Audrey Peiper

Audrey Peiper is a nonprofit professional with nearly 20 years of experience serving and raising resources for arts, culture, social impact, and education organizations in the Chicago area. She is currently director of legacy & impact giving at Chicago Public Library Foundation, which is dedicated to building a stronger and more equitable Chicago by fueling our city’s outstanding public library system. Prior to her role at the Library Foundation, Audrey helmed fundraising initiatives at the Chicago Humanities Festival, where she also contributed to its audience development and strategic planning. Before that, she enjoyed tenures at Chicago Zoological Society / Brookfield Zoo and the Art Institute of Chicago, where she began her development career. In addition, Audrey has served on the board of Slow Food Chicago and is currently serving as a board director for Beyond Legal Aid as well as the Chicago Dance History Project. Audrey also serves on the grantmaking committee of the Chicago Community Trust’s Asian Giving Circle, which aims to build power and deepen impact in diverse Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the Chicago area, and is a mentor to emerging leaders in Chicago Women in Philanthropy’s Women’s Leadership Mentoring Program.

Glenda Ward

Glenda Ward is Director of Talent and Organizational Development at the Kresge Foundation. She leads developing, implementing and managing talent management initiatives aligned with the Foundation’s objectives.

Previously, she served as Talent and Training Manager at Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan, where she implemented key talent initiatives. Glenda has also held several leadership positions with Hewlett Packard and Hewlett Packard Enterprise in various human resources and talent management roles, including supporting talent acquisition, leadership and employee development, career development and organizational effectiveness.

Glenda earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Detroit Mercy, an MBA from Wayne State University, and a PhD in Education Learning Design and Technology from Wayne State University.

Irakere Picon

Irakere Picon is the Director of Legal Services for Illinois Business Immigration Coalition and the IBIC lead on Defenders for All campaign. Prior to joining IBIC, Irakere worked with the National Immigrant Justice Center’s Legal Protection Fund providing free legal services to low-income immigrant clients, the Community Activism and Law Alliance, and the Chicago Law and Education Foundation.

Irakere earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from the NIU College of Law. He was undocumented for 28 years and is licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Josh Taylor

Josh is a litigator and former legal technology expert. He began his legal career in New Haven, Connecticut, at Wiggin and Dana LLP and returned to private practice there in 2019. Between his litigation stints, he spent several years in Chicago at legal technology company Smokeball, which is proud to provide legal software to Beyond Legal Aid. A trained singer, Josh also sits on the Board of Chicago Fringe Opera Company. Through Beyond and Fringe, Josh is pleased to help facilitate both access to justice and access to the arts, his two main passions. Josh is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where his legal education involved research focused on judicial decision-making. He has taught legal writing at The John Marshall Law School as a member of the Writing Resource Center. Josh also holds a B.A. and B.M. from UConn in Storrs, Connecticut, making him a Huskies basketball fan for life.

LêMinh Hoàng

LêMinh Hoàng is the MacArthur Foundation’s Director of Learning and Development. In this role, she’s responsible for creating a Learning and Development strategy to help build employee skills to accomplish the Foundation’s strategic objectives. 

Prior to joining MacArthur, LêMinh was Vice President of Human Resources at ABN AMRO’s office in Chicago.  She held leadership roles in various corporate and entrepreneurial environments from Fortune 500 to startup companies in technology, financial services, engineering and consulting, including IMC Financial Markets, Sargent & Lundy, Atlantic Trust Asset Management, and Morton International. 

LêMinh has a B.S. in Business Management and an M.S. from Northwestern University.

Linh-Trang Williams

Linh-Trang Williams serves as the Executive Director of Initiatives and Projects at Malcolm X College. In this capacity, she oversees a wide array of projects and initiatives, including capital improvement projects, property acquisition and funding, development and fundraising, grant development and administration, legislative action plans, and community and business partnerships.

Previously, Linh-Trang was the Director of Events and Programming at Harold Washington College. During her tenure, she led the Harold Washington Centennial Project, which resulted in a remarkable 8-foot-tall, 40-foot-long mural commemorating Mayor Harold Washington’s legacy. Her efforts successfully engaged students, staff, faculty, and community stakeholders.

Linh-Trang holds a BA in Business Administration and an MBA with a concentration in Leadership from Olivet Nazarene University and is a member of the Chicago Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.

