FRBC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President and Associate Director of Research
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Head of Architecture and Business Platforms for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Director, Robert D. Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance and Robert D. Burch Professor of Economics and Law / University of California, Berkeley
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President ( August, 2023 - on Leave )
- Vice President, Financial Markets Group
Biography
Alessandro Cocco is a vice president in the Financial Markets Group (FMG) at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He oversees the Financial Markets Group, a multidisciplinary research team that analyzes public policy issues in global financial markets. The group conducts research on trading, clearing, risk management and settlement of derivatives, securities, and other financial instruments, as well as on the systemic risk impact of climate change. FMG's research helps foster stable and efficient monetary, financial and payments systems. Cocco plays a key role in engaging with all stakeholders in the financial markets, including industry professionals, academics, the general public, market regulators, central bankers and other policy makers.
Cocco brings three decades of legal, financial services and leadership experience to this position. Most recently, he served as managing director and associate general counsel at global systemically important bank, where he managed a wide range of efforts related to futures, swaps, clearing, algorithmic trading, financial technology, financial services regulation, and compliance. He has wide-ranging experience in financial markets and regulation in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He is qualified to practice law in the U.S., England and Wales, and Italy. Cocco was an Adjunct Professor at New York Law School, where he taught courses on documentation and regulation of cleared and OTC derivatives.
He holds a Laurea in Giurisprudenza cum laude from the University of Rome La Sapienza in Italy; a Diploma in Law and a Graduate Diploma in Law from the University of East Anglia in England; a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, with commendation, from The University of Law in London, England; and an LLM degree from NYU in New York.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Council
- President
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Professor in Economics
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Chief Executive Officer / Interra Credit Union / Goshen, in
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics and Finance, Booth School of Business / University of Chicago
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer / Ceres Partners, LLC / Edwardsburg, MI
- Chief Investment Officer of Ceres Partners
Brandon Zick serves as Chief Investment Officer of Ceres Partners managing both farmland investment and agribusiness private equity strategies and has presided over more than $1 billion of investments in U.S. farmland. Prior to joining Ceres, he served as Vice President of Strategic Acquisitions at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, a senior associate of investor relations at Morgan Stanley, and as a finance associate at Lehman Brothers. Zick graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in finance and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. He grew up on a family dairy and crop farm in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan
Brian Calley is the CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan. He also serves as a director of a community bank, and Trustee of Oakland University. Calley was Michigan's Lieutenant Governor from 2011-2018. Prior to that, Calley served in the Michigan House of Representatives, on the Ionia County Commission, and worked over a decade in community banking. He sits on various boards, including Special Olympics Michigan, Sparrow Health System, Disability Rights Michigan, and the Autism Alliance of Michigan. He holds a BA from Michigan State University, an MBA from Grand Valley State University, and an MPA from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Supervision and Regulation
Job Titles:
- Central National Economist
Bryon Kirwan is an active farmer in Central Illinois, and an economist for USDA/NRCS. Bryon has worked as an agricultural professional for over 40 years. His current work emphasis includes production and management economics, cover crops, water quality, and nitrogen management. His professional focus has been on applied research. Kirwan and his family have owned, operated, and expanded a row crop farming operation since 1991. Kirwan holds a BS in Agriculture from Western Illinois University, an MS in Agricultural Economics from University of Illinois, and an MBA from Illinois State University.
Buddie J. Belford appointed first woman assistant vice president, in Personnel.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Professor of Economics
Job Titles:
- President / Iowa Federation of Labor
- President of the Iowa Federation of Labor
Charlie Wishman is the President of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. He is a member of AFT Local 716, and former member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Wishman has served on many boards and commissions, including the Iowa Workers Compensation Advisory Committee, the board and executive council of United Way of Central Iowa, Local Union Community Charities, and the Iowa Workforce Development board.
