News Release

CHICAGO - The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago today announced the 20 new members of its Advisory Council on Agriculture, Small Business, and Labor.

Council members serve a two-year term and meet twice a year to provide their views on current business conditions to Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and other senior officials.  Input from the Council members on regional economic conditions contributes to the Federal Reserve System’s formulation of national monetary policy.  The first meeting of 2011 is April 29.

Council members generally represent private companies, labor organizations, academia, and banks throughout the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which consists of most of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan, as well as Iowa.
 
For more information about the Advisory Council on Agriculture, Small Business and Labor, log onto /people/advisory-council

The following is a list of the new Advisory Council on Agriculture, Small Business and Labor members: 

 
Illinois

John A. Challenger
Chief Executive Officer
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Chicago, IL

G. Curtis Lansbery
President
North American Tool Corp.
South Beloit, IL

Jorge Ramirez
President
Chicago Federation of Labor
Chicago, IL

Robert Seegers, Jr.
Owner
Seegers Grain, Inc.
Crystal Lake, IL

Whitney Smith
Program Manager
The Joyce Foundation
Chicago, IL

Siva Yam
President
United States of America-China
Chamber of Commerce (USCCC)
Chicago, IL

Indiana

Harold Force
President & CEO
Force Construction Company, Inc.
Columbus, IN

Nancy Guyott
President
Indiana State AFL-CIO
Indianapolis, IN

David Howell
Owner
Howell Farms
Middletown, IN

Iowa

Joel Hertz
Chairman
Hertz Farm Management
Monticello, IA

Scott Peterson
President/Chief Financial Officer
Harbor Group/Interstates Companies
Sioux Center, IA

Ken D. Sagar
President
Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO
Des Moines, IA

Michigan

Dave Armstrong
Chief Executive Officer
Farm Credit Services
East Lansing, MI
 
Scott Z. Goldstein
President
American Processing Company, LLC
Farmington Hills, MI

John A. James
CEO & Founder
James Group International, Inc.
Detroit, MI

Birgit Klohs
President & CEO
The Right Place, Inc.
Grand Rapids, MI

Cathy McClelland
President & CEO
McClelland & Associates
Southfield, MI

Donald Snider
President & CEO
Walden Foods
Ann Arbor, MI

Wisconsin

David J. Lubar
President
Lubar & Co.
Milwaukee, WI

Carol Maria
President
Wisconsin Business Development
Waukesha, WI

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Background

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the nation's central bank. The Chicago Reserve Bank serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and the state of Iowa. In addition to participation in the formulation of monetary policy, each Reserve Bank supervises member banks and bank holding companies, provides financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government, and monitors economic conditions in its District.

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