Director, D&I Education and Supplier Diversity

Rona is an integral member of the global diversity and inclusion team of Walgreens Boots Alliance. In this capacity, she leads a team to impact the diverse owned business inclusion rate in contracting for merchandise, goods not for resale and professional services and she also oversees the integration of diversity and inclusion into training curriculum in partnership with the WBA learning leaders.

Prior to joining Walgreens, Rona held senior management roles in finance and accounting and led supplier diversity initiatives in both the private and public sectors. Rona directed the Chicago Minority Business Opportunity Center, a $1.2M US Department of Commerce, MBDA funded project. Rona has led information technology system design projects and has been cited in diversity publications, received recognitions for advocacy, commitment, and is an active member of the community serving organizations throughout the U.S. Rona was recognized in 2017 by Mass Market Retail as 1 of 6 who made a difference and recently received the Walgreens 2018 Champion of Champions award for Customer Care.

Chief of Staff, LaSalle Network

Jessica Schaeffer is Chief of Staff at LaSalle Network, a national staffing, recruiting and culture firm honored with more than 100 culture and revenue-based awards. Since joining LaSalle nearly seven years ago, Schaeffer has spearheaded LaSalle's marketing efforts, and been integral in the development and retention of employees, contributing to our training and culture initiatives. Schaeffer is on the Board of Directors for the Chicago American Marketing Association and Chicago SHRM. She has been quoted in Fast Company, Forbes, writes frequently for Marketing News magazine, and has been featured on FOX Good Day Chicago, ABC Chicago and WGN.

Senior Partner, Verde Associates

A Global Strategy Executive with passion for business growth, Victoria spent almost 20 years of her career helping businesses grow through better insights, improved team performance and streamlined business processes. Her diverse business background allows Victoria to effectively zero in on key issues that prevent a company from reaching its full potential. Her unique ability to implement change management initiatives, while minimally distracting existing company culture, assures that business evolution can be achieved without disrupting processes that do work. Victoria helps her clients build a culture of success by fostering collaboration and encouraging individual growth.

Prior to joining Verde Associates, a boutique growth consultancy specializing in organizational evolution and growth acceleration, Victoria spent over 10 years at IRI, a Chicago-based Big Data technology company, holding various positions in product management, client insights and corporate strategy. Before joining IRI Victoria spent 8 years at Philips Electronics, N.V., a global health technology company, working in finance, sales operations, and market research.

Victoria is the local Ambassador of the Chicago Booth Women’s Network, responsible for executing meaningful programming to support Booth students and alumni in building successful careers and fulfilling lives. Victoria sits on the board of Strive Tutoring, a Chicago South Side non-profit helping school-age children to reach their potential through tutoring and mentoring.

Victoria holds a BA in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA in Marketing and Strategic Management from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Chief Brand Officer, SHIFT

Lisa Magnuson is a communications expert and brand storyteller. With fifteen years of experience in communications strategy and brand reputation, Magnuson has helped major consumer brand and non-profit organizations leverage communication, storytelling and customer and employee engagement to drive business results and brand affinity.

Magnuson spent more than 10 years at McDonald’s USA building brand trust and driving communication strategies for the organization. Most recently, she served as Senior Director of Communications for McDonald’s USA where she led a team of communications professionals tasked with communicating brand and business strategy to internal and external audiences, enabling a culture of brand advocacy and ambassadorship.

Magnuson is known for her ability to use creative and compelling brand storytelling to engage audiences and drive results. With a passion for purpose-driven culture, she believes that tying business objectives to opportunities to address societal needs will inspire action to build successful businesses and stronger communities. She is highly regarded as a trusted advisor, coach and mentor.

Magnuson received her degrees in Organizational Communication and English Literature from North Central College in Naperville, IL. An avid reader and yogi, she currently resides in Oak Park, IL with her husband Ryan and two children, Madeleine and Holden.

Chief of Sales/ Client Solutions, BPI Group

Raheela brings more than 25 years of experience in executive outplacement and financial services to BPI group, with expertise in M&A, executive compensation, corporate delayering, and building and leading diverse teams. She develops market strategy and leads the client solutions team for BPI group North America, partnering with clients to understand their business and talent challenges and connecting them with BPI group experts, while also working with executives in career transition.

Previously, Raheela served as a senior vice president and chief strategy officer for a national boutique executive outplacement firm, where she led client relationship management and played a key role in executive career transition services. Earlier in her career, Raheela held several senior roles in the financial services industry and worked as an independent consultant with asset management firms on mutual funds and separately managed account vehicles.

Raheela holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts in molecular biology and French literature from Northwestern University.