Elizabeth has worked in the field of Special Education for the last 12 years – spending half of that time in a traditional school setting and the other half within Transition. She previously taught in Chesterfield and Powhatan. Elizabeth received a B.S. in Psychology from James Madison University and a…
Dr. Kara Tan Bhala is the President and Founder of Seven Pillars Institute for Global Finance and Ethics, USA, the world’s only independent think tank for research, education, and promotion of financial ethics. The Institute’s quest is to put ethics back into the theory and practice of finance. Kara’s latest…
A pioneer of many firsts, Jimmy Mistry never let the discouraging scoffs of competition get in the way of him successfully setting new standards in design, architecture and development. Over the years, he’s managed to have his name across designs for some of India’s giants and forayed into real estate…
Marina is the Founder & CEO of EQUO, a sustainable brand providing 100% plastic-free and compostable solutions for single-use plastics, starting with drinking straws and utensils. Prior to starting her business, Marina worked for over 10 years in brand management and marketing for companies including Unilever, Bacardi, LG Electronics and…
Kevin Ruef co-founded 10-8 Systems after exceeding multiple companies’ sales records (both domestically and internationally). With more than a decade in sales, his experience ranges from B2B, B2G, and B2C. Since the company’s start in 2019, Kevin is responsible for business development, strategic partnerships, and business operations. Where did the…
Alicea Joy Davis is a spoken word poet, author and artist who began writing poetry in her childhood and has been successfully creating work for over 25 years. Her mind shifting creativity inspires inner healing and racial reconciliation. The Detroit native has been named one of nine women making black…
Afam Onyema was born in Chicago, IL in 1979. He graduated from Harvard University (cum laude) and Stanford Law School. While in law school, Afam co-founded the GEANCO Foundation. After graduating from law school in 2007, Afam declined multiple lucrative law firm offers in order to lead GEANCO full-time as…
Wendy Yates is an entrepreneur and philanthropist dedicated to leading by example as she inspires her team and like-minded leaders to create a culture rooted in value. After dropping out of college to prematurely launch into the world of business, she experienced failure on many levels. From those failures she…
Called “crazy or genius” by Forbes, Matthew Manos is an author, educator, and entrepreneur. He is the Founder of verynice, a design strategy practice that gives half of its services away for free to nonprofit organizations. With clients including Apple, the American Heart Association, UNICEF, Disney, and Google, verynice’s work…
A unicorn with a brain. A deep-rooted Chicago connector and rainmaker. A pie-in-the sky, free thinking builder-type who gets sh*t done. Not easily pigeonholed: Jacqueline is a University of Chicago political science PhD/Fulbright professor turned social entrepreneur, who comes to challenges with an intellectual rigor, global perspective, and high-tolerance for…