Liza Jager

Liza Jager is a partner in the Chicago office of RHR International. She delivers transformation and innovation and is an expert in leadership development and in learning and organizational change. Liza is a dynamic, trusted advisor who counsels CEOs, senior leaders, teams, and organizations navigating through change and complexity. She partners closely with her clients to design innovative solutions, bridge gaps, and maximize strategy and impact. She brings expertise in team effectiveness, organizational culture and innovation, global leadership, and transformational change. Her work focuses on accelerating learning and performance and driving behavioral change through assessment, advising, coaching, and facilitation.

Much of Liza’s work focuses on assessing and coaching CEOs, senior leaders, and teams to achieve growth, agility, and effectiveness. She is multilingual and contributes a diversity of global perspectives to augment business value and impact. She also facilitates team effectiveness sessions and works closely with board members to drive strategic alignment. She has experience across several industries including healthcare, technology, energy, financial services, manufacturing, and real estate. She has worked with multinationals, startups, nonprofits, and public organizations.

Before joining RHR, Liza led her own coaching and consulting practice where she provided executive coaching and advising to a variety of companies ranging from startups to large corporations. She is an experienced human capital practitioner and prior to owning her own practice she worked as an internal coach and consultant within a variety of organizations. She has also served as a guest instructor in the Executive Learning and Organization Certificate Program at Northwestern University. Liza received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Federal University of Ouro Preto in Ouro Preto, Brazil, and her master’s degree in learning and organizational change and a master level organizational leadership and coaching certificate from Northwestern University.

Liza is a member of the Association for Talent Development, the Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching, Human Capital Institute, and International Coach Federation. Liza is the co-founder and president of Vision Parents Empowered of Chicagoland (VPEC), a nonprofit organization focused on providing parent support and opportunities to children who are blind or visually impaired. She is also a board member at International Capoeira Angola Foundation of Chicago (ICAF), a nonprofit organization focused on promoting and preserving the art and culture of Capoeira Angola in Chicago and throughout the world.

Patricia Santoyo-Marin

Patricia is an experienced Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Access practitioner with demonstrated success in government, education, and non-profit sectors throughout urban and rural communities across the Midwest. Mrs. Santoyo-Marin currently serves as the Deputy Director for Diversity & Inclusion at the Illinois Central Management Services where she leads efforts for over 50 agencies under the Governor's portfolio.

Prior to becoming senior public service administrator,  Patricia served as a Director for Diversity at multiple institutions of higher education. Mrs. Santoyo-Marin leads with strong strategic, academic and transparency models which she has presented at Harvard University and included in her collaborative efforts with The White House of the United States.

Patricia holds a self-created undergraduate degree in Latina/o Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a graduate degree in Higher Education Leadership for a Global Society from Northeastern Illinois University and fellowships from University of Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology.

Patricia Santoyo-Marin has been most recently recognized as;  Phenomenal Woman Award by the City of Kankakee (2021),  The Government Award by the Illinois Association of Hispanic State Employees (2023), and the Alumni Legacy Award by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2024).  

Patricia Santoyo-Marin is a daughter of Mexican immigrants and a native of Back of the Yards and West Lawn neighborhoods of Chicago's southwest side. She currently resides in Kankakee with her husband and extended family.

Raymundo Valdez

Programs Coordination Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Immigrant Affairs. Raymundo is an experienced community organizer who helped found and develop Centro de Trabajadores Unidos—a worker center focused on immigrant workers on the south side of Chicago, one CALA’s community partners. He was a program developer and community organizer at CTU from 2007 to 2016, when he joined the Archdiocese of Chicago, where he creates programs for immigrants.

Ruchie Chadha

Ruchie is the President of Smokeball, a leading global, practice management software operating in the US, Australia, and the UK. In her role, she leads the North American division, setting the strategic direction, managing operations, and driving business growth.  

Prior to joining Smokeball, Ruchie was a Family Law lawyer serving the Chicagoland area. She has first-hand experience identifying inefficiencies and areas of opportunity within the case management lifecycle. Combining her background and the power of technology, Ruchie now focuses on delivering innovative solutions to lawyers so they can better serve their clients and build healthier businesses.

Tex Pasley

Clayton “Tex” Pasley is an attorney with the Quinlan Law Firm, a litigation boutique in Chicago. He is an experienced litigator and served as a law clerk to the late Hon. Pamela Reeves, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. In addition, he is a self-taught coder and a member of Chi Hack Night, a group of citizens who use technology, data, and design to support the public good.

Tex received his B.A. from St. John’s College (Maryland) and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he received the Claire Corcoran Award for Extraordinary Commitment to Public Service and the Class of 2017 Pro Bono Award. He lives in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood with his family and enjoys exploring the city on his bike.