Cynthia Barnes, founder & CEO of the National Association of Women Sales Professionals and creator of THRIVE: Success Strategies for Women in Sales (delivered to more than 500 companies, including Toyota, Google, and Michelin). See blog interview.

Allan Biggar, former CEO of global PR and communications firm Burson-Marsteller (UK) and later chairman of its global corporate and financial practice. See blog interview.

Jeffrey Breslow, founder, Big Monster Toys, LLC, and author of A Game Maker’s Life: A Hall of Fame Game Executive and Inventor Tells the Inside Story of the Toy Industry

Ian Connelly, director of token strategy and operations, Dust App

Mark Cuban, billionaire investor, owner of Dallas Mavericks, and star of Shark Tank

John Cummins, senior advisor to CEOs at Walt Disney International, Comcast, Time Warner, Turner Broadcasting, Mattel, HarperCollins Publishing, Bacardi Group, and many others

Terry Curtner, former director of customer service at DAP Inc., spent 30 years in corporate America and 14 years in real estate sales.

Dave Dahl, founder and former CEO of Dave’s Killer Bread

Michel Elings, whose publishing software was acquired by Apple and became the foundation for AppleNews. See blog interview.

Marty Gilbert, founder and CEO, NorthShore Executive Networking Group, Glenview, Illinois

Robert Griffin, president, Griffin Financial Strategies, Inc., Evanston, Illinois, served in the U.S. Air Force in the Vietnam war

Raven Anne Lucas, owner of Pure Harmony Massage, Cody, Wyoming. See blog post.

Robert O. Harder, former vice president consumer electronics, Montgomery Ward

Rocki Howard, among the Top 100 profiled on the HERoes Women Role Model Executives (2020), host of The Voices of Diversity podcast, and HR executive at The Mom Project. See blog interview.

Dr. Sonja Kelly, director of research and advocacy, Women’s World Banking

Don Lessem, president and CEO of Dino Don, Inc., the world’s leading supplier of animatronic dinosaurs and a creator of scientifically accurate exhibitions internationally. See blog interview.

Jim Lew, diversity consultant for Hollywood producers, correctional institutions, police departments, and corporations including Hyatt Corp., Proctor & Gamble, and Texas Instruments. See blog interview.

Brian Little, vice president and global head of corporate human resources, Intel Corporation

John Livesay, author, sales trainer, host of The Successful Pitch podcast, and guest lecturer on sales at multiple universities

G. Dan Lumpkin, widely regarded as one of the top 1% of management consultants in the areas of change management and internal negotiation, and president of Lumpkin & Associates. See blog interview.

Diana Mudenda, DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging) champion and founder of Dueal Consulting

Virginia Muzquiz, CEO at Master Connectors, Inc., executive director with Business Network International (BNI), and host of podcast Business by Referral. See blog interview.

Wayne Paprocki, presenter of real estate training to over 1.5 million people in 38 states

Elena Scott, principal and partner with Norris Design, a Denver-based planning, landscape architecture and branding firm

Patrick Sheridan, retired senior manager for PepsiCo’s Health & Safety for North America

David Tupaz, founder of David Tupaz Couture and founder of the Las Vegas Fashion Design Council, a non-profit mentoring local designers, students, and artists. See blog interview.

Brian Vandenbroucke, marketing strategist and innkeeper with a collection of luxury Caribbean vacation rentals in St. John USVI and the Dominican Republic

Dr. Michelle L. Buck, clinical professor of executive leadership at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management

Mark Elliott, faculty and music director at Theatre School at DePaul University

Kevin Golden, former teacher at a Catholic school in Chicago, obtained an MBA, returned to Catholic nonprofit work, and is working to complete a Masters in Theology.

Catherine Brownstone Stillwell, teacher at Acero Schools, Chicago

Dr. Janice L. Woodhouse (1947-2010), graduated posthumously with a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in Adult and Higher Education from Northern Illinois University

Dr. Janyce Agruss, PhD, APRN-BC, has over 20 years of experience as a Family Nurse Practitioner, which she teaches at Chicago’s Rush University College of Nursing

Charity Cox-Hayden, chief nursing officer, Atlas Healthcare Partners, LLC, an ambulatory surgery center development and management company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. See blog interview.

Elizabeth Even, emergency department nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago; associate director, Standards Interpretation, The Joint Commission; founder of Straight Talk RN. See blog interview.

Dr. Dylan Fogel, DDS in Oshgosh, Wisconsin, and clinical faculty and board member at Fox Valley Tech’s Dental Hygiene School

Russell Leander, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with over three decades as a clinician and educator in medical and psychiatric settings. See blog story.

