"There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.
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- Donna Thompson
CEO, Access Community Health Network
TCN Board Chair 2015-2016
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JULIE SMOLYANSKY TAKES THE STAGE
Chicago women's advocate and Lifeway Foods CEO
Julie Smolyansky joined
Lady Gaga and other survivors of rape and violence who took the stage during an emotional song performed by Lady Gaga at the Oscars. Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens to You" is the original song for "The Hunting Ground," a documentary about campus rape. Julie wa
s an executive producer of the film. "It's about showing broad support" for an issue that hits across gender, race and socio-economic lines," Julie Smolyansky said.
To see coverage in
Fortune,
click here!
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| Julie Smolyansky, front center, onstage with Lady Gaga |
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AURORA TO BE ACQUIRED BY 50 SOUTH CAPITAL
Aurora Investment Management (Roxanne Martino) announced on Thursday that it has reached an agreement to sell its investment management business to 50 South Capital Advisors, LLC, an investment advisory subsidiary of Northern Trust Corporation (Susan Levy, Jana Schreuder, and Joyce St. Clair) specializing in providing hedge fund and private equity solutions. The transaction will result in a combined firm that will offer clients of both firms access to an expanded global alternative investment platform with the size and resources to deliver comprehensive hedge fund, private equity and real asset solutions. The sale of Aurora's investment advisory business to 50 South Capital is subject to customary closing conditions and is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2016.
"We share similar values and closely-aligned investment philosophies with 50 South Capital and are thrilled to be joining forces," said Roxanne Martino, CEO of Aurora. "We believe this combination will create highly complementary investment capabilities, offering a wider range of options to our clients and a strong platform for growth."
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MCDONALD'S TAKING HAPPY MEALS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
McDonald's Corporation (
Gloria Santona) is experimenting with a new Happy Meal box that transforms into a pair of virtual reality goggles. This new gadget is currently only featured in Sweden. A person only has to unfold and refold the Happy Meal box, poke out some holes, and insert a cell phone. They will then be able to watch a virtual reality skiing game. "It's our mission to ensure that the World's most famous box will continue to be magical and relevant to families for another 30 years. The Happy Meal simply must move with the times," McDonald's said on its website.
Read more...
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ALLSTATE BRINGING JOBS DOWNTOWN
Allstate (
Kathy Mabe and
Stephanie Neely) is opening an innovation center in the Merchandise Mart that will bring 400 technology jobs downtown. Allstate's 45,000-square-foot space will house workers from the company's quantitative research and analytics and connected-car teams. Moving downtown will give Allstate access to valuable pools of talent.
Read more...
Kathy Mabe
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Stephanie Neely
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AMY FRANCETIC JOINS INVENERGY
Amy Francetic is now the senior vice president of new ventures and corporate affairs at Invenergy. The company owns and operates power generation and energy storage facilities. Amy took the position in February 2016 after stepping down as CEO of the Clean Energy Trust, a company she co-founded with Michael Polsky and Nick Pritzker. "This is the third company that I've helped start, and sometimes you just know that you hand it over to somebody who can take it to the next level," Amy Francetic shared with
Blue Sky Innovations.
Read more...
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CARRIE NAHABEDIAN HONORED FOR CULINARY EXCELLENCY
Carrie Nahabedian received the Jean Banchet Award for Culinary Excellence in January. This is the inaugural honor that rewards the chef who has made an impact in the Culinary community and inspires others. She worked for Chef Banchet at Le Francais.
Carrie is also a semi-finalist for Outstanding Chef America by the James Beard Foundation. She received the Best Chef Great Lakes in 2008 and Brindille received the Best Restaurant Design award in 2015 by her cousin, architect and designer Tom Nahabedian.
NAHA and Carrie Nahabedian represented Chicago and the Chicago Bears for the Taste of the NFL "Party with a Purpose" in San Francisco for the Super Bowl. All monies raised go to the Greater Chicago Food Depository (
Kate Maher) and their efforts to Kick Hunger across America.
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ANN DRAKE JOINS OTHER TOP LEADERS ON AVIATION CONFERENCE PANEL
DSC CEO and AWESOME (Achieving Women's Excellence in Supply Chain, Operations, Management and Education) founder
Ann Drake will be part of a leadership panel at the 27th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference, March 10-12, in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Nancy Nix, DSC Advisory Board member and Executive Director of the AWESOME women's leadership network, will facilitate the discussion.
In this session Powered by AWESOME, Ann and executives from United Airlines, United Ground Express and The Hertz Corporation will present "Leadership Lessons from the Top," illustrating how successful women leaders can serve as role models for others.
With a program of keynote speakers, educational sessions, seminars and workshops, and networking opportunities, the conference aims to provide participants with the tactics and strategies necessary for successful aviation careers. More than 4500 women and men from all segments of the aviation industry are expected to attend.
Read more...
