Advisory Board
Advisory Board
The Institute acknowledges the extraordinary commitment and many contributions of its Advisory Board members and Distinguished Advisors:
Distinguished Advisors:
Marjorie Craig Benton, Chicago
Jim Hodges, New York
Lynn Nottage, New York
Justice Albie Sachs, South Africa
Advisory Board
Co-Chairs:
Amina Dickerson, retired Senior Director, Kraft Foods and Consultant, Diaspora Journeys Advisors. In that role she led Kraft’s global philanthropic programs in hunger, healthy lifestyles, arts and cultural and sustainability. Previous posts include leadership roles with the Chicago Historical Society, DuSable Museum of African American History, Philadelphia’s Afro-American Museum and Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. She has been recognized with the James Joseph Award from the Association of Black Foundation Executives, the Handy Lindsay Award from Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy, and the Corporate Donor of the Year Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, among many other honors. In addition to the Ellen Belic Stone Center for Women and Gender in the Arts and Media Advisory Board, she serves on the boards of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Congo Square Theatre, City of Chicago’s Cultural Affairs Advisory Board, the Chicago High School for the Arts and the Children and Family Justice Center of Northwestern University. She holds a MA in Arts Management from American University, a certificate in Arts Management from Harvard University and studied theater arts at Emerson College. She will spend the 2009-2010 on a personal sabbatical.
Gigi Pritzker Pucker, founded Odd Lot Entertainment and is a film, television and theatrical producer. She recently executive produced THE OPEN ROAD, starring Oscar-nominated Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara and Mary Steenburgen. Pritzker is currently producing RABBIT HOLE, directed by Sundance-Award-winning and Golden-Globe-nominated director John Cameron Mitchell. Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Wiest star is the adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer prize-winning drama. She also develops and produces live stage productions though her company Dee Gee Theatricals. Most recently, DGT launched the new musical SNAPSHOTS, based on the book by David Stern with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (WICKED), in Seattle, Florida, and Ohio; and MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, pure rock-n-roll entertainment that explores the historic December 4th, 1956 jam session – the one-and-only gathering of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. MDQ premiered at the Seaside Theatre in Florida and broke all box office records, and then opened at Seattle’s Village Theatre, where it became the theatre's second most financially successful show in over 30 years after CATS. MDQ had a run at Chicago’s prestigious Goodman theatre and is now in its 8th successful month in Chicago at the Apollo Theatre with a scheduled run in New York in Spring 2010.
Advisory Board members:
Dorothy Allison, is currently the McGee Professor in creative writing at Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina. She is the author of the award-winning novels, Bastard out of Carolina and Cavedweller, as well as Two or Three Things I know for Sure, Trash, Skin, and The Women Who Hate me. A novel, She Who, is forthcoming from Penguin. In addition to her work with the Institute, she is a member of the board of the Southern Fellowship of Writers and the Advisory Boards for The Full Frame Initiative, The Macondo Foundation, and the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award.
Evette Cardona, is a Senior Program Officer at the Polk Bros. Foundation. She is a Chicago-born Puerto Rican lesbian and a graduate of the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, where she received the 2008 Elizabeth Butler award for outstanding professional success and achievement in social work. She is a member of the Executive Committee of Chicago Latinos in Philanthropy, a board member for the Center on Halsted, a member of Chicago Foundation for Women’s Lesbian Leadership Council, co-founder of Amigas Latinas and was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2002. She is also an adjunct professor in the Loyola University of Chicago’s School of Social Work.
Sunny Fischer, is Executive Director of The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, was founding executive director of one of the first private women's foundations in the country, The Sophia Fund, and co-founded the Chicago Foundation for Women. From 1997-1999, she directed the City of Chicago/Cook County Welfare Reform Task Force. She co-founded the Neighborhood Writing Alliance and, more recently, is a leader in the effort to establish a public housing museum in Chicago. Past vice-chair of the Donors Forum and Secretary of the Graham Foundation, she serves as a director of the national Family Violence Prevention Fund and is vice-chair of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law Board of Directors. She is also on the Advisory Committees, among others, for Rape Victim Advocates, Mujeres Latinas en Accion, and Partners for Sacred Places.
