José Rivera, Jr.
Chair
José E. Rivera was a founding executive of Intellia Therapeutics, a publicly-traded leading genome editing company focused on developing proprietary, curative therapeutics, where he served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, between the company’s founding in 2014 through 2021. During his tenure at Intellia, José also served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Talent Officer, and supervised various functions, including human resources, external and government affairs, IT and facilities. Prior to joining Intellia, José was the Vice President, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at AbbVie, Inc., upon its spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in January 2013. Prior to the AbbVie spin-off, José was a member of Abbott’s legal division serving in a number of positions of increasing responsibilities, including leading various legal functions as Division Vice President and Associate General Counsel. In August 2023, Jose was appointed to the board of education of Kildeer Countryside School District 96. José received his B.A. in Economics from Boston College and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He resides in Long Grove with his wife, two children and parents. José also has three adult children, who live in Illinois and Virginia.
Rob Muriel
Vice Chair
Rob is a Partner at Williams, Bax & Salzman, practicing in the fields of commercial litigation, insurance coverage, and insurance regulatory matters. His career is marked by significant accomplishments and dedicated public service. In 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker tapped him to serve as the Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). Following his confirmation by the Illinois Senate, Rob helped secure many accomplishments for Illinoisans and the IDOI and became a recognized figure on the national insurance regulatory scene.
During his term as Director, Rob was a leader at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), where he served as Chair of the Accelerated Underwriting in Life Insurance Working Group, Co-Chair of one of the workstreams on the Executive Special Committee on Race & Insurance, and a member of numerous other task forces such as the Long-Term Care Insurance Task Force.
Prior to his private law practice, Rob clerked for the Honorable Allen Hartman in the Appellate Court of Illinois and worked in the tax division of Arthur Andersen & Co.
In addition to his legal career, in 2015, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed Rob to the Illinois Racing Board, which regulates horse racing, where Rob served for four years prior to the appointment as Insurance Director. Rob was also formerly President of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and President of the Alumni Board of Governors for Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He served on numerous civic boards and was recognized by Chicago Lawyer Magazine as “40 Lawyers Under 40 to Watch” in 2000. In his spare time, Rob has coached youth sports in his community for over ten years, served as an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and has an active leadership role at Christ Our Hope Parish in Highwood/Highland Park.
Laura Ulrich
Immediate Past Chair
Laura Levin Ulrich graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received a JD-MM from Northwestern University. Ms Ulrich practiced law with Hopkins & Sutter and then Foley & Lardner after the firms merged. Her practice focused on general corporate law with an emphasis on airport transactions. Since leaving the formal practice of law, Ms Ulrich has been active in the community including serving as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). Ms Ulrich and her husband have 4 daughters and reside in Glencoe.
Cheryl Braude
Treasurer
Cheryl Braude has worked in commercial banking for her entire 37-year professional career. For the past 14 years, she has worked at First Bank Chicago (f/k/a First Bank of Highland Park), where she is Chief Credit Officer. Cheryl is responsible for overseeing the quality of the Bank’s $1.3 billion loan portfolio. Her leadership, experience, and steadfast standards set the tone for the Bank’s credit culture. Her prior 23 years were spent at LaSalle Bank. Cheryl attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She is active in her synagogue, sitting on both the Finance and Endowment Committees. Cheryl and her husband live in Northbrook and have two adult children. She welcomes the opportunity to support NSLAC’s mission and assist in furthering its goals.
Jaime Rhum
Secretary
Jaime Rhum is a real estate attorney with over 25 years of experience whose practice focuses on commercial acquisitions, sales, development, leasing and commercial lending. Jaime is currently affiliated with the Highland Park law firm, Becker Gurian where she has practiced law for nearly 20 years. Previously, she was affiliated with the law firms DLA Piper and Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP. Jaime received her BS in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987 and her JD from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 1990. Jaime resides in Highland Park with her 2 children Kimberly aged 20 and Eric aged 16. Jaime has been a volunteer for the Highland Park-Highwood Legal Aid Clinic since the fall of 2015 and joined the board in January of 2017.
