Board Chairman| Ginsberg Jacobs LLC| Finance, Civil Rights, Real Estate

Jay Readey is a lawyer, consultant and social entrepreneur who has worked for many years on issues of racial and socioeconomic equity. Jay founded and served as President and CEO of The MetroAlliance, a social venture focused on neighborhood transformation. Through a mix of for-profit strategies and nonprofit initiatives, The MetroAlliance focuses on strengthening dynamic metropolitan communities, especially the South Side and South Suburbs of Chicago.

In the course of his work with The MetroAlliance, Jay supports the creation and growth of numerous small businesses and nonprofit organizations, along with housing and community development strategies for community vitality. Jay was a 2012 Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago and a member of the inaugural 2015 class of Presidential Leadership Scholars through the Bush and Clinton Presidential Libraries and Foundations. 

Jay practices law with Ginsberg Jacobs LLC, focused on complex community development finance, and teaches as an adjunct professor of housing and community development law at DePaul University School of Law. 

Jay was a 1994 graduate of Yale College with majors in African-American Studies and American  Studies. He received a JD from Yale Law School and an MBA from the Yale School of  Management in 2004.

JP Morgan Chase| Strategic Budgeting/Banking

Shaakira brings over 25 years of experience in financial services, having successfully advanced through various lines of business in banking to her current position as Executive Director, Market Director of Wealth at J.P. Morgan. In this role, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership, guiding her team to top-tier performance, earning national recognition, and implementing transformative client experience initiatives. These efforts have resulted in a 32% year-over-year increase in team revenue and a 71% growth in investment balances.

A trailblazer in mentorship and inclusion, Shaakira established Mentoring Circles for Transferable Skills and serves as a steadfast Ambassador for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. Her leadership has fostered a highly cohesive team environment in Chicago, where individual accountability is balanced with collaboration to achieve success.

Shaakira is deeply committed to the retention and upward mobility of employees across all roles in the financial services industry. She organizes monthly DEI meetings that span all lines of business, enhancing employees’ skills in networking, interviewing, resume writing, mentorship, and sponsorship. Through her efforts, employees have achieved promotions and internal transfers, enriching organizational diversity, increasing profitability, and elevating both employee and client experiences. Her initiatives have influenced C-level executives at J.P. Morgan Chase to prioritize transferable skills across departments, ultimately boosting talent retention, recruitment, and profitability.

Shaakira considers her greatest achievement to be her role as wife to Dion and mother to Dion Jr. She serves as an Executive Board Member for Centers for New Horizons and Jack and Jill of America, Magnificent Mile Chapter. Shaakira holds an MBA and undergraduate degrees in Finance and Sociology from Roosevelt University, along with securities licenses Series 7, 66, 9, 10, and an Insurance Producer’s License.

Treasurer | Experian Business Services | Fiscal Management

Wil Lewis is currently the Chief Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Officer at Experian. Prior to this role, Wil was Diversity & Inclusion Executive supporting Bank of America’s Global Wealth & Investment Management, Business Banking and Consumer businesses. Prior to Wil’s D&I role, he was the Staffing Executive leading recruiting activities in Bank of America’s Retail Banking & Distribution group. Wil’s team drove recruiting activity for Bank of America’s nearly 5,800 banking centers across the US with over 25,000 hires a year. During his tenure at the bank, Wil has also led Executive Recruiting, the staffing efforts for Small Business Banking, Sales Service & Execution, LaSalle Global Trust Services and E-Commerce. Wil joined Bank of America from the LaSalle acquisition where he held the position of Head of Talent Acquisition for LaSalle Bank and ABN Amro North America, headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Prior to joining the bank, Wil was a team member at Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, a manufacturing organization of 32,000 worldwide associates. During his time at Smurfit-Stone Wil led employee relations, talent development and staffing. Notable accomplishments were his implementation of multiple Peoplesoft modules for the global enterprise. As part of this implementation Wil also created new business processes in 23 countries and centralized multiple functions for the organization resulting in a significant benefit to business.

In his career, Wil has been committed to driving diversity in the workplace. He has served as executive sponsor to Latino, African American and Native American affinity groups. Additionally, Wil has worked diligently to create a strong connection with the communities we do business in. Wil has held roles in both, sales and operations before starting his career path in human resources.

Wil is actively engaged in many community activities including serving on the board of the Mahogany Foundation an organization committed to providing a quality education to underprivileged youth and Centers for New Horizons a social service agency focused on child & elder care, foster and adoption needs on Chicago’s south side. Wil resides, with his family, in Chicago, IL

Director of Audio

Darius Lawrence is an accomplished audio engineer and the Director of Audio Engineering at Abounding Life Church of God in Christ (COGIC), bringing over a decade of experience to his role. His expertise spans live sound, studio recording, broadcast audio, and digital systems, with notable past work as Assistant Audio Engineer for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and Senior Broadcast Audio Engineer for Rainbow PUSH. Leading a skilled team, Darius ensures exceptional audio production for all church services and events, creating immersive sound environments that enhance the worship experience. His commitment to innovation, collaboration, and professional excellence continues to drive his work within both the entertainment and religious sectors.

Marketing Consultant

Currently a Marketing Consultant and Events Producer for SA Marketing and Management Consulting, Sean is a cultural architect with corporate experience, creativity, insight, and good taste who values providing great service and nurturing relationships. With over 15 years of experience in management, marketing, event production, event coordination, client services, and hospitality, his wealth of experience has afforded him opportunities to thrive and become an asset on a variety of projects. Effectively leading and managing events, developing a team friendly culture, and satisfying clients gives me a great sense of purpose and fulfillment.