Board of Directors
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Tamara Askew
Tamara is the Director of the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law. Previously, she was the Programs and Projects Manager for the ABA Commission on Women. Prior to joining the ABA, she worked on employment, business and real estate issues at the Chicago Transit Authority. At the University of Illinois at Chicago, she was a project coordinator at the Center for Research on Women and Gender. Tamara was a Nuclear Health Physicist, in Emergency Preparedness and State Programs for Commonwealth Edison. She received a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in Industrial Hygiene and Health Physics, a Master of Public Health (Environmental Health Policy concentration) from University of Illinois of Chicago, School of Public Health and a Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.
Francis Beidler III
*Bio coming soon.
Eric Berlin
Eric is a partner at Jones Day’s Chicago law office. A trial lawyer focusing mainly on competition issues, Eric was named a "key partner" in Global Competition Review’s survey of the world’s leading competition law practices and economists. Eric has also spoken in front of the Chicago Bar Association and at a conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In addition to his work with the BGA, Eric sits on the Associates Board for the Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation.
Dennis Black
*Bio coming soon.
Robert Carson
Robert serves as a partner at Gould & Ratner LLP, focusing mainly on commercial litigation. For his work in that area he was recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer in Intellectual Property Litigation. Robert works with numerous different community and professional associations, including the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and serving as the Director of the Night Ministry. Robert did his undergraduate work at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and received his law degree from the Duke University School of Law.
Patrick Collins
Patrick is a partner at the Perkins Coie law firm, and also serves on Perkins’ Firmwide Executive Committee. He works primarily in the firm’s investigations and white collar crime practice. In 2010, Patrick was named one of Chicago’s top attorneys of the past decade by the Chicago Law Bulletin. He has received numerous other awards and honors throughout his career, including an appointment by Gov. Pat Quinn to chair the Illinois Reform Commission in 2009. Prior to joining Perkins Coie, Patrick served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago, where he spent four years supervising the office’s corruption unit and led the prosecution in the trial of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan. Patrick works with numerous other community organizations, including Horizons for Youth, which he founded.
Margaret A. Daley (Vice Chair)
Margaret is a Managing Director at Duff & Phelps, a global financial advisory and consulting firm. She is a member of the firm’s Dispute and Legal Management Consulting practice. In addition, she is the co-chair of Duff & Phelps’ Forensic Technology & Analytics practice. Margaret handles high profile international money laundering, financial fraud, asset search and due diligence investigations for multinational corporations in a variety of industries and frequently lectures on investigative and compliance issues. Margaret attended the University of Michigan and received her law degree from the Boston University School of Law. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps she was a trial attorney at Kirkland & Ellis and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and served as the General Counsel of a global consulting firm.
Pedro DeJesus
*Bio coming soon.
Samuel Fifer
Samuel is a partner at the law firm SNR Denton US LLP. He works primarily in intellectual property, entertainment and media law and is a former chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property & Technology practice. Samuel has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for his work in First Amendment law and by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a lead lawyer in both Media and Entertainment and Intellectual Property law. Samuel is a member of numerous community and professional organizations and is also an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University School of Law. He did his undergraduate work at Northwestern University and graduated from the DePaul University College of Law.
Graham Grady
Graham Grady is an equity partner at the international law firm of K&L Gates, formerly known in Chicago as Bell, Boyd & Lloyd. Graham concentrates his practice on zoning, land use, licensing, regulatory and government relations. Graham was selected again in 2011 for designation by Best Lawyers of America in the area of Land Use and Zoning Law. Civically active, he is a director and treasurer of the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation and also volunteers as chairman of the African American Legacy of the Chicago Community Trust. Graham is a trustee of the Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo, Old St. Pat's Church, St. Ignatius College Prep, the Near South Planning Board and the Better Government Association. Graham’s prior government service with the City of Chicago includes director of the Private Industry Council, Acting Commissioner of Economic Development, Zoning Administrator, Buildings Commissioner and ex-officio member of the Chicago Plan Commission. He also served as chief executive of the Chicago Housing Authority. Graham is a fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago and has been recognized by Ebony Magazine's "30 Under 30" and Crain's Chicago Business "40 Under 40." Graham is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University School of Law where he graduated with honors. He is the father of 18-year-old twin daughters who are freshmen in college.