Nancy Rotering
Executive Committee and Founder
Nancy is the first female mayor of Highland Park, a position she has held since 2011. She has been a leader in inclusive government, making sure that every resident has a voice. Her dedication to public service spans decades. She serves on a broad range of civic and philanthropic commissions, boards, and committees.
In 2013, she created the City of Highland Park Human Services Task Force. This group identified a need to address access to affordable legal services as part of a needs assessment study. In 2015, Nancy founded the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic, providing free legal services in the areas of housing, immigration, and domestic violence in northeastern Illinois. Her work has been recognized. Nancy was honored as the 2013 Rotary Humanitarian of the Year. In 2014, Today’s Chicago Woman named Nancy to their 100 Women of Inspiration, and she was named to the Forty over 40 list in Forbes.
After earning her undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford and an MBA from Northwestern, Nancy worked in finance at General Motors before attending the University of Chicago Law School. She specialized in health care law practicing with McDermott Will & Emery. Nancy later shifted her focus to government work, joining the staff of State Representative Karen May. She is a lecturer at Northwestern University teaching about Women and American Political Leadership to undergraduate students. She and her husband, Rob have four sons and reside in Highland Park, IL.
Katie Cronin
Executive Committee
Katie Cronin is a senior legal leader providing practical risk aware strategic counsel to senior and C-suite executives, supporting the business to facilitate the successful implementation of a Fortune 500 company's vision and strategy. Katie currently serves as Assistant General Counsel at W.W. Grainger, supporting strategic initiatives for National Accounts, Customer Solutions, Marketing, Pricing, Merchandising, Supplier Management, Grainger Global Sourcing, and Product Compliance. Katie has a wide range of skills in various legal areas providing her stakeholders with value, innovation, and quality. She is committed to continuous learning, professional development, and mentoring aspiring legal and business professionals.
Prior to her work at Grainger, Katie was the Chief Legal Counsel at a leading provider of patient education websites where she partnered with internal business units on various legal, operational, and business issues focusing on technology, privacy, and intellectual property issues. Additionally, she oversaw compliance and labor and employment, working to foster a positive and inclusive work culture.
Katie earned her Doctor of Law (JD) degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago School of Law in 1998, graduating with honors and participating in Law Review. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Journalism and Advertising from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she graduated with honors. Katie lives in the Village of Lake Bluff, where she has been raising her three children, devoted time to the community, family and friends.
Leah S. Bailey
Director
Leah Bailey is an accomplished senior executive with a track record of success facilitating profitable growth in public and private companies. A former CEO, COO, and V.P. of Marketing, she brings deep experience in strategic operations, marketing, and general management.
She served as President of Global Beauty for Helen of Troy Limited, a $1.5B public consumer products company. Under her leadership, the division increased gross margin through innovation and improved distribution. She drove significant growth as COO and CEO at Paris Presents, a consumer beauty business.
Ms. Bailey earned her MBA at Harvard Business School and BA from Johns Hopkins University. She resides in Illinois with her husband and is a proud mother of two daughters, both of whom are pediatricians.
Jeff Blumberg
Director
Jeff Blumberg, a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP in Chicago, is an experienced investment management lawyer. He advises private fund managers, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and commodity trading advisers on regulatory, governance, and structural matters. Jeff assists with fund operations, compliance, documentation, mergers and acquisitions, and SEC investigations. Jeff holds a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he graduated with high honors and a B.A. from Stanford University. Jeff lives in Highland Park with his wife and has two grown children who live and work in Chicago.
Sujata Dayal
Director
Sujata Dayal is an innovative senior executive with over 20 years of experience working within Fortune 500 medical technology and life sciences companies. In her capacity as global chief ethics and compliance officer, she has led and evolved large global teams.
