The Harris Council is the lead advisory group to the Dean and school administrators and is comprised of accomplished professionals with substantial experience in the public, non-profit, and private sectors.

The Council's contributions range from providing advice and financial support to interacting with students and connecting the work of Harris Public Policy to the world.

Harris Council Members

Read below or click on their names to learn more about the Council members. The Council includes:

Chair: Hilarie Koplow-McAdams

Hussam Abu Issa
Jay Bartlett
Wei Cai
Philip B. Clement
Marilyn R. Diamond
Thomas Dunn
David Garcia-Junco
John S. Gates Jr.
Lina Haddad Kreidie
M. Hill Hammock
King Harris
Joan W. Harris
Fay Hartog-Levin
David Jacobson
Khalid Janahi
Dennis Keller
Ronald Landes
Christine Lefkarites White
Daniel Levin
Fabio Malina Losso
Scott Marden
Jeffrey C. Neal
George A. Ranney Jr.
Diana Rauner
Neeraj Sahai
Smita Shah
David Bolling Wells
Paula Wolff
 

Hussam Abu Issa
Vice Chairman and COO
Salam International

Mr. Abu Issa is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for Salam International, and Board Member of Salam Bounian. Salam International owns and manages over 32 business units in various lines: Contracting, Construction & Development, Heavy Industries & Energy, Technology, and Luxury & Hospitality. , the company's operations extend to Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.

Read Hussam Abdulsalam Abu Issa's full profile here.

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Jay Bartlett, MSESP '08
Senior Research Associate
Resources of the Future

Jay Bartlett is a Senior Research Associate at Resources for the Future, an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC focused on environmental, natural resources, and energy economics. His recent work has been on renewables finance and risk, wholesale power market design, and policies for hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.

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Wei Cai, AM/MBA'95
Partner
FountainVest Partners

Wei Cai is a partner at FountainVest Partners, one of the largest private equity funds dedicated
 to the China market with $4.5 billion currently under management. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Asia Investment Banking with UBS. Before this, Wei
was a Managing director with Morgan Stanley in its investment banking division.

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Philip B. Clement, AM/MBA'93
Global Chief Marketing Officer
Johnson Controls

Philip B. Clement is the Global CMO of Johnson Controls, the worlds largest company focused on smart buildings. A member of JCI’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT), he also runs the firm’s advanced technology partnerships with a focus on innovation and solutions using emerging technologies. Prior to this he was the global chief marketing and communications officer for Aon Corp. He also serves as an active investor, board member and advisor.

Read Philip Clement's full profile here.

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Marilyn R. Diamond
Honorary Consul General for Morocco in Illinois

Marilyn R. Diamond is the Honorary Consul General for Morocco in Illinois. She is also on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University.

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Thomas Dunn
Founding Partner of New Holland Capital

Thomas Dunn is a founding partner and former CEO of New Holland Capital.  Tom spent the early part of his career at Goldman Sachs Asset Management before moving to Lazard to lead their fixed income asset management division. Starting 2002, he helped build the hedge fund program at ABP, an outgrowth of the Dutch civil servants’ pension fund.  This endeavor evolved into New Holland Capital a few years later. Tom has served on the Urban Labs Advisory Council since 2016 and the College Dean’s Parent and Family Council (2007-2013).  Tom received his AB in English literature  (1981) and an MBA (1986) from the University of Chicago.

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David Garcia-Junco, AM'95
Chief Financial Officer
for Science and Technology

David Garcia Junco Machado is the Chief Financial Officer for the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico. Prior to that, he served as head of the National Commissioner for Social Health protection.

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John S. Gates Jr.
Chairman and CEO
PortaeCo, LLC

John S. Gates, Jr. is the chairman and CEO of PortaeCo, a private investment company. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees all forms of public transit in the Chicago metro region.

Read John Gate's full profile here.