Deone Jackman, grew up in Toronto, Canada and moved to Chicago [Hyde Park] in 1961. She is a retired Psychotherapist who worked at The Chicago Child Care Society for twelve years and in private practice for twenty years. In 1996 she joined the Board of the Hyde Park Art Center. In 2000 she became the Chair of the Board and in addition she began in 2004 Chairing the Capitol Campaign of the Center. She helped to raise $6,000,000 to build a new venue. She is a supporter of the Arts in Chicago and especially enjoys collecting the work of regional artists.She was one of the first docents at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Her other board activities include: being a member of The Chicago Committee of Human Rights Watch, The International Committee of the Renaissance Society, and The Visiting Committee of The Art History of The University of Chicago. She is a Board Member of The Rebuild Foundation, and a member of the MCA Directors Vision Council.
Cheryl Johnson-Odim, is Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Dominican University. Previously she was Professor of History and Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Columbia College and prior to that was Chairperson of the History Department and Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago. She has also taught at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Johnson-Odim has a doctorate in history from Northwestern University and was a Fulbright Fellow in Nigeria. She is a past member on the Boards of Directors of the American Council of Learned Societies and the African Studies Association and a recent Vice Chairperson of the Illinois Humanities Council. She has served on the Advisory Board of the Center for Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University and was a founding Editorial Board member of the Journal of Women’s History. She is a recent past chair of the Joan Kelly Prize Committee (prize awarded annually for best book in women’s or gender history) of the American Historical Association. She is also currently a member of the Board of Visitors of Northwestern University, and the Board of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium. Johnson-Odim is a founding member of the Vivian G. Harsh Society of the Carter G. Woodson Library, among other community activities, and is an author of two books, an edited collection, and numerous chapters in books, and articles in scholarly journals.
Kerry James Marshall, is an award-winning international artist. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, grew up in South Central Los Angeles and now lives in Chicago where he previously taught at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a 1978 graduate of Otis College of Art and Design. He is known for large-scale paintings, sculptures, and other objects that take African-American life and history as their subject matter. His work often deals with the effects of the Civil Rights movement on domestic life, in addition to working with elements of popular culture. One work, "Rythm Mastr", is a superhero comic book based on African mythology and art set in an urban environment. His first major solo exhibition, which traveled throughout the country, was organized at the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago in 1998. His work has been exhibited in many American and international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale (2003) and the Documenta (1997 and 2007).
Sheila Roche, is the former Managing Director of Principle Management, the talent management company, where she managed the careers of U2, PJ Harvey and the company’s other musical artists over a period of 18 years. In 2005 she joined Bono and Bobby Shriver at Product (RED), the first business and consumer driven initiative to raise money and awareness for the fight against AIDS in Africa. During the startup phase, Roche directed the global launch of the (RED) brand and now serves as Head of Global Communications, having guided (RED) through its growth from a partnership of four companies to its current ten. During this time (RED) has become the largest private sector donor to the Global Fund, the investor of (RED) money in African AIDS programs, generating more than US$135 million.
Rebecca Ford-Terry, is In-house Counsel for City Colleges of Chicago. She has also served as the former Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Draper and Kramer, Incorporated, Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for litigation at Metro-Goldwyn Mayer; and was Acting Director of Emerging Domestic Markets at the Milken Institute, an economic policy think tank. She is a trustee of the Goodman Theater and the Renaissance Society and has served on the board of the Field Museum and the Chicago Humanities Festival. She has been a theater critic for the Chicago Reader and contributes book reviews to the Chicago Tribune. She has also written articles for The Milken Institute Review, The American Lawyer and The New York Law Journal. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School.
