Officers of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
The officers of the Academy serve four-year terms. They are: the principal executive officer, known as the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Executive Director. The incumbent Governor of Illinois always serves as President of the Academy.
President
The Honorable Jay Robert "J.B." Pritzker
OfficerPresident
TitleGovernor of the State of Illinois
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Chancellor
Frank Clark
OfficerChancellor
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleChairman and CEO ComEd, Retired
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyRetired chairman and CEO of ComEd. Serves on many non-for-profit and corporate boards, co-founder of the Rowe-Clark Math and Science Academy in Chicago’s West Side.
Vice Chancellor
The Honorable Ronald Dean Spears
OfficerVice Chancellor
Office HolderRegent
Home City and StateTaylorville, IL
Brief BiographyMember of Taylorville Chamber of Commerce
Secretary
Ethel Holladay
OfficerSecretary
Home City and StateDuQuoin IL
Brief BiographyLife long resident and community leader in southern Illinois. Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Education Association.
Treasurer
Courtney C. Shea
OfficerTreasurer
Office HolderRegent
TitleCivic Leader
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyHolds degrees with high honors from Notre Dame, Loyola, and University of Chicago. An extensive career working in state and private banking and finance to foster creative financing solutions.
Chancellor Emeritus
The Honorable John B. Simon
OfficerChancellor Emeritus
Office HolderRegent
TitleJustice, Appellate Court, First District
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyPast president of Chicago Bar Association; Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee and the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission; B.S. University of Wisconsin and J.D. DePaul University, served on the Law Review.
Executive Director
Julie A. Kellner
OfficerExecutive Director
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleExecutive Director, The Lincoln Academy of Illinois
Home City and StateSpringfield, IL
Brief BiographyA Trustee and the Executive Director of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Involved in several community efforts including the University of Illinois at Springfield and the United Way of Central Illinois. Graduate of University of Illinois at Springfield.
Regents for Life of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
The Honorable George H. Ryan
Office HolderRegent for Life
TitleThe 39th Governor of Illinois
Home City and StateKankakee IL
The Honorable James R. Thompson
Office HolderRegent for Life
TitleThe 37th Governor of Illinois
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Regents of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
Regents of The Lincoln Academy elect the officers of the Academy, who serve four-year terms. The Regents set Academy policies to be implemented by the Chancellor.
Margaret "Meg" A. Cline, CFA, CFP
Office HolderRegent
TitleVice President for Gift Planning & Trust Services
Home City and StateChampaign, IL
Brief BiographyAssociate Dean of Advancement, College of ACES Advancement Team”; former Director of Principal Gifts and Gift Planning Advisor with University of Illinois Foundation; B.S. College Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) & MBA from UIUC.
The Reverend Stanley L. Davis, Jr.
Office HolderRegent
TitleCo-Executive Director
Brief BiographyCo-Executive Director of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago (CRLMC), Executive Director Emeritus of the Chicago and Northern Illinois Region of the National Conference of Community and Justice, (now Chicago Center for Cultural Connections).
Jane Denes
Office HolderRegent
TitlePartner
Home City and StateSpringfield, IL
Brief BiographyPartner, Posegate & Denes, P.C.| Member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Missouri Bar Association, Sangamon County Bar Association, among others
George J. Dohrmann, MD, PhD
Office HolderRegent
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyDr. Dohrmann is a neurosurgeon on the faculty of the University of Chicago Medical Center, and represents the United States on several committees of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (the neurosurgical equivalent of the United Nations). Among the awards Dr. Dohrmann has received, he is particularly proud of three of them. Chronologically, the first in 2001 is the Bucy Award given annually to one neurosurgeon in the world for “outstanding contributions to neurosurgical education.” In 2012 Dr. Dohrmann received the Career Achievement Award from the Chicago Neurological Society for “exceptional expertise, knowledge, dedication and recognition in the field of neurosurgery and neurological research.” He was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Neuro Spinal Surgeons Association, when the international organization had its meeting in New Delhi, India, in 2017.
Andrea "Andy" Hasten
Office HolderRegent
TitleSenior Vice President
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyStudent Laureate (MacMurray College) in the first year the award was presented in 1974. Mrs. Hasten is Sr VP at Northern Trust Company and manages the Estate Settlement division in Wealth Management.
Robert J. Lenz
Office HolderRegent
Home City and StateEl Paso, IL
Brief BiographyBob Lenz graduated from Freeport High School in 1954, worked his way through college and law school at the University of Illinois and has been actively engaged in the practice of law and community activities in Bloomington-Normal since 1963. In 1965, he was a co-founder of Heartland Head Start in Bloomington-Normal. He is a past president of the Abraham Lincoln Association and the David Davis Mansion Foundation, member of the Advisory Board of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, the Advisory Board of the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg, and founding Chairman, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission of McLean County, among other historical boards and committees. He is past President, McLean County Bar Association. Bob and Peggy live on a horse farm in McLean County, Illinois.