Jan Grayson
Jan Grayson is the retired Managing Partner of JMG Associates who provided strategic, financial and information technology consulting services for a diverse group of clients. Prior to that he was the Chief Information Officer at Holiday Inn Worldwide, CEO of LaSalle Photo Services and Director, Department of Commerce and Community Affairs for the State of Illinois. From 1970-1986, he held various positions with Deloitte and Touche consulting in Chicago. During his final three years with Deloitte, he was the partner in charge for the Chicago office's small business consulting arm. Jan has served on boards of corporations, non-profit organizations including Victory Gardens Theatre, and business and trade associations. He received his BS and MBA from the University of Chicago.
Fran Grossman
*Bio coming soon.
Hill Hammock (Vice Chair)
After retiring as COO of LaSalle Bank, Hill served as Chief Administrative Officer for the Chicago Public Schools under Arne Duncan. Currently, he is Chairman of Chicago Deferred Exchange Corporation, a 1031 tax exchange boutique, and as an Advisor to Verit Capital Advisors which specializes in ESOP structuring advice. Hill has served as Chair of a number of not-for-profit civic and charitable boards and is a member of The Commercial Club.
Joseph Hasson
Joseph is a partner at Ungaretti & Harris in Chicago. He works in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and intellectual property law, frequently handling transactions in excess of $100 million. In addition to his service with the BGA, Joseph sits on the Board of Trustees of the Norwegian American Hospital Foundation. Joseph attended Duke University and received his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Ted Hawkins (Treasurer)
Ted works in Chicago as a partner in PriceWaterhouseCooper’s Advisory Services practice. He works on mergers and acquisitions, anti-corruption, and bribery due diligence cases across the globe. Ted has presented to both the SEC and the United States Department of Justice and has also provided expert testimony in numerous cases in both state and federal court. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame.
Scott Hodes
Scott serves as Senior Counsel at Bryan Cave LLP’s Chicago offices. He is a corporate lawyer and serves as counsel for a variety of large Chicago banks. Scott is also very interested in art law and has written and spoken extensively on the subject. Scott has worked in various civic involvements throughout his career, including founding The Lawyers for the Arts and currently serving as director of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. Scott attended the University of Chicago as an undergraduate and received his law degree from the University of Michigan.
David Hoffman
David Hoffman is a partner at the law firm Sidley Austin and is the former Inspector General for the City of Chicago. During his term, from 2005–2009, David led the transformation of the Inspector General’s office into a strong and fiercely independent agency that investigated fraud, corruption, waste and inefficiencies related to city government, ranging from widespread bribery schemes to the parking meter privatization deal. From 1998 to 2005, David was an Assistant U.S Attorney in Chicago, where he prosecuted fraud and corruption, supervised the office’s Gang Unit, and played a leading role in the office’s anti-gun-violence efforts. David clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist after graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1995, where he currently teaches a course on public corruption. He received his B.A. from Yale University in 1988. David has served as a commissioner on the Illinois Reform Commission, currently serves on the U.S. Legal Services Corporation’s Fiscal Oversight Task Force, and received the Champion of the Public Interest award from BPI. In 2010, he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate, placing second in the Democratic primary.
Jenny Johnson
*Bio coming soon.
Gary Kleinrichert
Gary works as the senior managing director in FTI Consulting’s Forensic and Litigation Consulting practice. He handles forensic and accounting investigations and also assesses damages and business valuations in commercial disputes. Gary’s expertise on commercial law issues have also led to numerous articles and speaking engagements on the subject. He attended St. Joseph’s College.
Ludwig Kolman
Ludwig is a member of Vedder Price’s Litigation practice and is a former chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. He has trial experience in numerous areas including commercial, white collar, and intellectual property law. Before joining Vedder Price, Ludwig served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago, specializing in financial crimes and in public interest law. He has been recognized as an Illinois Leading Lawyer and was selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers 2006-2009. Ludwig attended the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, holds a Master’s Degree in Physics from the University of Rochester, and graduated from the Northwestern University School of Law.
Robert Levin
*Bio coming soon.
Christina Martini
*Bio coming soon.
Steve Miller
Steve is the principal and co-founder of Origin Ventures, a venture-capital firm that invests in early-state companies. He has extensive online development experience, including writing the business plan for quill.com and serving on the boards of organizations like GrubHub and Shoutlet. Steve has also worked with various other nonprofits, serving on the boards of both i.c.stars and US Empowered. He attended the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and has stayed involved there through funding scholarships and professorships and serving on the Dean’s Business Council and on the board of the Hillel Foundation.