Charlotte Scott named first African-American officer at the Bank.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Supervision and Regulation
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Audit Committee
Job Titles:
- Policy Advisor, Financial Markets Group
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President, Chief of Product and Relationship Management for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- President / the First National Bank in Amboy / Amboy, IL
Job Titles:
- CEO / Freedman Seating Company / Chicago, IL
- CEO of Freedman Seating Company
Craig Freedman is the CEO of Freedman Seating Company (FSC), a Chicago based small business and industry leader providing seating solutions to the bus, rail, marine and light truck industries. Located in Chicago's West Humboldt/Austin neighborhoods, FSC is proud of its over 600 employees. Freedman maintains a strong presence in the community and is passionate about providing opportunity to underserved residents. He is especially active in helping young people train in manufacturing disciplines and supports shadowing and internship programs for area high schools.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President and Associate Director of Research
Daniel Aaronson is senior vice president and associate director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Prior to his current position, he led the Bank's applied microeconomics group.
Aaronson's research has primarily been in labor economics and economic history. It has been published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Political Economy, American Economic Review, Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Journal, Review of Economics and Statistics, Economic Journal, and Journal of Labor Economics, and has also been featured in Chicago Fed publications, including Economic Perspectives and Chicago Fed Letter.
Aaronson joined the Chicago Fed in 1996 after obtaining his Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University. He received his B.A. from Washington University in St Louis. He has taught microeconomics as an adjunct professor at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management since 2009.
Job Titles:
- Group Chief Investment Officer
- Member of the Council
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President / Executive Director, Economic Mobility Project
Job Titles:
- President and CEO / Metropolitan Planning
- President and CEO of Metropolitan Planning Council
Darlene Oliver Hightower, J.D., is President and CEO of Metropolitan Planning Council, an independent nonpartisan regional planning organization. Throughout her career, Hightower has been a tireless advocate for equity. Previously, she served as Vice President, Community Health Equity at Rush University Medical Center. Hightower also led the development of West Side United, a cross-sector, collaborative aimed at improving health and economic vitality on Chicago's West Side. In recognition of her leadership in health equity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Hightower was named as a U.S. News and World Report Health Care Hero in 2020.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Secretary - Treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor
- Secretary and Treasurer / Chicago Federation of Labor / Chicago, IL
Don Villar is the current Secretary-Treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL). Prior to his election to the CFL in 2018, Villar was President of NABET-CWA Local 41. For nearly 25 years, Villar was a news writer/producer at WLS-TV/ABC7. Villar studied at Loyola University of Chicago Law School, becoming a licensed attorney in 2012. He practiced civil rights law at a small law firm. Villar received his Bachelor of Liberal Arts & Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Born in the Philippines, Villar immigrated to Chicago in 1973. Villar and his wife live in the West Loop.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor of Econometrics and Statistics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Senior Economist and Economic Advisor / Director, Economic Mobility Project
- Senior Economist and Economic Advisor and Director of the Economic Mobility Project
- Senior Economist, Economic Advisor, and Director of the Economic Mobility Project
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Biography
Dr. Kristen Broady is a Senior Economist, Economic Advisor, and Director of the Economic Mobility Project at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Broady is a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings Metro. Before joining the Chicago Fed, she served as a Fellow at Brookings Metro, performing research and analysis on areas that include the racial wealth gap, the return to education investment, and the disparate economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Broady has conducted research on mortgage foreclosure risk, labor and automation, and racial health disparities.