Dennis Lyle
Office HolderRegent
TitlePresident/CEO
Home City and StateCarterville, IL
Brief BiographyPresident and CEO of Illinois Broadcasters Association; B.S. and Masters from Southern Illinois University and was honored by the college in 2011 with its Alumni Achievement Award; currently serves on the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts Dean’s National Industry Council; U.S. Department of Justice 2010 ‘Media Person of the Year’
Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall
Office HolderRegent
CommitmentSustaining Member
TitleFounding President and President Emerita
Home City and StateBurr Ridge, IL
Brief BiographyFounding President and President Emerita of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and including Burr Ridge; Founding president of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology; president of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, International; a director on numerous boards including: the FRY Foundation (Chicago); the IMSA Fund for Advancement of Education; The Society for Science and the Public (D.C.), and Ubiquity University; Earned Ph.D from Loyola University of Chicago. Received the Order of Lincoln and became a Lincoln Laureate in 2005. In 2016, Dr. Marshall was appointed by Governor Bruce Rauner to the Illinois Bicentennial Commission.
Lester H. McKeever, Jr.
Office HolderRegent
TitleManaging Principal
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyChairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; Managing principal of Washington, Pittman & McKeever; licensed CPA in IL, WI, IN and MI and licensed attorney, IL, U.S. District Courts and U.S. Tax Court
Alexandra "Zan" Ransburg
Office HolderRegent
TitleCivic Leader
Home City and StatePeoria, IL
Brief BiographyCommunity leader with extensive volunteer experience. A graduate of Butler University.
William E. Shaw
Office HolderRegent
Home City and StateDixon, IL
Brief BiographyRetired, 5th generation member of Shaw Newspaper family publishing in Dixon. Illinois Journalist of the year in 1997 and former Chairman of the Board, AAA-Chicago Motor Club.
Courtney C. Shea
OfficerTreasurer
Office HolderRegent
TitleCivic Leader
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyHolds degrees with high honors from Notre Dame, Loyola, and University of Chicago. An extensive career working in state and private banking and finance to foster creative financing solutions.
The Honorable John B. Simon
OfficerChancellor Emeritus
Office HolderRegent
TitleJustice, Appellate Court, First District
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyPast president of Chicago Bar Association; Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee and the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission; B.S. University of Wisconsin and J.D. DePaul University, served on the Law Review.
The Honorable Ronald Dean Spears
OfficerVice Chancellor
Office HolderRegent
Home City and StateTaylorville, IL
Brief BiographyMember of Taylorville Chamber of Commerce
Donald R. Tracy
Office HolderRegent
TitlePartner
Home City and StateSpringfield, IL
Brief BiographyActive in the Illinois State Bar Association, past president Sangamon County Bar Association, and past chair Illinois Institute of Business Law
Eric Trimble
Office HolderRegent
TitlePresident, Trimble Funeral and Cremation Centers
Home City and StateMoline, IL
Brief BiographyPresident of 141-yr old, family-owned Trimble Inc. in Moline. The firm operates Trimble Funeral Homes & Crematory, Veterans Funeral Care, Trimble Funeral Planning, a registered insurance agency, CityView Celebrations at Trimble Pointe, a reception and event venue, and WaterMark Corners and Stationers. Has served on the Funeral Directors Licensing Board for the State of Illinois, and is a past president of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association, a 33rd Degree Mason, a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International, and is active in the Quad City community. He is a graduate of both Cornell College and the University of Minnesota.
Dia S. Weil
Office HolderRegent
Home City and StateWinnetka, IL
Brief BiographyRetired CEO of an e-commerce software company. One of the founders of GTE Airfone and Founder and General Manager of two of its joint ventures; she is also a current board member of Eltek ASA, a publicly traded international Power Company based in Norway. Weil served as Chairman of the Board of Notre Dame High School for Girls on Chicago’s northwest side, where she was honored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur with their “Educating for Life Award” and by the City Council of Chicago for her work in education.
General Trustees of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
The General Trustees, whose duties are to nominate and elect the Laureates, are also responsible for electing from their own ranks the working board of directors of the Academy known as the Board of Regents.
Joy Boruff
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePresident / CEO
Home City and StateMoline, IL
Brief BiographyBoruff was among the first group of women to be employed in WOC-TV’s newsroom in 1976. The next year, she became the first female host of a call-in radio public affairs show on WOC-AM. Now she is executive director of the Moline Foundation.