Having begun her career as a transactional and regulatory attorney before working in compliance, Sujata has had roles of increasing responsibility at companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Biomet, Johnson & Johnson, and Medline Industries. She has led Enterprise Risk Management, promotional review, privacy, anti-corruption, and U.S. and non-U.S. healthcare laws and regulations.
Sujata is currently on the Board of Womankind, an organization that works with survivors of domestic violence. She also serves as a board member of the Soondra Foundation which is focused on healthcare in India. She is passionate about diversity, inclusion, and health equity.
Sujata earned an LL.M degree from Columbia University Law School and a JD from Chicago Kent College of Law. She also has an undergraduate degree from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, and an LL.B from Rajasthan University
Steve Elrod
Director
Steve Elrod is one of the founding Directors of the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic and is the Managing Partner of the Chicago-based law firm Elrod Friedman LLP, where he represents private and public sector clients throughout Illinois on land use, zoning and municipal law matters. He serves as the Corporation Counsel for the City of Highland Park and is the village attorney for numerous other Chicago suburban municipalities including Deerfield, Glencoe, Lincolnwood and Northbrook. He is the former Executive Partner of Holland & Knight’s Chicago office where he built and led a municipal government practice for more than 20 years. Elrod is a Past-President of the Chicago Bar Association and he is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law, where he teaches Local Government and Land Use Law and from which he received the Outstanding Adjunct Professor Award.
Ivan Golden
Director
Ivan Golden is an attorney with Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP. His practice is focused on tax planning, federal and state tax controversies, and general corporate matters. Before joining Hahn Loeser & Parks, Ivan practiced at Schiff Hardin LLP and, prior to that, he served as a law clerk to Judge L. Paige Marvel of the United States Tax Court in Washington, D.C. Ivan earned an LL.M. in tax law from New York University and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Ivan lives in Highland Park with his two children.
Zachary Goldman
Director
Zachary Goldman is a commercial real estate lending and construction finance professional based in the Chicago area. He is currently Vice President of Lending at Armitage Street LLC, where he focuses on acquisition and construction financing for a variety of residential and commercial real estate projects.
Previously, Zachary served as Assistant Vice President at First Bank Chicago, concentrating on single-family and multifamily residential construction, mixed-use value-add developments, and the bank’s national student housing portfolio. He has collaborated with developers and investors committed to revitalizing low- to moderate-income neighborhoods.
Zachary is an active member of the community, having served on the Event Planning Committee of Chicago’s Neighborhood Housing Services and volunteering as a tax preparer with Ladder Up.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and an MBA in Real Estate and Finance from Roosevelt University.
Liza Gutierrez
Director
Liza Gutierrez is the Leadership Coordinator for Partners for Our Communities (POC), a not-for-profit organization that coordinates community resources and engages skilled staff, service providers, and volunteers to provide direct services and referrals to those who are seeking an improved future in the community. She is the co-creator of ROLE: Reaching Out Lifting to Excellence, a women's program of POC and is a leader in the opening of the POC Illinois Immigrant Welcoming Center in Hanover Park. Through previous positions at Northwest Community Hospital (NCH) and the Rolling Meadows Police Department/PNRC, Liza has extensive experience in mental healthcare and social work.
Elected in 2020, Liza is a Trustee for the Village of Hanover Park, IL. She is also a member of the Kenneth Young Center, Hanover Park Tanglewood Committee, the creator and board leader of Maker Girls, a faith based 501 C (3) that serves at risk girls and active in her church and greater community.
Liza received her Associates Degree from Wilbur Wright College: North in Biology, a Bachelor of Science from Loyola University, and a Dual Master of Arts Degree in Criminology from Loyola University Graduate School. She is certified in domestic violence training and FEMA crisis intervention. Liza and her husband and two children reside in Hanover Park, IL.