Broady is an adjunct professor of econometrics and statistics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and has served on the faculties of Spelman College, Alabama A&M University, Dillard University, Dominican University, Fort Valley State University, Howard University, Kentucky State University, and as a visiting faculty member at Jiangsu Normal University in Xuzhou, China. She served as a consultant for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, D.C.; a senior research fellow for the Center for Global Policy Solutions in Washington, D.C.; a consultant for the City of East Point, Georgia and as an HBCU consultant for season two of The Quad on Black Entertainment Television (BET) in Atlanta. Broady earned a B.A. in criminal justice at Alcorn State University and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. in business administration with a major in economics at Jackson State University.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- President and CEO of Chicago Commons
Edgar Ramirez is the President and CEO of Chicago Commons. A community organizer in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, Ramirez led significant campaigns at Enlace Chicago and Erie Neighborhood House. Ramirez serves on the boards of Elevate Energy, Social Current, and the Latino Policy Forum and Mayor Lightfoot's Every Child Ready to Learn and ad-hoc committees for reopening early education centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ramirez is a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow (2016), has a bachelor's degree from DePaul University, a master's degree in Policy Analysis and Community Organizing from the University of Chicago, and a certificate from Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics and Finance, Booth School of Business / University of Chicago
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- First Vice President
Biography
Ellen Bromagen is first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, a position she assumed in September 2015. In this role, she oversees the operational and financial performance of the Chicago Fed, including its Detroit Branch. She is also vice chair of the Bank's Executive Committee, a member of the Loan Committee that reviews district discount window lending and is backup to the Chicago Fed president in the execution of their monetary policy responsibilities. Bromagen is also a key contributor to formulation and advancement of the Bank's strategic priorities and ensuring an inclusive environment where employees can do their best work.
Since joining the Chicago Fed in 1990, Bromagen has held a variety of management positions, spanning both local operations and national responsibilities, in the areas of corporate accounting, financial planning and payments. Prior to her appointment, Bromagen was the executive vice president and product manager of the Federal Reserve's Customer Relations and Support Office.
Bromagen holds a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Policy and Outreach Coordination Specialist
- Policy and Outreach Coordination Specialist, Community Development and Policy Studies
- Specialist in the Community Development and Policy Studies Division
Emily Engel is a policy and outreach coordination specialist in the community development and policy studies division at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Ms. Engel started her career in 2004 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago working in economic research (on the macroeconomics and regional teams). In 2009, she transitioned to an analyst position in supervision and regulation on the markets and liquidity team. Then, in 2011, she transitioned back into research in her current role, which includes support for the Seventh District contribution to the Small Business Survey. Additionally, Ms. Engel is an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University's School of Professional Studies.
Ms. Engel received undergraduate degree in mathematical methods in the social sciences from Northwestern University and her MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President and Director of Macroeconomic Research
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Professor
Job Titles:
- CEO / Fort Wayne Housing Authority / Fort Wayne, in
George Guy is the Executive Director and CEO of the Fort Wayne (IN) Housing Authority. He has spent over 25 years helping build communities, and has been involved in mixed-finance, multi-family and permanent supportive housing developments in Indiana and Illinois. He has expanded affordable housing for veterans, youth aging out of foster care, and other vulnerable community members. Guy serves on the boards of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials; the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis Affordable Housing Advisory Council; the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association; the Fort Wayne Urban League; and United Way of Allen County.
Geri Aglipay possesses over 20 years of experience in workforce development, entrepreneurship, and economic development. With sharp understanding how legislative and administrative policies affect small businesses, she has a record of coalition-building across public, private and non-profit sectors to build ecosystems for collective impact. She advances data-driven innovation and investments for equity and economic prosperity, especially for socioeconomically disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Aglipay has led small business interests on: anti-predatory lending policies; Community Reinvestment Act rules; and, spearheaded the creation of a metrics toolkit assessing small business service impact in underserved areas, now adapted nationwide.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Chief Executive Officer / Northwest Bank / Spencer, IA
Guadalupe Garcia named the first Hispanic officer at the Bank.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Chief Economist and Head of Global Economics and Markets Research / Goldman Sachs
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President ( May, 2023 - on Leave )
- Vice President, Community Development and Policy Studies
Jane Dokko is the vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's community development and policy studies division. In this role, she leads research and community engagement to create opportunity and improve economic outcomes for low- and moderate-income people and places. During the Obama Administration, Dokko was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Economics at the U.S. Treasury Department and a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. In this work, she was a leader in the development of housing finance policy, the fiduciary rule, and infrastructure policy. She has also worked at the International Monetary Fund, Brookings Institution, and Federal Reserve Board. Dokko is the author of widely-cited academic journal articles, policy briefs, and general interest publications, and her work has been frequently covered in the mainstream media. Her expertise spans housing finance, consumer finance, retirement security, and financial regulation. She received a bachelor's in economics from Haverford College and a master's and PhD in economics from the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- President / Greater Columbus Indiana Economic Development Corporation / Columbus, in
Jason Hester's economic development career spans 22 years in the Hoosier state, and collaborative efforts have resulted in a portfolio of projects exceeding $4.0 billion in new capital investments. He has served in Columbus, Indiana, since August 2010, and prior, Jason was Central Region Director for the Indiana EDC along with roles in Kokomo and Elwood, Indiana. Jason earned an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University and a B.A. degree with honors from Oral Roberts University (Tulsa, OK), majoring in International Community Development. In 2004 he earned the Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) designation by the International Economic Development Council.
