Trustee Officers
board Chair
Julie Green Baumeister*
Ernst & Young LLP
What inspires you to be a Merit Board member?
I was introduced to Merit by another long-time board member who invited me to be his guest at the Merit gala. I will never forget how incredibly moving it was to listen to the talented Merit students perform and hear their stories of how the opportunity to study music and to be a part of the Merit community had changed their lives in sometimes dramatic ways. I instantly knew this was an organization that I wanted to become involved with and soon thereafter started my journey as a Merit parent and board member.
Vice Chair
Thomas V. Linguanti*
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
How were you introduced to Merit?
Like many professionals, I was looking for a way to become more involved in the Chicago civic community. I explained to two mentors and friends (who asked) that my great passions were music and education. It turns out that they had been long involved with the Lyric Opera and with the Merit School of Music, and they said, “well, do we have the place for you!” The next thing I knew, I met some other Merit Board members, toured the school, and attended my first Merit Gala. My family and I have been members of the Merit community ever since, including our two girls who started in Merit’s Early Childhood program when they were each 6 months old.
Vice Chair
Jennifer Montague*A
NiSource
What’s your favorite Merit moment?
My favorite Merit moment was at the Conservatory graduation in 2018. I got to award a college scholarship to a student I had driven to Merit for the past three years—a youth choir member at my church.
Treasurer
Michael Andrews*
Reynolds Consumer Products, LLC
How were you introduced to Merit?
While I was at PepsiCo, a colleague and I began discussing personal passions and we discovered a shared interest in music. She had just gotten involved with the Associate Board at Merit and invited me to a fundraiser at the House of Blues. After hearing students perform and talking with members and staff, I was instantly hooked! I joined the Associate Board a few weeks later.
Secretary
Marisela Rosales Lawson*
PwC
Associate Board Representative
Kamila Muhammad#A
Alphawood Foundation
What’s your favorite Merit moment?
My favorite Merit memory came in fall of 2009. As a sophomore in high school, I got to play principal in an orchestra for the first time. I played the clarinet solo in Verdi’s Overture to “La Forza del Destino.” I’ll never forget the exhilarating, nervous feeling I got when the harp hummed its accompaniment, and I fell into focus mode to play my part with as much technical mastery and expression as I could muster. Once the last notes of the piece resonated in Gottlieb Hall, then-conductor Robert Hasty smiled and gestured toward me to acknowledge my solo. I stood to thunderous applause and couldn’t stop smiling. For the rest of my musical career, I chased that exhilarating feeling, which was replicated several times in my experiences playing on the radio or in Gottlieb Hall or with my colleagues in rehearsals. My experience at Merit was unforgettable, and I feel honored to pay it forward now as Chair of the Associate Board.
Trustees
Susan S. Aaron†
DePaul University; Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development
Duffie A. Adelson†
Merit School of Music (ret.)
Sonia Antolec
The 1937 Group
David P. Bolger†
Civic Leader
JeNyce Boolton
US Bank
Jeffrey Breslow
Jeffrey Breslow Sculpture
Binta Niambi Brown
Manatt Entertainment
Nick W. Bubnovich†
Willis Towers Watson (ret.)
Dr. Huan J. Chang
University of Illinois-Chicago & Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
Carol Clavadetscher*
Feeding America
Ryan DeVore
William Blair & Company
Samuel H. Ellis†
Samuel H. Ellis & Co.
Ginny Foreman†
Civic Leader
Peter B. Foreman†
Sirius Partners, LP
Dr. Derrick GayA
Diversity and Inclusion Strategist
Joseph B. Glossberg*†
Gofen and Glossberg, LLC
Howard L. GottliebM*†
Glen Eagle Partners (ret.)
Matt Grusecki
Northern Builders, Inc.
Janice Honigberg†
Sun Belle Inc.
Charles K. Huebner†
RCP Advisors
Jeremiah S. James†
Edward R. James Partners, LLC
Thomas Leopold†
Bank of America (ret.)
J. Barry Mitchell†
ComEd (ret.)
Cynthia Mufarreh*
TD Bank
Joe MusselmanA
BVVC
Shelley Ochab†
Civic Leader
Edward H. Oppenheimer†
Oppenheimer Family Foundation
Nishad Parmar
Loud Capital
Ellard L. Pfaelzer, Jr.*†
The Bruss Company
John L. Powell†
People Advisory Services
Michael J. Powers*
Howard and Howard
Abiman Rajadurai
McDonald’s Corporation
Raymond L. Rusnak†
Financial Investments Corporation
Sandra Rusnak
Civic Leader
David Schulz
Salucro Healthcare Solutions
Nina G. Stillman*†
Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, LLP (ret.)
Susie Pfaelzer Sultan
Advocate Health Care
Thomas H. Stone†
Stone Capital Group, Inc.
David P. Thomas*
Bright Horizons Family Solutions (ret.)
Richard L. Thomas†
First Chicago NBD Corp. (ret.)
Dr. Jennifer TurnerA
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Jennifer Vianello
CARS Inc.
Cathy Wloch
Clear Horizons Consulting
John F. Young*
Norton Rose Fulbright US
* Executive Committee
† Life Trustee: Life Trustees are individuals who have served at least four terms as a Regular Trustee and have given outstanding service to Merit.
A Merit Alumni
# Associate Board Representative
M In Memoriam