Muriel Patay, LCSW, has been in private psychotherapy practice in Evanston, Illinois since 1998. She has studied Gestalt Therapy, EMDR, Hypnotherapy, and Breath Work Therapy. She received a D.Min. in Spirituality in 2006. murielpatay.com

Patricia Peters has worked in the field of Addictions for over 25 years, holding roles as Counselor, Clinical Director, and Interventionist. She has traveled nationwide assisting centers, corporations, individuals and families.

Angalia Bianca, author, In Deep: How I Survived Gangs, Heroin, and Prison to Become a Chicago Violence Interrupter, and recipient of 2017 Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers (Illinois)

Ida Paluch Kersz, holocaust survivor, volunteer at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, and author of Unveiled Memories: Twins Reunited After the Holocaust. See blog story.

Trass Lyons, volunteer with the Syria Project, Wicklow, Ireland. She is a teacher, student, swimmer, gardener, book lover, hiker, camper, a non-materialistic minimalist, an atheist, and adventurer. 

Windy Matil Pearson, Illinois-based community activist and recipient of the Dorothy Richardson National Award for Resident Leadership and the President’s Volunteers Award.

Matt Walsh Egan, Los Angeles-based director of photography for films and television

Paul M. Lisnek, political analyst on Chicago’s WGN-TV and host of CLTV’s Politics Tonight

Kieran Meeke, Northern-Ireland-born travel writer and photographer who has explored more than 100 countries, lived in eight, and served as editor-in-chief of TRAVL. See blog interview.

Janet Susan R. Nepales, award-winning journalist, the first Filipina member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and writer of the weekly column, Hollywood Insider. See blog interview.

Kevin Sessums, former executive editor of Interview magazine and contributing editor of Vanity Fair best known for his cover stories on Beyonce, Tom Cruise, Cher, Madonna, and many other celebrities

Manny Viega, podcaster, All Day Paranormal

John Ziomek, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism associate professor emeritus and author of Collision on Tenerife

Cynthia Beebe, former senior special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and author of Boots in the Ashes: Busting Bombers, Arsonists and Outlaws as a Trailblazing Female ATF Agent (2020). See blog interview.

Jennifer Gladston Butler, author, Jennifer James Georgina (designer: Irma Boom), part of the collections at the Vatican Library and The Art Institute of Chicago

Kate Hutchinson, poet, writer, and teacher; author of A Matter of Dark Matter; The Gray Limbo of Perhaps; and Map Making: Poems of Land and Identity

Bridget Piekarz, territory manager for Random House

Robert O. Harder, distinguished Strategic Air Command B-52D aircrewman with 145 missions during the Vietnam War, and author of five military histories

Robert Eshbach, former mayor of Ottawa, Illinois

Valerie M. Jones, president of Valerie M. Jones Associates and author of Nonprofit Hero. See blog interview.

Adele Nandan, donor cultivation and engagement strategist and international travel expert. See blog interview.

D.C. Anderson, actor and recording artist best known for his portrayal of Monsieur Andre in Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera. See more

Susan Bennett, the original voice of “Siri.” See more

Joshua Ellis, former press agent for more than a dozen Tony-award-winning Broadway shows. See more

Sean Grennan, whose plays have received hundreds of productions in the U.S., Canada, Russia, Australia, China, the Middle East, England, Latvia, Bosnia, and Spain. SeanGrennan.net

Meribeth Kisner Griffin, founder, ChiTown Dance (retd.)

Ben Hollis, eight-time regional Emmy winner as host of Wild Chicago and host of What’s It Like to Be You?

Jane Lynch, multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner best known for her iconic roles in Glee, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Only Murders in the Building, and as the host of Celebrity Game Night and The Weakest Link. See more

Errol McLendon, actor, director, teacher, and two-time Moth Slam winning storyteller. InnerStateStories.com

Margaret Moira “Peg” O’Brien (1949-2014). See blog post.

Jeffrey Saver, music director whose Broadway credits include Into the Woods, Chicago, Sister Act, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sunday in the Park with George, and many others. See more.

Karen Vaccaro, actor’s coach and winner of three Joseph Jefferson Awards who has appeared in productions on Broadway, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, and many others. KarenVacarro.com

William Villandigham, baritone, has performed with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Dresden Staatskapelle, Berlin Philharmoniker, Korean Broadcast Symphony, and other internationally recognized groups

Rich Voss, former head of security for Jam Productions, one of the country’s largest concert promoters

Mari Weiss, actor and voiceover artist whose voice has been heard in TV and/or radio commercials for Yoplait, McDonald’s, Chrysler, Clorox, Intuit, and many others. See more.

Sonya Perez-Lauterbach, certified leadership coach and owner, SPL Coaching