Job Titles:
- President and CEO / Belonger Corporation / West Bend, WI
- President of Belonger Corporation
Jean Marie Thiel is President of Belonger Corporation, a specialty trades mechanical contracting company. Thiel has over 33 years of experience in the construction and services industry and has executed work for clients like the Department of Defense, Air Force Medical Command, and Harley Davidson. Thiel has participated in numerous round tables pertaining to small business, economic development, and advocacy, including the President Obama Small Business Round Table Summit (2009), President Bush Small Business Week (2005), SBA sponsored Small Business Workshops, and Tribal/ Native Advisory Councils. Thiel is a recipient of numerous regional and national business awards.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Governance and Human Resources Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Professor of Economics
JoAnn Chávez is senior vice president and chief legal officer for DTE Energy. Chávez has responsibility for the management and strategic direction of DTE's office of the general counsel and advises DTE's board of directors and senior management on legal and related matters. Chávez also has responsibility for the oversight of ethics and compliance, corporate security, corporate emergency management, and tax.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- President and Chief Executive Officer / Ames National Corporation / Ames, IA
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Head
- Head of Chicago & Executive Director of Innovation Implementation
Jonathan Chapparo is the Executive Director of Innovation & Head of Chicago for Braven, a national organization fueling upward economic mobility for first-generation, Pell-eligible college students. Chapparo manages strategy, program implementation, and partnerships with a range of educational institutions and employers. He is a 2017 Surge Institute Fellow, 2018 Ricardo Salinas Scholar with the Aspen Institute's Socrates Program, and a 2020 Chicago Council on Global Affairs Emerging Leader. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa, a master's in teaching from Dominican University, and is pursuing an executive MBA at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chairman of Governance and Human Resources Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Chief Economist
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Director, Maryland Center for Economic Policy and Professor of Economics and Survey Methodology / University of Maryland
Kathryn E. Lee named assistant cashier, becoming the first female officer at the Bank.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- President and Chief Executive Officer / First Bank
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President, Cash and Central Bank Services and Director, Credit Risk Management Support Office ( CRMSO )
Job Titles:
- President and Senior Counselor / Rudd Resources, LLC / Chicago, IL
- President of Rudd Resources LLC
Kimberley Rudd is president of Rudd Resources LLC, a communications firm that handles strategic planning, media relations, branding, and content development. Clients include Elevated Chicago, the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, the University of Chicago and the Federal Bar Association - Chicago Chapter. She also led marketing and development for KABOOM, helped launch the Chicago Park District's marketing department, and developed and managed PR programs for Burrell Public Relations. Kim is a graduate of Northwestern University, and a board member of the Publicity Club of Chicago and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Chicago Metropolitan Chapter.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President and Senior Research Advisor
Job Titles:
- Executive Director / Illinois Housing Development Authority / Chicago, IL
- Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority
Kristin Faust was appointed Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority in November 2019. As the state's chief housing official, she leads IHDA's wide-ranging efforts to finance the creation and preservation of affordable housing throughout Illinois. She has held senior leadership positions in the public, private and nonprofit sectors for 30+ years, previously serving as President of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Chief Credit Officer at Partners for the Common Good, and President of the Enterprise Community Loan Fund. She earned a master's degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from Brown University.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- Founder and CEO of Tractor Zoom
Kyle McMahon is the founder and CEO of Tractor Zoom, a leading farm equipment data and analytics software platform in North America. In this capacity, he is focused on overall strategic direction, investor relations and hiring great people to fuel growth. Kyle is a 3rd generation entrepreneur and actively farms in southern Iowa. Prior to starting Tractor Zoom, he was the Director of Acquisitions for Summit Agricultural Group where he led a team to buy and sell farmland for private equity funds. Kyle graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Supervision and Regulation