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TERRI MASCHERIN HONORED WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Terri Mascherin, partner at Jenner & Block LLP, is one of four Chicago women who will be honored this spring by the Anti-Defamation League with the ADL's Women of Achievement Award. Several Network members are among the previous honorees. The Awards will be given at the 23rd Annual Women of Achievement Awards Dinner on
April 7th at the Hyatt Regency. To get involved or purchase tickets for the event, contact the ADL: 312-533-3939.
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JOYCE WINNECKE DEPARTS TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY
On Wednesday,
Joyce Winnecke exited as president of Tribune Content Agency, where she served as president since 2014. She was named to the post after six years as associate editor of the Chicago Tribune. "I am grateful to the many wonderful colleagues who conspired to make me look good, for many years in the newsroom and more recently at Tribune Content Agency," Joyce Winnecke said in a statement. To read Robert Feder's coverage of Joyce's significant contributions while at the Tribune,
click here...
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JENNIFER SCANLON AT THE 2016 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY FORUM
Jennifer Scanlon, Senior Vice President, USG Corporation, President of L&W Supply Corporation and President, International, USG Corporation, will serve on a panel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's 2016 International Women's Day Forum on March 7, 2016 in in ECOSOC, United Nations. Jennifer's panel discussion will focus on STEM Trends.
2016 International Women's Day Forum entitled, "The Business of Inclusion: Global Prosperity Through Women and Girls Empowerment" takes place March 7-8, 2016.
To view the agenda for Jennifer's panel,
click here!
To view the full forum agenda,
click here!
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HAPPY LEAP DAY FROM LEAP INNOVATIONS
From
Phyllis Lockett, CEO, LEAP Innovations
Here at LEAP Innovations, we see this as a perfect opportunity to reflect on the ways we are helping innovators, educators and learners #LeapIntoLearning. We know the power of bridging the gap between education and innovation, and we could not do it without your support. With that in mind, we've picked today to officially release the results from our first cohort of the
Pilot Network.
For students in grades 3-8, participation in the LEAP Innovations Pilot Network resulted in a gain of 1.07 additional test-score points above what our control group achieved on NWEA, a national assessment taken by students in all Chicago Public Schools. This is equivalent to closing the achievement gap on NWEA for low-income students by approximately 45 percent, almost closing the gap completely for Black students, and more than closing the gap for Hispanic students.
For those who made the early leap with us, we think you'll agree that this shows we are on a promising track. You can read the complete Pilot Network report
here.
And we aren't stopping there. This "LEAP Year" brings with it a number of exciting initiatives that are already underway. 2016 stands to be an exciting year in education innovation. Thank you again for all of your support in making these initiatives happen. Together, we can make sure each and every student has the opportunity to #LeapIntoLearning...and reach their potential.
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CAROL LAVIN BERNICK FAMILY FOUNDATION PLEDGES $5 MILLION TO TULANE UNIVERSITY
The foundation behind Tulane University's Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life has pledged $5 million to support faculty, school officials announced Friday.
The Carol Lavin Bernick Family Foundation will gift the money over the next five years, Tulane officials said. Funding will be used for research, recruitment, development, continuing education and student engagement. Individual full-time faculty members will get grants for up to $15,000. "The Carol Lavin Bernick Family Foundation showed its dedication to Tulane students by building the Lavin-Bernick Center. Now, through the Carol Lavin Bernick Faculty Investment Fund, it will support another treasured university asset - our world-class faculty," Tulane President Mike Fitts said.
Carol Bernick, founder of the foundation behind the grant and vice chair of the Board of Tulane, said she expected the funds to create "academic synergies" between faculties from different fields.
"This gift is designed not only to have a demonstrable effect on academic innovation at Tulane but to also encourage others to join me in this effort," Carol Bernick said. She is the former executive chairman of Alberto-Culver, makers of Alberto VO5, TRESemme, Nexxus, Motions, St. Ives, Noxema, Simple Skin Care, Mrs. Dash and Static Guard. Carol Bernick currently serves as CEO of Polished Nickel Capital Management, a financial services firm.
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PATRICIA BOBB ON NEGOTIATING
Patricia Bobb, Principal of Patricia C. Bobb & Associates, spoke at the Winter Meeting of the American Justice Association in Boca Raton, Florida, on the Trial Advocacy Track on February 29th. Her topic was, "Best Practices When Negotiating for Your Client."
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As the preeminent organization for Chicago's leading professional women, we are compelled to:
- Connect with each other for professional and personal growth
- Advance our civic, business and philanthropic communities
- Inspire and support the next generation of women leaders
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Janet Foutty, CEO, Deloitte Consulting and member of The Chicago Network since 2009.
As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.
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As you communicate about The Chicago Network in your civic and professional lives, please feel free to use the TCN brochure as a tool to educate others. While this is not meant for new member recruitment purposes, you may find this provides a useful overview of TCN and our activities to colleagues who may not be familiar with your Network. Click here for the PDF...
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