TCN Quote of the Week
"Great leaders are those who get ordinary people
to do extraordinary things."
 
- Ana Dutra (2015),
President & CEO of the Executives' Club of Chicago

News at the Network
PREMIER WIFL SPONSOR: DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES 
We are delighted to announce that for the third year in a row, Discover Financial Services (Diane Offereins (2006) and Kelly McNamara Corley (2011)) will serve as the Premier Sponsor for the Women in the Forefront Luncheon.
Friday, April 15 
11:15 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Chicago Hilton & Towers
Grand and International Ballrooms
720 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605

 

Featured Speaker: 
Mellody Hobson
President, Ariel Investments
and TCN member since 2000

Premium Sponsor:


Platinum Sponsors:
UnitedHealthcare

Media Sponsor:

Crain's
 
To view the full list of 2016 WIFL sponsors, click here!

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, click here!
TCN Members in the News
Fortune
FORTUNE INTRODUCES "CHANGE THE WORLD" LIST
Fortune recently unveiled its first ever "Change the World" list, which features 51 companies that have made serious progress addressing the world's biggest social and environmental problems as a core part of their corporate strategy. TCN member companies included on the list were Google (#2) ( Margaret Georgiadis (2007)) and Unilever (#28) ( Gina R. Boswell (2009)). Read more...

To see the full Change the World list, visit fortune.com/change-the-world.  
Crain's
DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES RANKS #1 ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
For the first time, Discover Financial Services ( Kelly Corley (2011) and Diane Offereins (2008)) has earned the highest customer-satisfaction rating of any credit card company in J.D. Power & Associates' annual ranking. Last year, Discover and American Express tied for the top spot. However, this year, Discover got 828 points on a 1,000-point scale, the highest rating J.D. Power has recorded for a credit card issuer. Read more...
 Crain's
THE MACARTHUR FOUNDATION DONATES $50 MILLIION TOWARDS CLIMATE CHANGE
The John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ( Julia Stasch (1991)) is moving fast with its plan to focus more on climate change. The Chicago-based foundation announced it will hand out $50 million in grants to organizations working to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and build political coalitions working on climate policy in the United States. Read more...

JULIA STASCH LAYS OUT NEW PLAN FOR MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
Julia Stasch (1991), President of the MacArthur Foundation, laid out her plan for the future of the foundation in an statement titled, "Time for Change." MacArthur will narrow its focus to address global climate change and reform the U.S. criminal justice system.

"We must make hard choices about the ways we allocate our limited resources, how we use our time and talent, and the risk we are willing to take. Change is hard; failing to change is not an option," Julia Stasch writes in the essay that leads its just-released annual report. Read more...
Crain's
MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL SPONSORS THE U.S. OPEN
Mondelez International ( Dana Anderson (2002)) has signed on as a sponsor of the U.S. Open, giving the company rights to promote brands like Oreo cookies and BelVita breakfast biscuits at the biggest American tennis tournament from August 31 through September 13 in New York. The U.S. Open deal marks the first foray into tennis sponsorship for the company and it also will include promotional rights in digital media and advertising. Read more...  
Crain's
NORTHWESTERN TO BUY REHABILITATION INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO BUILDING
Northwestern University (Mary Baglivo (2015), Sally Blount (2011), Andrea Dunaif (2001), Vicky Kalogera (2013), Marilyn McCoy (1985)) is buying the building housing the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (Joanne C. Smith (2000)), which has two years to go before debuting a new facility two blocks away. Read more...
Crain's
MORNINGSTAR BREAKS OUT NEW FUND SCOREBOARD
Research firm Morningstar Inc. ( Catherine Odelbo (2009)) said it plans to score mainstream mutual funds based on the ESG ratings of companies held in fund portfolios and exchange-traded funds on environmental, social and governance factors, reflecting growing attention to the issues among investors. Read more...
Chicago Tribune Logo


ROHINI DEY ON TAPING A REALITY TV SHOW
Rohini Dey (2008), Founder & Owner of the Vermilion Restaurants, discussed her most recent involvement in the reality show, Consumed, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. She spoke about filming, the changes she's making to Chicago's Vermilion and her avid support of women in the culinary arts. Click here for the full interview. 