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Collegiate Professor of Economics / University of Michigan
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Governance and Human Resources Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Professor of Economics / University of Michigan
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- President & CEO at WRTP
Lindsay Blumer is the President & CEO at WRTP | BIG STEP, a workforce intermediary based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that connects traditionally disenfranchised people to quality career opportunities. Blumer has over 20 years' experience in executive leadership, strategic planning, entrepreneurship, social enterprise, and innovation. Previously, Blumer has served as a community fellow with the United Way of America, in state government advising and developing advocacy strategies and policy, as Assistant Dean at Ripon College, as the executive director of a domestic violence and sexual assault prevention organization, and in developing entrepreneurial pathways for Marquette University students.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Biography
As Chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), Lonnie Dafney leads the design, implementation, and execution of DE&I practices supporting the Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) strategic goals, fostering an environment where DE&I is embedded in all aspects of the FRFS culture and business.
Prior to her current role, Dafney was director of DE&I for EMC Insurance Companies, where she established EMC's diversity office, provided strategic leadership to ensure broader business plans were in alignment with all aspects of the DE&I strategy, and created strategies to link key diversity metrics with workforce, workplace, and community planning efforts.
Dafney brings to the FRFS more than 30 years of experience in strategic human resources with a focus on DE&I to improve workforce planning, performance, efficiency, and employee engagement in large organizations. She began her career in human resources with Wells Fargo in 1997.
Dafney holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a minor in leadership management development from William Penn University. She has also earned certifications for Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) and Society of Human Resource Management - Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President, Internal Audit
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Chief Risk Officer and Chief Technology Officer / First Women 's Bank / Chicago, IL
Job Titles:
- Director of Community Economic Development / Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative / Verona, WI
- Director of Community Economic Development at the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
Marie Barry is the Director of Community Economic Development at the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative where she leads RWHC's efforts to utilize one of rural communities' greatest assets - their hospitals - as a driver of economic development. Barry previously worked for two senators in the Wisconsin legislature and successfully shepherded bipartisan bills from drafting to being signed into law, including during split party control of the legislative and executive branch. She has an undergraduate degree from UW-Madison and a graduate degree in Community and Economic Development from Pennsylvania State University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President, Administrative Services & Chief Financial Officer
Job Titles:
- Owner / GenMet Corporation / Mequon, WI
- Owner of GenMet Corp
Mary Isbister is the owner of GenMet Corp., a manufacturing company located in Wisconsin. Isbister began her career at Pfizer, Inc. as a medicinal chemist. Isbister currently chairs the Board of MxD -the Digital Manufacturing USA Institute and is Vice Chair of NIST's Manufacturing Extension Partnership's Advisory Council. Isbister served two terms as a member of the US Manufacturing Council reporting to the Secretary of Commerce, and also chaired Wisconsin's State Workforce Board. Isbister is passionate about STEM education and ensuring that manufacturing continues to be a pillar of the U.S. economy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Governance and Human Resources Committee
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Regional Analysis and Community Development
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President, People & Culture, Chief Human Resources Officer
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Public Affairs
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Council
Job Titles:
- Member of the Audit Committee
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Policy Studies
- Vice President in the Regional and Community Development Research Division
- Vice President, Regional and Community Development Research
Biography
Nathan Anderson is a vice president in the regional and community development research division at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Anderson does research and analysis related to the Bank's community development function, focusing on the intersection of federal, state, and local tax policies and community and household finances.
