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
Alice S. Cho
Thomas Dunn
Lina Haddad Kreidie
M. Hill Hammock
King Harris
Joan W. Harris
Fay Hartog-Levin
Kathy Im
David Jacobson
Dennis Keller
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 the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for Salam International, and Board Member of Salam Bounian, Mr. Hussam AbdulSalam Abu Issa is a member of Doha Insurance Company’s Board of Directors, an active advisory council member for the College of Management and Economics at Qatar University, a former member of the Al-Ballagh Cultural Association Board of Directors, as well as a member of the International Dean Council of Harris School of Public Policy at Chicago University, and a member of the GCC Chamber of Commerce Manufacturing Committee. Mr. Hussam is also a member of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and the Qatari-Syrian Businessmen Council and German Business Council, Qatar.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and has more than 30 years of professional experience.

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.

Previously, he worked in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Solar Energy Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy. Bartlett had earlier positions in alternative energy equity research at UBS, mergers and acquisitions at a boutique advisory firm in New York and in biophysics research at Princeton. He earned an MS in environmental science and policy from the University of Chicago and his BA in chemistry from Princeton University.

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Wei Cai, AM/MBA'95

Partner,
FountainVest Partners

Mr. Wei Cai is currently a partner and Head of China investment banking at Goldman Sachs. He is also co-chairman of China Leadership Group which oversees Goldman’s overall businesses in China. Prior to that, he was a partner with FountainVest Partners, and before that, he was a Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Asia Investment Banking with UBS. Wei was also a Managing Director with Morgan Stanley in its investment banking division.

Wei received his MBA/MA from the University of Chicago and his bachelor’s degree from Fudan University.

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Alice S. Cho

Senior Advisor,
Boston Consulting Group

Alice Cho has over 25 years of experience in financial services, public policy, and corporate boards. Currently, she is Senior Advisor at the Boston Consulting Group and serves on the board of directors at First Interstate BancSystem, where she is a member of its Audit, Risk, and Technology Committees. Previously, Alice served as Company Advisor to Varo, the nation’s first digital fintech bank with over 3 million accounts and a mission to improve the financial health of consumers. At Varo, Alice was instrumental in designing risk management programs suitable for the digital banking model and in helping the company become the first fintech to obtain a federal banking license, which was key to raising $240 million in Series D funding.

Prior, Alice served as Managing Director at Promontory Financial Group and the head of its West Coast Practice. In that capacity, she was responsible for leading engagements and for advising boards and top executives of global financial institutions on issues relating to risk management, compliance, corporate governance, and regulatory strategy. Previously, Alice was director at BITS, the technology arm of the Bank Policy Institute where she worked with the CIOs and CTOs of financial services companies on early industry initiatives to facilitate internet banking and e-payments.

Alice also served as Special Assistant to Vice Chair Alice M. Rivlin at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. In that role, Alice provided analysis and recommendations on issues relating to banking regulations and payments; in particular, she played a key role in a Federal Reserve-wide effort to introduce more efficient and safe ways to process and settle retail payments. Prior, she was Budget Analyst at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget where she evaluated banking reform proposals in coordination with White House and Treasury officials.

Alice earned a B.A. in Economics from Whitman College and an A.M in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. She has published articles at the Brookings Institution and in American Banker and Western Independent Bankers. Reflecting her longtime interest in mentoring students and young professionals, she currently serves on the Advisory Council at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the Council of Korean-Americans. She is a co-founder of ALLRISE SF, a Bay Area organization dedicated to women’s leadership in financial services and technology.

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Thomas Dunn

Founding Partner,
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 He serves on the Committee on Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, and the New Jersey Regional Board of KIPP (a network of public charter schools). 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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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, and he also serves on the Boards of a number of not-for-profits in Chicago.

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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. Mr. Harris also serves as Chairman of the Illinois Housing Development Authority. He is an Emeriti Trustee of the University of Chicago.

He graduated from Harvard College and spent two years in the Peace Corps as a community development worker in Lota, Chile. He then received an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

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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 65th 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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Kathy Im

Director of Journalism and Media,
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Kathy Im is the Director of Journalism and Media at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation’s largest philanthropies. She manages a $25 million annual portfolio that is best known for supporting public media, nonprofit journalism, and documentary storytelling. During Kathy’s tenure, the program has deepened and expanded its investments in the creation, dissemination, and amplification of accurate, just, and inclusive news and narratives across three areas of media -- Professional Nonprofit Reporting, Nonfiction Multimedia Storytelling, and Participatory Civic Media -- with the goal of informing, engaging, and activating Americans to build a more equitable future.

Kathy is a recognized leader in philanthropy and media. She is a member of the Board of Jurors for the Peabody Awards, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a former board member of Media Impact Funders, the Center for Asian American Media, and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. She is the author of several editorials and essays about press freedom, media diversity, and the connection between media and democracy. Kathy earned her Master’s in Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago, and she earned her Bachelor’s in Government Studies from Smith College. Kathy lives in Chicago with her husband and their three children.