VERMILLION CHICAGO REVAMPS MENU THIS SPRING  
Rohini Dey and her restaurant Vermilion were featured in an article about the restaurant's plan to revamp its Latin American-Indian menu next spring with 25 new dishes, created by co-executive chef Anup Patwal and sous-chef Javier Alvarez. Read more... 
100,000 OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (2011) was highlighted in an article about the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative, a new program spearheaded by Starbucks, which aims to help the roughly 5.5 million Americans aged 16 to 24 who do not have jobs and have dropped out of school.

Toni
worked with Mayor Rahm Emanuel to ensure the program launched in Chicago.
More than 3,500 young people attended Chicago's McCormick Place conference center on August 13 for the job fair, which hopes to provide 100,000 jobs to the youth.

"It's of vital importance that we honestly confront the issues of unemployment and disengagement that African American and Latino youth face," Toni Preckwinkle said. Read more...

COMED ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL SECOND ANNUAL ICEBOX DERBY RACE DAY
ComEd is proud to announce the success of its second annual Icebox Derby Race Day, a unique program focused on promoting women in STEM. Thirty young women took part in this competition on Wednesday, August 19 at the Chicago Field Museum.

"As Illinois' largest utility, ComEd is dedicated to delivering safe and reliable electric service to our millions of customers. But we are also focused on powering progress and the people in our communities. The Icebox Derby is one of our most important efforts to engage girls at a young age in a STEM experience and to encourage girls to develop themselves to become part of our workforce of the future," said Anne R. Pramaggiore (2008), President and CEO of ComEd. "We are so proud of these girls and the great things they've accomplished in a few short weeks. I am personally inspired by the level of intelligence and enthusiasm they have brought to this competition, and thankful to their family and friends whose support has empowered them to be here with us today." Read more... 
Women on Boards 
ANDREA KRAMER SELECTED TO SERVE ON ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT COMMISSION ON PROFESSIONALISM, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION BOARD
The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism (the Commission") appointed Andrea Kramer (2012), Partner at McDermott Will & Emery, to serve as a member of its state-wide Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board. The Board was formed to advise the Commission with respect to its goal of fostering a commitment to the elimination of bias and divisiveness in the legal profession. As a member of the Board, Andrea will be working on a newly launched project "to stem the disproportionate departure of women, minorities and LGBT, as compared to majority male, lawyers from law firms." Read more...  
ERNST & YOUNG RELEASES REPORT ON DIRECTOR RETIREMENT AND TENURE IN FORTUNE 100
Ernst & Young's ( Kath Carter (2009), Kelly Grier (2009), Kym Hubbard (2008)) Center for Board Matters released a report that looked at board retirement and tenure policies across companies in the Fortune 100. Using current director ages and tenures across the Fortune 100 and the S&P 1500, it also identifies the portion of directors approaching retirement, based on average retirement-age policies and tenures - and finds opportunity for boards to focus on strategic director succession planning now.

Click here for the full report.  
SPONSORSHIP FROM CEO UNLOCKS BOARD ROOM DOORS, A KEY TO GENDER DISPARITY
From Mary Kay Haben (1998):
Excerpted from the Huff Post Women Blog
Like any club, it takes a sponsor to "get in." Country clubs, professional associations and even a job requires legitimate references who know you. So too, for boardrooms. As board directors can impact a company's earnings, stock price, and decide who will be the CEO, getting into the boardroom requires qualifications, experience and yes, sponsorship; being endorsed by someone at the boardroom table is critical! In 2013, Pricewaterhousecooper's annual Corporate Directors Survey of nearly 1,000 board directors stated that 90% of new board directors came from "the board's network." With this startling statistic, how can change be accelerated when board directors go to their networks for candidates? How can talented board ready women get into that network and on a board? Read more...
Awards and Announcements
SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY AWARDED GRANT FOR CAMPUS VETERAN CENTER
Saint Xavier University's (Christine Wiseman (2012)) Student Veteran Alliance has been awarded $10,000 from the Home Depot Foundation's VetCenter grant and Student Veterans of America to fund renovations for SXU's Student Veteran Resource Center. The funds will help to modernize the space, while also making it more efficient for student veteran use.  

