Trustees Committee appoints up to five members of the Executive Committee, approves other appointments to the committee and consults and advises on the development of the Trust.

Marsha Cruzan

Marsha Cruzan is market president for trustee bank U.S. Bank in Chicago. Cruzan comes to U.S. Bank from J.P. Morgan where she had served since 1979, most recently as managing director. Cruzan has worked in the financial services industry for more than 30 years, with experience in a variety of banking roles including capital markets, syndications, wealth management, commercial and investment banking and cash management.

Mark Furlong

Mark Furlong is president and chief executive officer of trustee bank BMO Harris Bank, N.A. Prior to this role he was with Marshall & Ilsley Corporation, holding a broad range of leadership positions, most recently president and chief executive officer. Furlong is a member of the board of directors for Kforce Professional Staffing, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee, the United Performing Arts Fund, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Froedtert Health and Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, of which he is immediate past chair. He is also chair of the Board of Schools that Can, Milwaukee.

Tim Maloney

Tim Maloney is llinois state and Chicago market president of trustee bank Bank of America. He also serves as central division executive for wealth management unit, U.S. Trust. Maloney joined Bank of America in 2001, after holding regional and executive director positions at Morgan Stanley as well as a number of leadership roles with Dean Witter Reynolds.

Glenn Tilton

Glenn Tilton is chairman of the Midwest for JPMorgan Chase and a member of its company-wide Executive Committee. He also serves as non-executive chairman of United Continental Holdings, Inc. Tilton is chairman of the American Cancer Society's national program CEOs Against Cancer, and also serves on the boards of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, Big Shoulders Fund, After School Matters, World Business Chicago Executive Committee, the Commercial Club of Chicago Civic Committee, the Economic Club of Chicago and the Executives' Club of Chicago.

Rick Waddell

Rick Waddell is chairman and chief executive officer of trustee bank The Northern Trust Company. Since joining Northern Trust, he has held leadership positions in commercial banking, strategic planning and personal financial services, becoming head of the corporate and institutional services business unit in 2003. Waddell is chairman of the board of the Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago, and serves on the boards of The Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Executives' Club of Chicago.