Terry Horwitz Kass
Director
Terry Horwitz Kass is a graduate of Emory University School of Business and Northwestern University School of Law. Ms. Kass first practiced with the Chicago law firm of Altheimer & Gray before practicing with Katten Muchin and Zavis. She focused on secured transactions, including banking, workouts and insolvency. Since leaving the formal practice of law, Ms. Kass has been a community activist with interests in women’s issues, politics and education. Ms. Kass lives in Highland Park with her husband and three teenage children.
Harold J. Krent
Director
Harold J. Krent is the Dean and a Professor at Law at IIT Chicago-Kent. Dean Krent graduated from Princeton University and received his law degree from New York University School of Law, and clerked for the Honorable William H. Timbers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He then worked in the Department of Justice for the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division, writing briefs and arguing cases in various courts of appeals across the nation. He has been teaching full-time since 1987 and has focused his scholarship on legal aspects of individuals’ interaction with the government. His recent book, Presidential Powers, is a comprehensive examination of the president’s role as defined by the U.S. Constitution and judicial and historical precedents. In addition, Dean Krent has served as a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States and has litigated numerous cases with students on behalf of indigent prisoners. Dean Krent joined the IIT Chicago-Kent faculty in 1994. He was appointed associate dean in 1997 and interim dean in 2002 before assuming the deanship on January 1, 2003.
Katie Licup
Director
Katie Licup is Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Trustmark Benefits in Lake Forest. She brings extensive legal and compliance experience across the corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors.
Robin Powers
Director
Robin Powers is a Partner at Rothschild, Barry & Myers LLP of Chicago, IL. She concentrates her practice on business litigation, employment-related litigation, and general business matters. Robin counsels publicly and privately held companies with respect to general corporate and employment law matters. She is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and worked at the Northwestern University Bluhm Legal Clinic. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Robin resides in Highland Park with her husband and two children.
Jonna Reilly
Director
During her 21 years in private legal practice, most recently at Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP in Chicago, and previously at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP and Bingham McHale, LLP (now Dentons Bingham Greenebaum), Jonna McGinley Reilly developed extensive expertise in domestic and international intellectual property law, and a complementary passion for supporting vulnerable populations through pro bono work.
Jonna was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® Trademark Law in both 2024 and 2025. During the course of her career, she litigated cases at the state and federal level in Illinois, New York, Colorado and Indiana. Through the National Immigrant Justice Center, Jonna represented asylum applicants through trial in immigration court in Chicago, resulting in successful grants of asylum. In 2019, she traveled to El Paso, Texas to work with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center’s Detained Deportation Defense program, interviewing detainees at the El Paso Processing Center, Texas and Otero County Processing Center, New Mexico to analyze their potential asylum claims. Previously, she also volunteered with the fundraising and events committees of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundations in both Chicago and Indianapolis.
Jonna earned her J.D., Cum Laude, from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana, where she worked as a Guardian Ad Litem for the Child Advocacy Clinic and served as the Managing Editor of the Federal Communications Law Journal. Jonna holds a B.A., Cum Laude, in English Writing and Communications from DePauw University. While at DePauw, she volunteered with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) during her time at Kappa Alpha Theta and also studied abroad at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Jonna currently resides on the North Shore of Chicago with her husband and their three children.
Jennifer Riskind
Director
Jennifer Riskind is a nonprofit executive with 25 years of experience in the Chicago philanthropic and nonprofit management sectors. She is currently the Director of Individual Giving for The People’s Music School. Prior to joining The People’s Music School, she served as the lead development professional for a number of Chicago-area nonprofit agencies including the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy, Accelerate Institute, the Infant Welfare Society of Evanston, and Project Exploration. Jennifer began her fundraising career as a grant writer at the Heartland Alliance. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, from the University of Minnesota and trained at the famed Guthrie Theater, working as a classical stage actor in Minneapolis and Chicago before segueing her career into philanthropy. Jennifer is a longtime member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. As a volunteer leader, Jennifer has served on several nonprofit boards, including Mount Sinai Medical Institute Council and the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago, and has been involved with NSLAC as a pro-bono consultant for the past seven years.