Click here for the full press release.
GILLIAN DARLOW AND DORRI MCWHORTER ON MAYOR EMANUEL'S SECOND-TERM PRIORITIES COMMITTEE
A message from Gillian Darlow (2015):
Dorri McWhorter
(2015) and I have been serving on Mayor Emanuel's second-term priorities committee, which on Monday presented its recommendations to the Mayor and his cabinet. The recommendations included extensive community and public input and focused on three priority areas: expanding public engagement in City government, moving toward universal pre-K, and fostering neighborhood economic growth. 

Click here to read the City's press release. 

Click here to read the Chicago Sun Times coverage.
THE YWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE OUTSTANDING LEADERS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2015! 
The Outstanding Leaders of Achievement award s will be presented during the YWCA's (Dorri McWhorter) 43rd annual Leader Luncheon on Friday, October 30, 2015. The luncheon promises to be a powerful and entertaining event as guests hear remarks from the six outstanding leaders . It is also an occasion to learn more about the YWCA's impactful work and their transformation from a 139 year old social service agency to a 21st Century social enterprise. Among the 2015 outstanding leaders are two TCN members: Julie Howard (2006) and Christie Hefner (1979).
2015 Outstanding Leaders:
  • Business: Julie M. Howard, Chairman and CEO, Navigant
  • Corporate Social Innovation: Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO, LanzaTech
  • Mentor: Aylwin Lewis, Chairman, President and CEO, Potbelly Corporation
  • Promise: Shradha Agarwal, President and Co-Founder, Context Media
  • Racial Justice: Maggie Anderson, Activist, Author and CEO/Founder, The Empowerment Experiment
  • Trailblazer: Christie Hefner, Corporate Executive, Activist, Philanthropist

Event Details
Friday, October 30
Networking - 10:30 AM-12:00 PM
Luncheon - 12:00-1:30 PM
After Party 2:00-5:00 PM (Plan to stay and enjoy the YWCA's YShop pop-up!)
Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive

For more information, click here
CHICAGO IDEAS WEEK CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
From Jessica Malkin (2015):
This October 12-18, Chicago Ideas Week celebrates its fifth anniversary with our best week yet. Join us for a week of over 200 speakers, over 100 events across the city, and talks that address everything from entrepreneurship to terrorism to the maker movement. Become a Chicago Ideas Member today. As a Member, you'll receive early box office access, ticket discounts and premier event access-all while supporting an organization that brings quality programming and out-of-the-box ideas to all of our city. 
 
I look forward to seeing you this October 12-18. If you would like to learn more about Chicago Ideas Week, visit www.chicagoideas.com or e-mail Bonnie Shifrin, director of membership, at bonnie@chicagoideas.com.
CHINESE AMERICAN SERVICE LEAGUE MANDARIN COURSE
This coming Fall, the Chinese American Service League ( Bernie Wong (1995)) will be holding its first ever evening Mandarin class at the Kam Liu building, 2141 S. Tan Court, Chicago, IL 60616. It is an eight-week course that meets every Thursday from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. beginning September 17th. The course is for beginners, so no previous knowledge of Chinese is required. Cost of the course is $400, with the first five registrants receiving a 10% discount. This cost includes the price of field trips in and around Chinatown, and all classroom materials.  

Click here for more information. 
GLOBAL CAPITAL ANNOUNCES NEW HEADQUARTERS AND OPENING OF LONDON OFFICE 
Global Capital (Terri E. McNally (2001)) has opened a subsidiary in the UK and is operating under the name Agile Leasing UK. The firm has also relocated their headquarters to 205 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 730, Chicago, Illinois 60606. Read more...
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 7TH ANNUAL POLSINELLI INNOVATION COMPETITION
From Marilyn Lissner (2010):
Global Midwest Alliance is pleased to invite you to participate in the 7th annual Polsinelli Innovation Competition, taking place during the Corporate Venturing program on November 12, 2015. The Polsinelli Innovation Competition focuses on the Midwest's excellence in technology innovation, products and services. The Polsinelli Innovation Competition was created to help emerging and venture ready companies gain visibility and make connections. The competition will provide a showcase for developers of new technologies that offer competitive returns for investors and customers while providing solutions to global challenges. Past Innovation Competition winners and finalists have gone on to compete and win in national and international competitions, received access to funding, gained beneficial partners for growth and won new business opportunities. We are proud that many of our past finalists are currently doing business on a global scale.

Click here for more information about the competition. 
 
 
Global Midwest Alliance Overview
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