Prior to joining the Fed in 2019, Anderson practiced law in the tax department at Ropes & Gray LLP, where he focused on the tax aspects of investment funds (e.g., private equity funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, real estate funds, and their managers and investors), tax-exempt organizations, foreign investors, and financial instruments. Beginning in 2018, he focused much of his practice on the tax incentives to invest in Opportunity Zones introduced by the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Anderson received a bachelor's in economics from Case Western Reserve University, a master's, and a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan, and a juris doctor from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- President and Chief Operating Officer / First Internet Bank / Fishers, in
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Professor of Economics, Booth School of Business
Job Titles:
- Research Director
- Research Director for the Great Lakes Region Organizing Committee of the Laborers' International Union of North America
Pam Fendt is the research director for the Great Lakes Region Organizing Committee of the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) in Wisconsin. She conducts research to advance organizing and union density in the construction industry. Previously, Fendt worked for the Good Jobs & Livable Neighborhoods Coalition in Milwaukee and was a research policy analyst at the UW Milwaukee Center for Economic Development. Fendt has a BA in English and a MS in Urban Studies from UW Milwaukee. She is in her 3rd term as President of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Head of Architecture and Business Platforms for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Biography
As head of architecture for Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS), Pat Adler is responsible for the architectural direction, technology strategy, and emerging technology efforts for the FRFS business. In this role, he leads the development, design, and ongoing execution of a comprehensive technology strategy and target state to support the FRFS' strategic objectives.
Prior to his current role, Adler was vice president of Architecture, Platforms, and Innovation in the Customer Relations and Support Office (CRSO), where he led the architectural direction and innovation efforts for the FedLine® and customer management portfolios of FRFS.
Adler joined the Chicago Fed in 2001 as a senior developer in Supervision and Regulation and began working with the CRSO and Financial Services in 2002. Since then, Adler has held a number of leadership positions with increasing responsibility in the areas of architecture, solution delivery and technology strategy across the Bank and broader Federal Reserve System.
Adler holds a bachelor's degree from University of Illinois - Chicago and a Master of Science degree in Software Engineering and Architecture from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Business Support Network Director
- Small Business Network Director
Paul Jones currently serves as the Business Support Network Director, which is established as an office inside Invest Detroit (a local Detroit based Community Financial Development Institution). As Business Support Network Director, Mr. Jones convenes various constituent groups to identify needs or support gaps in existing programs, mobilize the network of business support organizations (BSOs) for quick execution, and engage with business owners to ensure the network of support is known and relevant to their needs. Paul works with Invest Detroit and NEI leadership to ensure the BSOs and the small businesses they serve are equipped to meet their needs.
Paul, a native Detroiter, served as the executive director of the Detroit site of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. In this role, he focused on identifying, attracting, and organizing community resources to support the program's small business scholar and alumni base. Prior to Goldman Sachs, he founded TIVA Capital Advisors, a virtual CFO company that focuses on data analytics, financial literacy and value extraction. Jones was also the co-founder and CEO of IPX EG International, a telecom company headquartered in West Africa that under his leadership grew from a startup to $20M in annual revenue with over 100 employees.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- President and Chief Executive Officer / University of Wisconsin Credit Union / Madison, MI
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President, Director of Research and Executive Committee Member
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Head of Payment System Improvements for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Senior Vice President, Supervision and Regulation
Biography
Rebecca Chmielewski is a senior vice president responsible for Enforcement, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Specialized Functions supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Prior to joining the Fed in 2009, Chmielewski was a vice president at Goldman Sachs & Co, responsible for internal audit in the Americas' regional offices. She specialized in investment management, investment and merchant banking, capital markets, and alternative investments. Earlier in her career, Chmielewski was a senior manager in the Business Risk Services business line at Ernst & Young, providing consulting services to banking and capital markets clients. Chmielewski started her career at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She earned a B.B.A. from Loyola University and an M.B.A. from University of Chicago. She is also a Certified Internal Auditor and a Certified Information Systems Auditor.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Supervision and Regulation
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Supervision and Regulation
Biography
Richard Brunskill graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a degree in Economics and from the Graduate School of Banking in Colorado. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder. Brunskill began his regulatory career with the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions as a bank examiner. He went on to serve as field supervisor and district supervisor.
