Gov. Pritzker Announces Nine Appointments to Illinois Board of Higher Education

Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following appointments in his administration:

 
GOVERNORS STATE UNIVERSITY

 
Pedro Cevallos will serve on the Board of Trustees of Governors State University.* Cevallos is the president of PECECA Business Consultants,  a management consulting firm which he started in March 2016. He spent 28 years prior as the founding president and CEO of Primera Engineers, where he worked on over 400 engineering projects. During his tenure at Primera, the company grew from a startup to a nationally-ranked firm, as demonstrated by the 380 position in the prestigious ENR 500 list of largest engineering companies in the USA. He also served as a faculty member at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Cevallos has served as President of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois, District Governor for Rotary International, District 6450 and Past-President of the Rotary Club of Chicago and chairman of the board of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico.

 
ILLINOIS BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION

 
John Atkinson will serve on and chair the Illinois Board of Higher Education.* Atkinson currently serves as a Managing Director for Willis Towers Watson,  a global advisory, broking and solutions company as part of their Chicago and North American leadership team. He previously served as the managing partner of Thilman Filippini, one of the nation's top 100 privately held risk management brokers, through 2006 when he led the integration and merger of his firm into HRH and subsequently into Willis Group in 2008. Atkinson is a recognized leader in the insurance, risk and human capital space. He has focused his career on building companies and teams to help organizations to navigate complex business problems in the area of risk finance, and human capital. Atkinson serves as a Director of the Kennedy Forum Illinois, Cradles to Crayons and World Business Chicago. He is a Director Emeritus of One Million Degrees and on the Board of Advisors of Catholic Charities and the Council of Regents of Loyola University Chicago. He received his B.S. in political science from Benedictine University after studying political science and government at the College of DuPage.
 
Jennifer A. Delaney will serve on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.* Delaney is an Associate Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she is also the Director of the Forum on the Future of Public Education. Dr. Delaney's research focuses on higher education policy, with an emphasis on finance. Previously, she worked for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, and served as a consultant for the Commission on the Future of Higher Education. She was also an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Stanford University, an Ed.M. in Higher Education from Harvard University and a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan.
 
Derek Douglas will serve on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.* As Vice President for Civic Engagement and External Affairs, Douglas serves as an Officer of the University of Chicago and leads the university's local, regional, national and global efforts with respect to civic engagement, corporate partnerships and urban development. Douglas has oversight responsibility for the civic and community engagement work of the University of Chicago Medical Center, spearheads the University's global cities work in partnership with the Global Engagement Office and sits on the three member Executive Committee for the Polsky Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which governs the university's innovation and entrepreneurial activities. Douglas previously served on the White House Domestic Policy Council as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama for Urban Affairs and led the White House's work on urban and metropolitan policy issues. He received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Michigan.
 
Andrea Evans will serve on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.* Dr. Evans currently serves as the Director of the Jacob H. Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies at Northeastern Illinois University. In addition, she holds an appointment as full professor in the Department of Leadership, Literacy and Development in the College of Education. Previously, Dr. Evans served as the Dean of the College of Education at Governors State University. She has also served as an administrator and professor at other Illinois universities including Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Evans recently served on Illinois State Board of Education's State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board (SEPLB). Prior to her work in higher education, she spent 11 years as a high school science teacher and alternative school administrator in the Chicago area. Dr. Evans received her Ph.D. in Education Policy Studies and B.S. in Biological Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago and her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Program Development at DePaul University.
 
Jennifer Garrison will serve on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.* Dr. Garrison is the Superintendent of Vandalia Community Unit School District #203. She was as a leader of the Funding Illinois' Future Coalition and the Fix the Formula Campaign advocating for a new equitable school funding formula which led to the passage of the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act during her tenure as Superintendent of Sandoval C.U.S.D. #501. She has been a committee member for IASA's Vision 20/20 since its inception in 2013, working on the Illinois Balanced Accountability Model which was the blueprint for the Every Student Succeeds Act for Illinois. Dr. Garrison has served as a Principal for Ramsey C.U.S.D. #204 and was an elementary teacher for Highland C.U.S.D. #5 where she also achieved her National Board Certification. Jennifer served nine years in the Illinois Army National Guard and achieved the rank of Sergeant.
 
Veronica Gloria will serve on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.* Gloria serves as Executive Director of Centro Español, a non-profit social service agency that provides bilingual social and educational services in Will County. Despite being heavily impacted by Illinois state budget impasse, Gloria restructured the non-profit's programs for financial stability, bringing on a new board of directors, fundraising, applying for new grants, improving policies and procedures, and emphasizing quality customer service and professional development. Before joining Centro Español, she coordinated an internship program for low-income and first-generation college students at the University of Chicago and conducted mental health research for low-income students at the Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla in Puebla, Mexico. Recently, Gloria joined the Greater Joliet YMCA Metropolitan Board. She received her bachelor's degree in social studies and a minor in ethnicity, migration and rights from Harvard University.
 
Veronica Herrero will serve on the Illinois Board of Higher Education. * Herrero currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at the City Colleges of Chicago, supporting the chancellor and partners with the presidents of the seven City Colleges of Chicago. Previously, she was Chief Program Officer of One Million Degrees, a non-profit organization partnering with community colleges in the Chicagoland area committed to empowering community college students to succeed in school, work and life. Herrero brings over thirteen years of cross-sector leadership experience in strategy, design, student success and education management through her previous roles at OMD, the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute and Chicago Public Schools. Herrero serves on the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees and Girls, Inc. of Chicago Board of Directors. Herrero received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 
 
Pranav Kothari will serve on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.* Kothari is the Founder and CEO of Revolution Impact, which focuses on helping empower social sector organizations to achieve their goals. He also serves as Adjunct Lecturer of Social Impact at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, teaching both MBA and executive education courses on the education sector, social sector performance measurement and board governance. Pranav has held prior leadership roles with KnowledgeWorks, StriveTogether and Mission Measurement and has served as Board President of the National College Access Network. He currently is the board vice president of MORTAR and is a member of the UChicago Consortium on School Research Steering Committee. Kothari received his Master of Business Administration in Corporate Strategy and Organizational Behavior from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan an A.B. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis.
 
Kenneth Shaw will serve on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.* Shaw has spent 28 years leading university systems including Southern Illinois University, the University of Wisconsin System and Syracuse University. Upon retirement from Syracuse University, he served as a Senior Consultant for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Shaw has served in leadership positions on numerous educational and economic task forces and commissions as well as Boards of Trustees of both for-profit and not-for-profit businesses and organizations. He has received numerous national, statewide and local honors including seven honorary degrees, the Silver Anniversary Award from the National Association of College Athletics (NCAA) and is a Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. The Granite City resident received his Ph.D. from Purdue University, his master's degree from the University of Illinois and his Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University.

 
ILLINOIS INTERNATIONAL PORT DISTRICT

 
Terrence Sullivan will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois International Port District.* Sullivan was first appointed to the board in 2009 by Governor Pat Quinn and has over forty years' experience in construction, facilities and personnel management as well as working with a wide variety of governmental agencies, union leaders and community organizers. Since 2008, Sullivan has served as contracted with the Illinois Secretary of State's Speakers Bureau - Drivers Services. From 1994 to 2006, he served as an associate administration of Oak Forest Hospital of Cook County, and for 31 years prior, he served as the Superintendent of Central Services and Capital Improvements at the Chicago Park District.
 
* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.