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Lina Haddad Kreidie
Lecturer
American University of Beirut

Lina Haddad Kreidie served as the Jerome and Hazel Tobis Chair at the University of California, Irvine, at the Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality. She is currently lecturing at the American University of Beirut on Political Science, Public Policy, Middle East Politics and Psychology of Conflict, and she also serves as a public policy consultant.

Read Lina Kreidie's full profile here.

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M. Hill Hammock, MBA'70
Chair
Board of Cook County Health & Hospital System

M. Hill Hammock currently serves as Chair of the Board of Cook County Health & Hospital System, the primary safety net health care institution in Chicago. He is the former Vice Chairman of LaSalle Bank Corporation, where he was the Chief Operating Officer. After banking, Hill served as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Chicago Public Schools.

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King Harris
Chairman
Harris Holdings, Inc.

King Harris is the Chairman of Harris Holdings and a Senior Fellow and Board Member of the Metropolitan Planning Council. He is also a Emeriti Trustee of the University of Chicago.

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Joan W. Harris
Chairman
Irving Harris Foundation

Mrs. Harris is the Chairman of the Irving Harris Foundation. She served on the President's Commission for the National Endowment for the Arts. She currently serves as Trustee for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Julliard School and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. In recognition of her leadership and contribution to the arts in Chicago and across the United States, in July 2014, she was awarded a National Medal of Arts from President Obama.

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Fay Hartog-Levin
Distinguished Fellow
Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Fay Hartog-Levin is a distinguished fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. From 2009-2011 she was the 65^th Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Prior to that, she was the Vice President of External Affairs at the Field Museum.

Read Fay Hartog-Levin's full profile here.

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David Jacobson
Vice Chairman
BMO Financial Group

David Jacobson became Vice-Chair of BMO Financial Group in 2013. Prior to that, he served as Special Assistant to President Obama and U.S. Ambassador to Canada, as Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel, and was a corporate lawyer before his White House appointment.

Read David Jacobson's full profile here.

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Khalid Janahi
Group Chief Executive
Dar Al-Maal Al Islami (DMI)

Khalid Janahi is currently the Group Chief Executive of Dar Al-Maal Al Islami and sits on the board of the Trust’s subsidiaries and associates. Prior to that, he was Partner at Price Waterhouse. Mr. Janahi has more than 30 years of experience in advisory services and international banking. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

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Dennis Keller, MBA'68
Co-Founder and Retired Chairman and CEO
DeVry, Inc.

Dennis J. Keller is Co-Founder and Retired Chairman and CEO of DeVry Education Group, and currently serves as Director Emeritus and Senior Advisor. DeVry Education Group Inc., is a global provider of educational services. Dennis Keller serves as Vice Chairman of University of Chicago, Chairman of Mpala Wildlife Foundation and is a Member of the National Board of the Smithsonian Institution. 

Read Dennis Keller's full profile here.

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Hilarie Koplow-McAdams, AM'87
Venture Partner
NEA

An enterprise software veteran, Hilarie spent the last three decades at growth-stage technology companies in operating and board roles. Most recently, Hilarie was President at New Relic, responsible for New Relic’s growth strategies as well as leading global sales, marketing, customer success, support, and business development. Prior to New Relic, Hilarie was at Salesforce, where she led the company’s worldwide sales teams and focused on growing the business globally. Hilarie joined Salesforce from Intuit where she was vice president of direct sales for small business and a member of the executive committee.

Read Hilarie Koplow-McAdams' full profile here.

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Christine Lefkarites White, MPP'90
Co-Founder & Program Director
Sahsen Ventures

Christine is a Co-Founder and Program Director for Sahsen Ventures since 2016. She worked professionally in health research and policy in governmental and nonprofit agencies in Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. She has volunteer experience in over a dozen small and medium-sized nonprofits as a board member/trustee and in service delivery. Christine earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the City University of New York at Queens College in 1986, and her Master of Public Policy in Social Policy from the University of Chicago in 1990.