Arthur 'Hy' Bunn
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Ronald Chez
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Brief BiographyPresident and owner, Ronald L. Chez, Inc., a consulting, financial company. Chairman of various boards and foundations including, Epiworks, Chez Family Foundation, and the Center for Wounded Veterans and Higher Education, at the University of Illinois.
Frank Clark
OfficerChancellor
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleChairman and CEO ComEd, Retired
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyRetired chairman and CEO of ComEd. Serves on many non-for-profit and corporate boards, co-founder of the Rowe-Clark Math and Science Academy in Chicago’s West Side.
Maria del Socorro Pesqueira
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Brief BiographyPresident of Healthy Communities Foundation, a grantmaking foundation that serves communities in the western Cook County suburbs and the City of Chicago. Her career has centered on working with and lifting voices in marginalized communities. She serves on numerous boards and commissions including the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board and the Census 2020 Advisory Panel.
Mara Sovey Downing
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleVice President, Brand Management & Corporate Communications and President, John Deere Foundation
Robert A. Easter, PhD
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePresident Emeritus, Dean Emeritus College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Professor Emeritus, Department of Animal Sciences University of Illinois
James G. Gidwitz
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleChairman and CEO, Continental Materials Corp.
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyChairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer of Continental Materials Corporation and serves as a trustee of the Hotchkiss School
Zale Glauberman
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePresident, The Glauberman Circle
Home City and StateSpringfield, IL
Brief BiographyPresident, The Glauberman Circle, legislative office specializing in legislative and public affairs representation.
J'Tia Hart
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyDr. Hart is a nuclear engineer currently serving as the Program Lead in the Security Sciences Division at Argonne National Laboratory where she directs analysis covering international affairs, nuclear energy and safety, energy security and cybersecurity to inform executive cabinet decisions.
The Reverend Dr. Marshall Hatch, Sr.
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleSenior Pastor, New Mount Pilgrim Church
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyPastor New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago; member of the National Baptist Conventions (USA and America), Illinois National Baptist State Convention, American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago, United Power for Action and Justice, and co-convener of L.E.A.D.E.R.S. Network.
Sondra A. Healy
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleCo-Chairman, Turtle Wax Inc.
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyChairman of Turtle Wax, Inc. since 1972. Serves as a Director of After School Matters, Inc.
Dr. Roger D. Herrin
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleSIU Board of Trustees Member
Home City and StateHarrisburg, IL
Brief BiographyCommunity leader, business person, and doctor. Attended University of Illinois College of Medicine and Illinois College of Podiatric Medicine with a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Degree and received the highest and last Dr. L. R. McCain Award for outstanding proficiency in surgical anatomy and surgery; past president of the American College of Foot Surgeons.
Mannie Jackson
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Home City and StateLas Vegas, NV
Brief BiographyBecause of Mannie Jackson’s commitment to the betterment of others, the Mannie Jackson – Basketball’s Human Spirit Award – carries his name. Jackson has served as a positive example and sports role model to his peers, in addition to having tremendous business success. In 2012, the former Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame penned his bestselling autobiography, “Boxcar to Boardrooms.” He continues to donate generously to numerous causes including cancer research; the University of Illinois, South African youth funds; the Basketball Hall of Fame; the Lincoln School Alumni Foundation; and the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities Foundation in his hometown of Edwardsville, Illinois. Mannie Jackson was inducted as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2017. He received the Order of Lincoln and became a Lincoln Laureate in 2010.
Melvin L. Katten
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleCo-Founder / Senior Counsel at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Home City and StateWinnetka, IL
Brief BiographyRetired founding partner of Katten Muchin Roseman, LLP and serves as senior counsel; former chairman of the Anti-Defamation League’s Chicago Regional Board; past president of the Better Government Association.
Sheila Berner Kennedy
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Home City and StateKenilworth, IL
Brief BiographyExecutive Director of Top Box Foods; volunteer attorney for Legal Assistance Foundation; appointed in 2011 by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve on the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar.
Howard A. Learner
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePresident and Executive Director, Environmental Law & Policy Center
Brief BiographyAdjunct Professor at the University of Michigan Law School and Northwestern University School of Law, teaching advanced seminars on energy law and climate change policy, environmental constitutionalism, and sustainable development law.
Dr. Osvaldo Lopez
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyFaculty of the University of Illinois Medical School; Diplomat of the American Board of Ophthalmology; served as member of President Clinton’s Health Care Advisory Committee and served as an advisor of health policy to the Hispanic Caucus of the Congress of the United States; senior founding partner of the Chicago Eye Institute.
Shirley R. Madigan
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleChairman, Illinois Arts Council
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyTrustee at Loyola University of Chicago; Director at After School Matters, Inc; Chairman of Illinois Arts Council.
