Life Trustee Board
Howard Alper
Howard is the Chairman and CEO of Alper Services LLC, which provides insurance services to businesses. He has also worked as a writer and editor for several national business and insurance publications. Howard directs seminars for the Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Illinois CPA Foundation, and numerous law firms, banks and accounting firms. He is also a past chairman of the New Century Bank Advisory Board and is Vice Chairman of the La Rabida Children’s Hospital Board of Trustees.
Seymour A. Cohen
Before beginning a well-earned retirement, Seymour had a distinguished career in the importing industry. He was the founder of SAC Imports and served as president of the Reliance Trading Corporation of America. Seymour is a past president and currently serves on the board of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation, the Chicago board of the American Techion Society, and is a life trustee of the Congregation Rodfei Zedek synangogue. He served in the Merchant Marine during World War II and in the Army during the Korean War.
Granger Cook, Jr.
Granger works at the Cook Alex law firm in Chicago. At Cook Alex, he holds primary litigation responsibility for over 150 patent, trademark, copyright, and unfair competition cases in both state and federal court. Granger attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
E. David Coolidge
David works as the Vice Chairman of William Blair & Company, a financial services firm. He was the CEO of the company from 1995 to 2004. Formerly, he was the director of the Securities Industry Association and also served as governor of the National Association of Securities Dealers. David is a trustee of both Williams College and the University of Chicago in addition to serving with several other organizations, including as a trustee at Rush University Medical Center. David attended Williams College and earned an MBA from the Harvard Graduate Business School of Administration.
William Donnell
*Bio coming soon.
Melvin Katten
Melvin is a founding partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and currently serves as the firm’s Senior Counsel. He works in tax and financial structure counseling, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and real estate and business ventures, as well as federal tax cases and criminal investigations. He has numerous other professional affiliations including serving as Senior Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Roosevelt University, Chairman of the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, and director of the Chicago Loop Alliance. He is also a past president of the BGA. Melvin attended the University of Illinois and earned his law degree from the John Marshall Law School.
Jonathan Kovler
Jonathan is the President of the Kovler Family Foundation. He has been a private investor in Chicago for over 40 years.
James M. Ratcliffe
Before retiring, James worked as the Vice President at RR Donnelley & Sons, a full-service provider of print services. Before joining the company in 1968, he also worked as the Assistant Dean at the University of Chicago Law School. James has served with a variety of organizations throughout his life, and currently sits on the Illinois Committee for Economic Education, the Harper Court Arts Council, and the Metropolitan Planning Council, among others. He earned both a bachelor’s and a law degree from the University of Chicago.