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Ronald Landes
President
Solving Organ Shortage

Ronald Landes is the President of Solving Organ Shortage, a non-profit that supports research to repair damaged organs and bioengineer solid organs for transplantation. He is also the Chairman of the Board of von Baer Wolff, an aggregator of intellectual property in organ repair and fabrication. Dr. Landes invests in early-stage bioscience technology including projects both in the U.S. and abroad. He is a principal in the Warsaw-based bioscience investment group, Life Science Innovation Fund.

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Daniel Levin, AB'50, JD'53
Founder and Chairman
The Habitat Company

The founder and chairman of The Habitat Company, Daniel Levin has been a real estate developer in Chicago and other areas of the country since 1957. He has been active in development and management activities involving over 25,000 residential units, market rate, affordable, public, senior, and student housing, and has been principally responsible for the financing, structuring, and equity syndication of Habitat's programs.

Read Daniel Levin's full profile here.

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Fabio Malina Losso
Founder of Priori Capital

Fabio Losso is the founder of Priori Capital, an investment company focused on private equity, in-court reorganization processes and acquisition of distressed assets. He is also a partner of Losso Advogados, a boutique law firm with focus on Corporate Governance and Compliance. Former Chair of the Dean´s International Council at The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, he currently is an independent member of the Board of Directors at ELETRONUCLEAR and NATURGY BRASIL (CEG-RIO). Previously, he was the Chief Governance, Risk and Compliance Officer at COPEL (NYSE:ELP) and a member of the Board of Directors at Copel Telecom. Losso also acted as the CEO-Liquidator at BADEP and was a founding member at FUNESP, a public safety fund in Brazil. He is the General Coordinator of the Observatory of Public Policies at the State of Parana, Brazil.

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Scott Marden, AM'81
Managing Partner
CIP Capital

Mr. Marden has been a recognized leader in the information services, media and publishing industries, with leadership experience balanced between senior operating and financial roles. Before forming CIP Capital, Mr. Marden led the investment activities in the information, media and services sectors at Credit Suisse (DLJ Merchant Banking Partners).

Read Scott Marden's full profile here.

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Jeffrey C. Neal
Founding Partner and Chairman
Horizon Capital

Jeffery C. Neal is a founding partner and Chairman of the Investment Committee of Horizon Capital. Previously, he held a number of key leadership positions at Merrill Lynch including head of Midwestern investment banking practice, head of the global domestic corporate banking group, and the founder and head of the global corporate finance group.

Read Jeffrey Neal's full profile here.

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George A. Ranney Jr., JD'66
Senior Council
Mayer, Brown, Row & Maw

Mr. Ranney is Senior Council at Mayer, Brown, Row & Maw, a global law firm headquartered in Chicago. He is also Chairman and CEO of Prairie Holdings Corporation, which is building Prairie Crossing, a nationally known real estate development designed on conservation principles in suburban Grayslake, Illinois. Previously, he was the President and CEO of Metropolis Strategies, a business-based organization formed by The Commercial Club of Chicago to improve the region’s economic competitiveness.

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Diana Rauner, AM'95, PhD'02
President
Ounce of Prevention Fund

Diana Rauner is the President of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, a public-private partnership serving at-risk children and their families. The Ounce advocates for programs and policies that benefit young children and families, provides training to early childhood professionals in Illinois, and engages in rigorous research and evaluation projects that contribute to best practices throughout the early childhood field.

Read Diana Rauner's full profile here.

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Neeraj Sahai
International Financial Services Executive
Founder and CEO FinEdge Advisory LLC

Neeraj Sahai is a former President of Standard and Poor’s Ratings. Prior to that, he worked at Citigroup for 29+ years in a variety of senior business roles at the bank’s corporate and investment banking division in NY and India. Mr. Sahai was elected by Global Custodian Magazine to its Custody Hall of Fame, and received several Citibank awards (Global Deal, Service Excellence, and Global Account Management System awards).

