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 JB Pritzker
OfficerPresident
TitleGovernor of the State of Illinois
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Chancellor
Frank Clark
Office HolderRegent
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
OfficerChancellor
Office HolderRegent
Home City and StateTaylorville, IL
Brief BiographyMediation and arbitration practice since 2016. Clerked for United States District Court before serving as a member of a Taylorville law firm with emphasis in litigation in state and federal courts. Circuit Court Judge 1993-2015. Graduate of University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University Law. Member of Taylorville Chamber of Commerce.
Secretary
Ethel Holladay
OfficerSecretary
Home City and StateDuQuoin IL
Brief BiographyLifelong resident and community leader in southern Illinois. Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Education Association.
Treasurer
Todd Shapiro
OfficerVice Chancellor
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePresident and CEO
Home City and StateLa Grange Park, IL
Brief BiographyIllinois CPA Foundation, and CPAs for the Public Interest, and an ex-officio board member of the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois. 2021 Accounting Today’s “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” list. 20 years of financial and managerial experience for Unilever as well as Continental Bank, Helene Curtis, Quaker Oats, and Zenith Electronics. Bachelor’s degree in finance from University of Illinois, MBA from DePaul University.
Executive Director
Leanne Barnhart
OfficerExecutive Director
Brief BiographyThirty-year career in higher education advancement. Officer and board member of several community nonprofits.
Regents for Life of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
The Honorable Bruce Rauner
Office HolderRegent for Life
TitleThe 42nd Governor of Illinois
Home City and StateChicago, IL
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.
TitleCo-Executive Director
Home City and StateOak Park, IL
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
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’
Stephanie Pace Marshall, PhD
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.
Courtney C. Shea
Office HolderMember Emeritus
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.
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 R. 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
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.
Caralynn Nowinski Collens, M.D.
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleCEO, Dimension Inx
Home City and StateChicago, IL
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.
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
Graham Grady
OfficerTreasurer
TitlePartner, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyFocus on city of Chicago and Cook County, helps clients obtain government entitlements and solve problems with local governments. Also serves as legal counsel to one of the five annuity and benefit funds of the City of Chicago, advising in a broad range of areas including compliance with the Illinois Pension Code and investment management agreements.
J'Tia Hart, PhD
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleProgram Lead, Security Sciences Division
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.
Roger D. Herrin, MD
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.
Larry R. Jones, MD
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Home City and StateHarrisburg, IL
Brief BiographyRetired family physician and medical educator. Founder of Primary Care Group and the Bridge Free Medical Clinic in Harrisburg. 2002 Distinguished Alumnus award , SIU School of Medicine. 2012 Family Physician of the Year, State of Illinois. Mentor of the Year, 2012 and 2015, SIU School of Medicine.
Julie A. Kellner
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleTrustee
Home City and StateSpringfield, IL
Brief BiographyA Trustee of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. She was the Executive Director from 2002 through 2021. She is 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.
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.
Shirley R. Madigan
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleChairman, Illinois Arts Council
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyChairman of Illinois Arts Council Agency; Life Trustee at Loyola University of Chicago; Advisory Board Member at After School Matters, Inc; Trustee at Erikson Institute.
Jessica Malkin
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleExecutive Vice President, Cresset Capital
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Brief BiographyJessica Malkin is the Executive Vice President of Cresset Capital. She is the founder of Chicago Ideas, overseeing the creation of the annual program and the development of the organization’s long-term strategy.
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.
Lucy Moog
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Brief BiographyChicago, 43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman (2016-). Born in Chicago’s North Side. After college, she had a staff job in Washington, D.C., working for Congressman Alcee Hastings. She later returned to Chicago, where she resides with her husband.
Harold Oakley
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleChairman
Brief BiographyChairman of Schmiedeskamp Robertson Neu & Mitchell LLP. He focuses his practice on corporate and other business law (including transactional health care law), mergers and acquisitions. Hal also assists the firm’s education law practice group. Hal is extensively involved in the community, particularly in organizations committed to the social, educational, and cultural betterment of society.
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.
Darryl Rodgers
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleExecutive Director, Finanacial Advisor & Assistant Market Head
Home City and StateOak Park, 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.
Linda Schielke, Ed.D.
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitleNext Generation Leadership Task Force
Home City and StateBatavia, IL
Brief BiographyA recognized educator and educational leader in Illinois for over three decades. Linda gives presentations and provides leadership to several not-for-profit organizations focused on the preservation of historic figures and their achievements. Linda currently serves as Batavia’s First Lady. (Her husband, Jeff Schielke, has held the role of Batavia Mayor for almost 40 years.)
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.
Scott C. Sullivan
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
TitlePartner, Williams McCarthy LLP
Home City and StateRockford, IL
Dana Withers
Office HolderGeneral Trustee
Brief BiographyPresident of Withers Broadcasting. Founder and President of Dana Communications. Trustee for the National Association of Broadcasters Political Action Committee.
Rectors of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
The Rectors nominate potential Laureates from their respective fields of endeavor.
Arts & The Performing Arts
Agriculture
Business, Industry & Communication
Michelle Collins
RectorRector of Business Industry and Communication
TitlePresident, Cambium LLC
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Education
Larry H. Dietz, PhD
RectorRector of Education
TitleProfessor Emeritus, Illinois State University
Home City and StateBloomington, Illinois
Government & Law
The Honorable Anne M. Burke
RectorRector of Government and Law
TitleIllinois Supreme Court Justice, 1st Dist.
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Labor
Jorge Ramirez
RectorRector of Labor
TitleManaging Director & Labor Strategies, GCM Grosvenor
Home City and StateChicago, IL
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
Ricardo Estrada
RectorRector of Social Services
TitlePresident & CEO, Metropolitan Family Services
Home City and StateChicago, IL
Sports
Members Emeritus of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois
Dr. Peter C. Alexander
Office HolderMember Emeritus
TitleSIU School of Law
Home City and StateCarbondale, IL
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.
James G. Gidwitz
Office HolderMember Emeritus
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
Robert J. Lenz
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.
Bruce Wirtz MacArthur
Office HolderMember Emeritus
TitleVice President/Director, Wirtz Realty
Home City and StateChicago, IL
The Honorable Richard Mills
Office HolderRegent
TitleUnited States District Judge, U.S. District Court
Home City and StateSpringfield, IL
Brief BiographyU.S. District Judge for the Central District of Illinois; B.A. Illinois College; J.D. Mercer University, served on editorial board of the Mercer Law Review; LL.M. from University of Virginia.
James O'Connor
Office HolderMember Emeritus
RectorEmeritus Rector for Life
TitleChairman & CEO Unicom Corporation & Commonwealth Edison, retired
Home City and StateChicago, IL
William E. Shaw
Office HolderMember Emeritus
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.
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 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.