In 2003, Brunskill was appointed by the Illinois Governor to serve as director for Chicago Bank Supervision, where he oversaw the regulation of Illinois state-chartered commercial banks, savings banks, and foreign bank branches located in Chicago and the surrounding suburban market.
Brunskill joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 2010, where he has held roles as a senior examiner, portfolio manager, and AVP in both operational and supervisory roles. He has also held functional responsibilities over specialty risk examinations, problem banks, resource scheduling, process improvement, and examination support. In 2018 Richard became the VP over Community Bank Organizations overseeing the supervision of all fed member banks and holding companies with assets less than $10 Billion. He currently serves as SVP over the community and regional bank portfolios.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Senior Vice President, Community & Economic Development Market Manager
Robert (Rob) V. McGhee serves as Senior Vice President, Community & Economic Development Market Manager, for Fifth Third Bank. He leads the Bank's Community Economic Development program for the Chicago region and oversees the Bank's regional compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act. McGhee has nearly three decades of community development and banking experience, with prior leadership roles with U.S Bank and Citigroup. He is a board of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, and an active member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. McGhee received a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Job Titles:
- Director
- General Counsel
- General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs for the Iowa League of Cities
Robert Palmer is General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs for the Iowa League of Cities, a statewide association representing more than 870 cities in Iowa. In his free time Palmer is President of the West Des Moines Community Foundation, Chair of the Drake College of Arts & Sciences National Advisory Council, and a board member of the Drake Law School Alumni Engagement Board, the Iowa Society of Association Executives, and the Iowa Board of Physical and Occupational Therapy. He lives in West Des Moines with his wife and three boys.
Job Titles:
- Director / Purdue Center for Regional Development / West Lafayette, in
Roberto Gallardo is Director of the Purdue Center for Regional Development. Gallardo has worked with rural communities over the past seventeen years conducting local & regional community economic development. He has authored articles and reports on rural trends, industrial clusters, the digital divide, and leveraging broadband applications for community economic development. He is the author of "Responsive Countryside: The Digital Age & Rural Communities", which highlights a 21st century community development model that helps rural communities transition to and prosper in the digital age. He holds a master's in economic development and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- President and Chief Executive Officer / the State Bank / Fenton, MI
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Supervision & Regulation
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- Public Policy Director at Community Development Associates of Detroit
Ruth Johnson is the Public Policy Director at Community Development Associates of Detroit. Johnson has a long track record of working with underserved communities, including people with disabilities, and people with language and literacy differences. As part of her work, she connects nonprofit groups and for-profit enterprises to local, state and national partners. Johnson draws on her experience practicing law for twelve years, serving in several nonprofit executive positions, operating her own consulting business, and volunteering in schools, in her community and in her church.
The Honorable Sandy K. Baruah is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Detroit Regional Chamber, one of the largest in the country. Under Baruah's leadership, the chamber's signature initiatives include Forward Detroit, a comprehensive, forward-looking regional development approach; MICHauto, a statewide strategy to advance next-generation automotive and mobility developments in Michigan; and the Mackinac Policy Conference, one of the nation's largest and longest-running public policy conferences hosting national keynote speakers and the state's top public and private leadership.
Baruah joined the chamber in 2010 after a distinguished career in Washington, DC. He served as President George W. Bush's last administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In this role, he was the chief executive responsible for the SBA's 4,000 national employees and $18 billion small business loan portfolio. Baruah was one of the senior officials shaping the federal government's response to the 2008 credit crisis and assistance to the U.S. automotive industry.
Prior to leading the SBA, Baruah served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce. In this role he was responsible for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), served as the senior advisor to the Commerce Secretary for the 2010 Census, and represented the U.S. government before the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France. Before serving in the George W. Bush administration, Baruah was a corporate mergers and acquisitions consultant for the Performance Consulting Group. He also served in the administration of President George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) and was on the staff of U.S. Sen. Bob Packwood.
After leaving government service in early 2009, he was a Distinguished Fellow at the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, a Washington, DC- based think tank comprised of corporate CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders focused on American economic competitiveness.
