Charles L. Evans has served as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago since September 2007. In that capacity, he serves on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Federal Reserve System's monetary policymaking body.

Before becoming president in September of 2007, Evans served as director of research and senior vice president, supervising the Bank's research on monetary policy, banking, financial markets, and regional economic conditions.

His personal research has focused on measuring the effects of monetary policy on U.S. economic activity, inflation, and financial market prices and has been published in peer-reviewed journals.

Evans is active in the civic community. He is a trustee at Rush University Medical Center, a director of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a governing board member of Econ Illinois, a member of the Economic Club of Chicago board of directors, and a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and Civic Consulting Alliance board.

Evans has taught at the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and the University of South Carolina. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a doctorate in economics from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Helene D. Gayle has been president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations, since October 2017. Under her leadership, the trust has adopted a new strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region.

For almost a decade, she was president and CEO of CARE, a leading international humanitarian organization. An expert on global development, humanitarian, and health issues, Gayle spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS. She worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, directing programs on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues. She also launched the McKinsey Social Initiative (now McKinsey.org), a nonprofit that builds partnerships for social impact.

Gayle was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She earned a BA in psychology at Barnard College, an MD at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MPH at Johns Hopkins University. She has received 18 honorary degrees and holds faculty appointments at the University of Washington and Emory University.

Jennifer F. Scanlon is president and chief executive officer of UL. Scanlon’s deep commitment to science, technology, engineering, and math shape her approach to advancing UL’s leadership in driving confidence and trust in the next generation of innovation.

Prior to becoming CEO in September 2019, Scanlon served as president and CEO of USG Corporation, a manufacturer of innovative building products. During her 16 years at USG, she also served as chief information officer (CIO) and as head of corporate strategy. She led the company through a major international expansion, transformed the role of technology in driving operational efficiency and customer satisfaction, and invested in research to develop sustainable building materials. She began her career at IBM. Scanlon’s experience will be central to building new offerings, opening new markets, and creating the next generation of solutions at UL.

Scanlon is a fierce advocate for STEM education. She is also dedicated to increasing diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields, enabling greater organizational diversity and improving the ability of organizations to fully understand and meet the needs of a diverse stakeholder base.

Scanlon sits on the board of Norfolk Southern Corporation and serves as chairman of the Commercial Club of Chicago and vice chair of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She is also a member of The Chicago Network and the Economic Club of Chicago, and she serves on the City of Chicago’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Taskforce. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with dual degrees in government and computer applications and a Master of Business Administration in finance and marketing from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, is the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). Arwady started at CDPH in 2015 and served as chief medical officer before being confirmed by the City Council as commissioner in January 2020. As chief medical officer she oversaw the disease control, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and behavioral health divisions. She has worked on disease outbreaks, immunization promotion, tuberculosis response, lead poisoning prevention, substance misuse, and more. Prior to CDPH, she worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an epidemic intelligence service officer. In that role, she focused on outbreak response, including international work on Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. While based at the Illinois Department of Public Health, she responded to disease outbreaks across the state. She has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University, and she completed medical school and clinical training at Yale University. She is a board-certified internal medicine physician and pediatrician, and continues to see primary care patients weekly.

Samir Mayekar fills a newly created role designed to further develop and support Chicago’s neighborhoods: Chicago deputy mayor for neighborhood and economic development. Mayekar has significant experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Mayekar previously served in the Obama administration in the White House and at a federal infrastructure finance agency. As co-founder and CEO of NanoGraf Corporation, a global manufacturer of advanced materials, Mayekar built a green energy company that continues to grow in Bronzeville. Mayekar has deep neighborhood roots in Chicago, having served as board chair for a community-engaged youth theater in Albany Park and a GRAMMY-winning music ensemble serving the Back of the Yards. He holds a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, where he received the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. He also serves on Northwestern’s board of trustees. Mayekar is fluent in Spanish and married to Emily Mayekar, an orthopedic surgeon working at Illinois's largest trauma center serving Chicago's South Side.