Jack Modzelewski
Jack is a 35-year veteran of the communications industry. A Chicago newspaper journalist and public affairs radio show host in his early career, he has been an international public relations counselor and executive since 1984. He currently is Global President-Client Relations at Fleishman-Hillard Inc., where he has served for more than two decades as a senior executive in the U.S. and Europe. He is on the Board of Advisors of Medill school of journalism and is also on the Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications board, both at Northwestern University. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and The Chicago Club, and is a board member of the Institute of Public Relations. He is on the partners advisory group of the World Economic Forum. He has attended WEF conferences and appeared on panels in Davos, China, and India.
Rachel Niewoehner
Rachel is a litigation partner in the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin LLP. She works primarily on shareholder, securities, ERISA and consumer class action cases and maintains a commitment to pro bono work. Rachel is a member of the Board of Governors of the Chicago Council of Lawyers, a public interest bar association committed to improving administration of justice issues, and a Commissioner on the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, which enforces Cook County’s human rights ordinance. She was a 2009 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. Rachel received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Harvard Law School.
Lawrence Oliver
*Bio coming soon
José Padilla (Treasurer)
José is Vice President and General Counsel at DePaul University. He directs an office of seven attorneys and together they provide legal counsel to the nation’s largest Catholic university. Mr. Padilla is a member of the National Board of the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education, which advises the United States Education Secretary on ways to improve higher education. In the 1990s, he was a legislative assistant to the late Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX) and a senior political appointee in the Clinton Administration, serving as Assistant Commissioner for Congressional and Public Affairs at the United States Customs Service, then a bureau of the United States Treasury Department. He is a director of the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. In October, 2010, Hispanic Business magazine listed Mr. Padilla as one of a 100 influential Hispanics in the nation.
Ram Padmanabhan
*Bio coming soon.
Heidi Rudolph
Heidi is the Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs at the Sara Lee Corporation. She focuses on legislative and regulatory issues that impact the company and its holdings as well as other external agencies. She previously worked at the Sears Holdings Corporation and as a partner at Arthur Andersen. Heidi is the executive sponsor of the Sara Lee Womens Network. She serves on the boards of the Brookfield Zoo and of the Firehouse Community Arts Center. She was a 2009 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and is a co-founder of the professional women’s networking group Big Jobs Little Kids.
G. Scott Solomon
Scott Solomon is a Director at Navigant Consulting where he provides independent advisory, forensic accounting and other investigative services to boards, independent trustees, corporate management, internal counsel and external counsel. He leads investigative, compliance, risk assessment and due diligence engagements relating to a broad range of issues and allegations relating to accounting irregularities, financial reporting improprieties, fraud, corruption and bribery, employee misconduct, money laundering, data breaches, and Ponzi schemes. He also serves as an expert accounting witness in commercial litigation matters including post-acquisition disputes and has served as a financial adviser to court appointed receivers/trustees and their counsel. He serves on the board of Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS), a not-for-profit organization. He graduated from Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified in Financial Forensics, Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.
Juliet S. Sorensen
Juliet S. Sorensen is a clinical assistant professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law, where she is associated with the Center for International Human Rights. Juliet’s teaching and research interests include international criminal law and corruption. From 2003-2010, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago. In that capacity, she conducted investigations and prosecutions into a wide range of federal crimes, including the prosecution of City of Chicago inspectors as part of Operation Crooked Code, a corruption investigation into Chicago’s Building and Zoning departments. Juliet was a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations (2000-2005), and was a Chicago Council on Global Affairs "Emerging Leader" (2008-2010). In addition to her work with the BGA, she is a member of the boards of the United Nations Association of Greater Chicago and the South Chicago Art Center.
Kristofer Swanson, CPA, CFF, CFE, CAMS
Kris is a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he leads the Midwest Forensics Team. Kris leads high-profile investigative assignments, helping companies and their counsel respond to a broad range of allegations such as financial statement fraud, FCPA violations, money laundering, embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, healthcare overbilling, theft of trade secrets, workplace conduct violations, and data breaches. He is a member of the Executives' Club of Chicago, Economic Club of Chicago, serves on the Analysis & Planning Committee of Union League Club, and serves on the board of the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services. Kris earned a B.A. in Government from Lawrence University, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a Master’s degree in Accounting from DePaul University.