Baruah earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Oregon and a Master of Business Administration degree from Willamette University. Baruah serves on the boards of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, Automotive Hall of Fame, Detroit Economic Club and Riverfront Conservancy. He is a former Advisory Board Member of Wavepoint Ventures and Spain's Orkestra - Institute of Competitiveness.
In 2016, Baruah was appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder as chairman of the 21st Century Economy Commission. He is a frequent commentator on local and national media regarding national political developments, automotive industry matters and Detroit and Michigan issues.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President at LISC
- Vice President of
Seung Kim is Senior Vice President at LISC and leads the National Programs unit including Health, Economic Development, Child Care & Early Learning, Safety & Justice and Sports & Recreation. She guides these programs in delivering technical and financial resources, thought leadership, program innovation and scaling, and external partnerships with an aim to enhance LISC's impact in communities.
Job Titles:
- Principal With Terra Economics
Sharon Bard is Principal with Terra Economics and has over 25 years of experience working with agricultural lenders, agribusinesses, non-profits, farmers and ranchers. As a consultant, Bard leads research and stakeholder engagement to create sustainable economic and environmental outcomes for agricultural industry participants. Bard has authored peer-reviewed journal articles, research and industry reports, and presented her research globally. Her expertise includes agricultural finance, risk assessment, corporate ESG, and agricultural resource management. Bard is a member of Saving Tomorrow's Agriculture Resources Steering Committee. She received her PhD in agricultural economics from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and lives on an Illinois farm.
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- President / Grand Victoria Foundation / Chicago, IL
- President of Grand Victoria Foundation
Sharon Bush is the President of Grand Victoria Foundation and is only the second person to lead the Foundation in its 20-year history. Bush is a recognized leader who strongly values the economic and social contributions of the nonprofit sector. Throughout her career she has worked to ensure that the sector is strong, equitable, sustainable, and highly capable of serving individuals and families throughout the Chicago region. She has launched, led, and participated in innovative collaborations that have resulted in thousands of people securing employment and millions of dollars to support the regional workforce system.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director / Incremental Development Alliance / Fort Wayne, in
Sherry Early-Aden is the Executive Director of Incremental Development (IncDev). In her role, Early-Aden is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the organization, providing executive direction of all program strategy, compliance, quality assurance, and program efficiency. She has over twenty years of direct experience working in the field of community and economic development. Prior to joining IncDev, Early-Aden served as the Vice President of Operations and Community Economic Development for Brightpoint, a community action agency in northeast Indiana.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President
- Executive Vice President, Chief of Product and Relationship Management for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Biography
Shonda Clay is an executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and chief of product and relationship management for Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS). Clay leads integrated product development for the Federal Reserve's portfolio of payment products and FRFS engagement and communications with financial institutions and the industry more broadly, including customer relations, customer experience, marketing communications and research, and the Federal Reserve's payment system improvement initiatives. Clay also serves on the Bank's executive committee, the Bank's senior decision-making body, and serves as an executive sponsor of a cross-Bank group focused on payments and financial stability.
Most recently, Clay served as product manager for the Customer Relations and Support Office (CRSO) and director for the Federal Reserve's Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System. Clay's 30-year career with the Federal Reserve began at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In 2001, she transitioned to the CRSO, headquartered at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Since then, Clay has held several leadership positions with increasing responsibility in the areas of customer relations, marketing, industry relations, customer set-up and support and FedLine®.
Clay holds a master's degree in business administration from Northwestern University, J.L. Kellogg School of Management, and a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of North Texas.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Professor of the Social Sciences
Job Titles:
- Member of the Council
- Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer / Independent Bank / Grand Rapids, MI
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- Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Policy Studies
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- Chairman
- Member of Governance and Human Resources Committee
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- Senior Vice President, Head of National Sales / Customer Relations for Federal Reserve Financial Services
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Supervision and Regulation
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President, Supervision and Regulation Department
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Head of Employee Experience for Federal Reserve Financial Services
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Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Information Technology, Innovation, and System Leadership Initiative