Lucyna Migala
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleArtistic Director & General Manager, The Lira Ensemble
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyArtistic director, general manager, and narrator of Lira Ensemble; national board member of the Polish Women’s Alliance of America; officer of the Polish Arts Club of Chicago; Co-founder and vice president of the Chicago Chapter of the Kosciusko Foundation; founding member of the Ethnic and Folk Arts Panel of the Illinois Arts Council.
Delmer R. Mitchell
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePartner
Home City and StateQuincy, IL
Brief BiographyA highly respected attorney and community leader in the Quincy area.
Daniel J. Montgomery
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePresident
Home City and StateEvanston, IL
Brief BiographyElected as an American Federation of Teachers, AFT Vice President at the union’s executive council meeting; president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers; serves on the executive board of the Illinois AFL-CIO
Douglas Oberhelman
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Joseph A. Power, Jr.
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePartner, Power Rogers & Smith, PC
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyFounding partner of law firm Power, Rogers & Smith, P.C.; past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and Public Justice; fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; member of the Inner Circle of Advocates.
Sylvia Puente
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleExecutive Director
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyExecutive director of the Latino Policy Forum, the only public policy and advocacy organization in the Chicago metropolitan area working to improve educational outcomes for children, make housing accessible and affordable, promote just immigration reform, and build the influence and leadership of the Latino community. She has been recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics in the US” by Hispanic Business magazine. Puente holds an economics degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Jon Pyatt
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleRep. Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Chief of Staff
Home City and StateWashington, DC
Brief BiographyChief of Staff to Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) in U.S. Congress; former Director of Federal Relations for the University of Illinois system
Darryl Rodgers
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleVice President
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyDarryl Rodgers is a Vice President and Financial Advisor in the Chicago office of Bernstein. He works with high-net-worth families and individuals, charitable groups and small businesses and, together with their other professional advisors and Bernstein’s portfolio and wealth management specialists, helps clients make investment decisions optimized to meet their goals.
Shirley W. Ryan
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleCivic Leader
Home City and StateWinnetka, IL
Brief BiographyPresident and Treasurer of Shirley Ryan, Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation, concentrating in Education, Arts, Roman Catholic concerns and youth services. Served on boards, founded programs, or sponsored developments for numerous organizations and institutions including the Lyric Opera, the Art Institute, Northwestern University, WTTW Public Media, among others.
Marc S. Schulman
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePresident
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyPresident of Eli’s Cheesecake; partners with schools and organizations such as Wilbur Wright College, the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, Vaughn Occupational High School, among others.
Mark Slaby
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Home City and StateClarendon Hills, IL
Brief BiographyMARK SLABY is an Executive and Business Owner. He is affiliated with Juno Payments – Global Ecommerce and Mobile Software Enterprise Payment Solutions. Global software payment solutions for: ecommerce, mobile, and merchant services.
Doug Stewart
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Home City and StateEast Peoria, IL
Brief BiographyDoug and Vicky Stewart have been great supporters of nonprofits throughout central Illinois for more than 35 years.
Dr. Howard Sulkin
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePresident
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyA Laureate of the Academy. Legacy of developing interfaith relations the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago.
Rectors of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
The Rectors nominate potential Laureates from their respective fields of endeavor.
Agriculture
Business, Industry & Communication
James O'Connor
RectorRector of Business Industry and Communication
TitleChairman & CEO Unicom Corporation & Commonwealth Edison, retired
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Education
Dr. Samuel Goldman
RectorRector of Education
TitleProfessor Emeritus & Chancellor Emeritus
Home City and StateCarbondale, IL
Government & Law
Medicine & Science
Helen L. Morrison, MD, MJ, DFAACEP
RectorRector of Medicine and Science
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Religion
The Reverend Monsignor Kenneth Velo
RectorRector of Religion
TitleSenior Executive for Catholic Collaboration, DePaul University
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Social Services
The Reverend Thomas Behrens
RectorRector of Social Services
TitleFounder, The Night Ministry of Chicago
Home City and StateWilmette, IL
Members Emeritus of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
The Honorable Peter B. Bensinger
Office HolderMember Emeritus
TitlePresident & CEO
Home City and StateLake Forest, IL
Brief BiographyFormer Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); president and CEO of Bensinger, DuPont & Associates.
Bruce Wirtz MacArthur
Office HolderMember Emeritus
TitleVice President/Director, Wirtz Realty
Home City and StateChicago, IL
The Honorable Ernest R. "Ernie" Wish
Office HolderMember Emeritus
Home City and StateLake Forest, IL
Brief BiographyNamed a Laureate of the Lincoln Academy in 2004. Retired CPA who was in management of a large CPA firm and large city governments. He is now involved in many civic organizations.