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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.

Mr. Jacobson received a JD degree from Georgetown University, where he was the Administrative Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He received his BS degree from Johns Hopkins University.

Read David Jacobson's full profile here.

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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.

Keller has been a director of Templeton, Kenly & Co., Precision Plastics of Indiana, Inc., NICOR, Inc., the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and the Great Books Foundation; chairman of the Council on Chicago Booth and Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Leadership Council; vice chairman and trustee of the Chicago Zoological Society; and trustee of the Glenwood School for Boys, the George M. Pullman Education Foundation, and Princeton University.

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. Hilarie currently serves on the board of directors of Automation Anywhere, Beyond Identity, BloomReach, DataRobot, HackerOne, Knotch, Tableau Corporation and Zendesk Corporation. She is the Vice Chair of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. She previously served on the board of directors for Informatica Corporation.

Hilarie has a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Mills College. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband Steve and their two daughters.

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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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. He serves as a trustee of WTTW Public Television as well as the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and is vice chairman of the Board of Environmental Law and Policy Center.

Daniel has a Bachelor of Arts and a Juris Doctorate from University of Chicago Law School.

Read Daniel Levin's full profile here.

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Fabio Malina Losso

Founder,
Priori Capital

Highly experienced in corporate governance, advisory, and management, Fabio Losso is the founder of Priori Capital and Losso Advogados's partner. 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 BANCO DA AMAZÔNIA, CHESF, ELETRONUCLEAR, NATURGY, and NISSEI. Previously, he was the Chief Governance, Risk and Compliance Officer at COPEL 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 of the board at FUNESP, a public safety fund in Brazil. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Law, with distinction, at the University of São Paulo and, at the University of Chicago, was a visiting scholar at Harris.

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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). Mr. Marden has served as the President of McGraw Hill’s Information and Media segment, which included S&P Global/Platts Energy Information Group, JD Power & Associates, Dodge Data and Analytics, Business Week and McGraw Hill Broadcasting; President and CEO of Philips Electronics’ Software & Services Division where he held worldwide operating responsibility for Philips’ software, digital, broadband, and service businesses; President/COO of Marvel Entertainment; and, President of CBS Inc.’s International Publishing division.

Mr. Marden holds a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, completed Ph.D. coursework at University of Chicago, and received a master’s degree from the University of Chicago’s Harris School.

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.

Mr. Neal, a native of Peoria, Illinois, earned his B.A. in 1967 from Harvard College and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

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 Mendley Rauner, Ph. D., learned early from her parents the importance of participating in the community. As a young adult, Diana spent time volunteering at a settlement house in New York to help teach ex-offenders to read. After witnessing the education inequities in our country first-hand, she realized this was an issue she wanted to focus on long term. Today, Diana serves as President of Start Early (formerly the Ounce of Prevention), a public-private partnership advancing quality early learning for families with children, before birth through their earliest years, to help close the opportunity gap.

Start Early develops direct center-based and home-based programs and services to children and families, provides professional development tools and trainings, and champions effective public policies and funding. Start Early is also the parent organization of the First Five Years Fund, an advocacy and communications effort focused on Washington, DC. In partnership with the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, Start Early has built the Educare Learning Network, starting with one school on the south side of Chicago to a national network of 25 schools sharing and scaling best practices.

Prior to joining Start Early, Diana was a Senior Research Associate at Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and an associate at private equity firms in San Francisco and Chicago. Diana holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Chicago, an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Yale University. She and her husband, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, are blessed with six children and one grandchild.  

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 the President of Dun & Bradstreet International, a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics. In this role, Neeraj ensures the pursuit of growth opportunities, operating efficiency and best practices across Asia, India, the UK&I, and the Dun & Bradstreet Worldwide Network. He 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).

Mr. Sahai received his B.A. in Economics from Hindu College, his MA from the Delhi School of Economics, and MBA from Clarkson University. He also attended the Advanced Management Program at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Read Neeraj Sahai's full profile here.

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Smita N. Shah

Founder and CEO,
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 to 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 to 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

Board Member & Advisor,
High Growth Tech Company

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 nonprofit world, particularly growth in the developing world.

He spent nearly 15 years at Netflix, with the last 8 as it’s CFO, retiring in early 2019 and 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 is a Director for public ad tech company, The Trade Desk (since 2016), Senior Independent Director for private fintech Wise.com (2019) and for public direct-to-consumer healthcare HIMS (2020).  He also serves as an advisor to several growth stage private companies.  He is on the Board of non-profit Innovations for Poverty Action which supports academic RCTs on anti-poverty research and the Silicon Valley chapter of the Red Cross.

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.

Paula received her Bachelor’s degree in government from Smith College.

Read Paula Wolff's full profile here.

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