Linda has held leadership positions in higher education throughout her career, including Business School Dean and Associate Provost at Marquette University, Associate Dean of Continuing Studies at Northwestern University and Associate Provost and Professor of Information Technology at Loyola University Chicago. As Vice President at Executive Synergies, Inc. for over 15 years, Linda served as an executive coach.

Wendy Kritt is an accomplished Marketing executive with a record of excellence and transformational leadership. During her 31 years at Kraft Foods/Kraft Heinz, she held leadership positions in Marketing, Brand Activation, and Global Consumer Relations. She now serves as an Advisor to the Somers Family Specialties, LLC, providing expertise in the areas of brand positioning, marketing, consumer insights, and distribution to a family start-up.

Margie is a hospital administrator, experienced in managing clinical and non-clinical departments and projects. She is a seasoned leader in healthcare management, working primarily in non-profit hospital operations. Margie has utilized her background as a clinician and her passion for improving the patient experience to a variety of Administrative Director roles at the Shirley Ryan Abilitylab.

Carol Olsen is the founder of Carol Olsen & Associates, a Chicago-based data analytics consulting and training firm. For over 25 years, she has specialized in analytics with project experience including training thousands of users and consulting with Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. She also runs Fruit Cellar, a small business selling jams and baked goods at local farmer’s markets. Before starting her own businesses, Carol worked in strategic planning at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center and other consulting firms.

Bimpe is an accomplished business leader with a background in strategy and finance. She currently leads strategic projects at Airbnb within the Strategic and Finance Analytics function. Prior to that, she held various positions at Verizon, Accenture and PwC, where she advised internal and external clients on large-scale transformation projects and best accounting practices. Bimpe is an avid reader and traveler, and is passionate about fostering connection and belonging in her communities.

Laura Bretz is a seasoned marketing executive with over 15 years of experience building brands like Discover, Roku, Xbox and more through innovative marketing strategies. With most of her professional experience in traditionally male-dominated industries like tech, gaming, and finance, Laura focuses on supporting female leaders' growth and development. Laura currently serves as the brand director for Freudenberg Household Products, overseeing cleaning brands O-Cedar in the US and Vileda in Canada.

Angelique is an accomplished C-suite Executive (CHRO) and most recently, an entrepreneur with 30+ years of Global Human Resources experience. She currently provides Executive Coaching and HR/OD Consulting services in her own business, B & M Coaching and Consulting LLC. She has advised and coached hundreds of business professionals throughout her career. She has worked in several large organizations including Eli Lilly, GE, and Merck, and led HR as CHRO for ABM Industries, Selective Insurance and Emerald. She has an MBA in Human Resources and Organizational Behavior from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Business, and a B.S. in Accounting from Georgetown University.

Sandra is a Finance Executive with 25 years of experience at L’Oreal, Novartis, PepsiCo/Quaker; and consulting experience at Booz Allen Hamilton. In her various roles, she led strategic planning, financial planning & analysis, and sales & operation planning for brands including Quaker, Excedrin, and Theraflu. Projects focused on driving productivity and operational efficiency, allocating resources to fund key business priorities, and ensuring that financial commitments were met. Sandra is fluent in Portuguese and conversational in Spanish. She earned a Bachelors’ degree from Universidade de Sao Paulo in Brazil and an MBA at Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management in Finance and Management Strategy.

Deanna is a digital leader with over 13 years of marketing and eCommerce experience across a variety of industries and Fortune 500 companies, including McDonald’s, Hilton, and Walgreens. She has been a key contributor in launching two large-scale loyalty programs in the US – Walgreen’s Balance Rewards in 2012 and My McDonald’s Rewards in 2021. Deanna is a diversity advocate and a proud graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. In her free time, you can find Deanna running and spending time outside with her two daughters and husband.

Brooke comes with over twenty years of marketing and product experience. She has worked for large companies like Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Amazon, and P&G as well as a multitude of start-ups. Brooke was named the first fuel “Supplier of the Year” award at Walmart for her work on reducing carbon emissions, she was one of the first product marketers on Amazon’s Echo and Alexa devices, and she launched the first paid music service at Amazon. Brooke is a proud alumna of Oxford College, Emory University, and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Audi Melsbakas is a Senior Vice President and Private Client Advisor with Bank of America Private Bank in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to joining the firm, she was a Director and Private Wealth Advisor with BMO Private Bank. She earned her Master’s degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1994 and her B.S. with an emphasis in finance and marketing from Cornell University.

Megan Nelson is an Associate Vice President at Gallagher Bassett (GB), a company that specializes in claims and risk management. Megan is deeply passionate about empowering women and fostering innovation within the insurance industry and beyond. Megan earned her MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she was a Drake Scholar, an innovation center fellow and board member of its women’s group. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Financial Services from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Kathy is a marketing leader with 20+ years of experience in managing consumer products and service brands including United Airlines, Konami Entertainment, Kraft Foods, Butterball, and Sara Lee. In recent years, she has taken those skills and become a successful real estate broker and has been active in organizations that represent her passions. Kathy earned an MBA at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management in Marketing and Management Strategy.

Dee Slaughter ’92 is a CPA who spent her professional career as a business woman in Chicago. In 2002, recognizing the need for a women’s networking group at Kellogg, with the support of Kellogg management, she co-founded the Kellogg Executive Women’s Network. Dee spent the next 20 years building the organization and, at one time or another, held all Board positions.