Read Neeraj Sahai's full profile here.

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Smita N. Shah, Founder and CEO of SPAAN Tech, Inc.

Smita N. Shah is Founder and CEO of SPAAN Tech, Inc., an engineering and construction management  firm established in 1998, with expertise in public and private infrastructure projects including  transportation, aviation, and facilities. Ms. Shah earned her Bachelor of Science from Northwestern  University, her Master of Science in civil and environmental engineering from M.I.T., and a Postgraduate  Certificate in Management Studies from Oxford University, where she completed her thesis on the  Culture and Leadership of Public Private Partnerships.

Recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the city’s 100 most-connected Chicagoans (#19), Smita  Shah is an engineer, entrepreneur and civic leader with a passion for nurturing entrepreneurism and  innovation among women and minorities, while advocating for the growth and participation of small  businesses in emerging industries. Ms. Shah’s commitment to public service extends across multiple  spectrums, whether promoting the work and commitment of her ethnic community for our country,  fostering a passion for children and education, facilitating the development of good urban public policy,  and supporting arts and culture.

Ms. Shah serves as Vice Chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission, Chairman of the Delhi Chicago Sister  Cities Relationship, a member of the M.I.T. Corporation Development Council and Visiting Committee  for Civil and Environmental Engineering; Board of Trustees of the Museum of Science and Industry,  board member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, Trustee at Ann & Robert H. Lurie  Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Vice Chairman of the Regents for Loyola University of Chicago, and board  member of After School Matters. Ms. Shah is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO Chicago), the Economic Club of Chicago, and the Commercial Club of Chicago. She also serves on the  corporate board of MacLean Fogg and is a member of the audit and finance committee. 

She has been recognized for her leadership by Crain's Chicago Business as one of Chicago's 40 under 40,  an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and received the U.S. Small Business  Administration 8(a) Graduate of the Year Award. She was awarded a National Community Leader of the  Year by the American Consulting Engineers Council and has received the Congressionally recognized Ellis  Island Medal of Honor, for her contributions in changing the fabric of America. She has also served as She has been recognized for her leadership by Crain's Chicago Business as one of Chicago's 40 under 40,  an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and received the U.S. Small Business  Administration 8(a) Graduate of the Year Award. She was awarded a National Community Leader of the  Year by the American Consulting Engineers Council and has received the Congressionally recognized Ellis  Island Medal of Honor, for her contributions in changing the fabric of America. She has also served as  White House Intern in the Chief of Staff’s Office, during President Clinton’s term.

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David Bolling Wells, MPP/MBA'98
High Growth Tech Company Board Member & Advisor

David Wells has focused the last 20+ years on helping consumer businesses grow and has recently shifted towards helping younger companies and the NGO and non profit world, particularly growth in the developing world.

He spent nearly 15 years at Netflix, with 8 as it’s CFO, retiring in early 2019, having served as VP of Financial Planning and Analysis prior to CFO.  Mr. Wells was an integral part of the team that presided over Netflix’s transition to a self-produced content streaming company from the DVD company of its early days, its expansion to 190 countries, raising $12B+ in capital, and growing to a $140B+ company along the way.

Prior to joining Netflix, Mr. Wells served in progressive roles at Deloitte Consulting for 6 years and in the non-profit world before getting his MBA.  Mr. Wells joined the Board of public ad tech company, The Trade Desk, in January 2016 and private fintech Transferwise in January 2019. He also serves as an advisor to several growth stage private companies.  

Mr. Wells holds a joint MBA/MPP Magna Cum Laude from The University of Chicago and a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

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Paula Wolff, AM'69, PhD'72
Director
Illinois Justice Project

Paula Wolff is Director of the Illinois Justice Project, a civic organization developing and implementing policy initiatives and programs to reform the criminal justice system by addressing youth trauma and reducing youth and adult violence, crime and incarceration.

Read Paula Wolff's full profile here.

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