Brooks Rainwater serves as President and CEO of the Urban Libraries Council, an outcomes-driven research and innovations network of nearly 200 leading North American public libraries. Under his leadership, ULC champions the future of public libraries by engaging and uplifting members, strengthening the essential role of public libraries as dynamic places for innovation, equity, and opportunity. Rainwater advances the core vision that urban libraries are the key civic anchor institutions that provide critical resources for transforming lives and strengthening communities. Throughout his career, Rainwater has worked to advance urban policies that expand local democracy and provide funding for local programs related to economic opportunity, entrepreneurship, literacy, and equitable growth. He has advised city governments in the US and globally on a range of key urban issues. Prior to joining ULC in July 2022, Rainwater served as Senior Executive & Director, Center for City Solutions at the National League of Cities where he drove the organization’s research agenda and oversaw technical assistance efforts and leadership education. He holds a Master of Public Administration from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Chicago Public Library Commissioner Chris Brown is passionate about redefining what public libraries can bring to the communities they serve. This mission is particularly vital for CPL—its 81 locations make it one of the world’s largest library systems. Brown came to CPL in 2021 after more than a decade serving in Californian districts. Throughout his career, he has prioritized equity and the democratization of access to information, including nontraditional patrons and resources beyond traditional library materials. He is currently spearheading collaboration with neighborhood safety groups, City departments, and outside partners in order to establish safe spaces for youth. He has also initiated CPL’s first organized analysis of its processes with the goal of improving equity for patrons. This work began with the opening of CPL’s first regional library on Chicago’s West Side since the 1970s. Such leadership has earned Brown national recognition. He was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2016 and has received the Urban Libraries Council Top Innovator Award, the California Library Association PRExcellence Award, and a John Cotton Dana Award from the American Library Association in both California and Illinois. Most recently, he served on the California Library Association Board.

Maggie Clemons serves as Deputy Commissioner of Library Operations & Patron Experience for Chicago Public Library, providing strategic leadership for systemwide staffing, public service delivery, and operations across 81 branches and the central library. Maggie has led major service expansions, including implementing an additional day of service across all libraries, and guided CPL’s COVID‑19 operational response, ensuring safe reopening and continuity of critical community services. She plays a key role in CPL’s safety and community-wellness efforts, partnering with City agencies and social service organizations to strengthen branch-level safety practices and meet community needs. Maggie also guides major capital and renovation projects, aligning operational readiness with community input and long-term system strategy. A seasoned public library leader, Maggie previously held roles as district chief and branch manager. She is a University of Chicago Civic Leadership Academy Fellow and holds degrees from Miami University and Dominican University.

Mayda del Valle was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. She is the author of The University of Hip Hop and a winner of the 2016 Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize from Northwestern University Press. Her full-length collection, A South Side Girl’s Guide to Love and Sex, was published on Tia Chucha press. She began her artistic career at the Nuyorican Poets Café, where she was the 2001 Grand Slam Champion, and went on to become the National Poetry Slam Champion in the same year. She appeared on six episodes of the HBO series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, and was a contributing writer and original cast member of the Tony Award-winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. She has performed at venues across the world, including the White House in May of 2009, by invitation of President Obama and the First Lady. In 2024 Mayda was the recipient of the Letras Boricuas Fellowship, sponsored by Flamboyan Arts Fund and the Mellon Foundation. Most recently she was selected to be the second Poet Laureate of the City of Chicago and began her tenure in January of 2026.

A seasoned business executive, marketing and strategic thought leader with more than 30 years of experience, Michael joined Clayco, one of America’s largest fully integrated design and engineering centric builder and real estate development firm across the commercial, industrial and residential sector as its first ever Chief Growth Officer and President of Chicagoland in early 2024. Prior to this role between, Michael led as President and CEO World Business Chicago, the City’s economic development organization, with more than 100 C-Suite executives from all over Chicagoland on its business centric board between 2020 and early 2024. The organization’s core focus is on growing its industry sectors by supporting the expansion of existing Chicagoland based companies and by attracting new corporate relocations to the region, all with a focus on equitable economic prosperity across all 77 neighborhoods and the region. Additionally, Michael worked alongside the Mayor’s Office as the Chief Marketing Officer to ensure that all marketing, branding, and business development activities for the city were aligned with Mayor Lightfoot’s and then Mayor Johnson’s economic growth plan focused on inclusive growth across Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods.

Michael Fassnacht is a prominent figure in Chicago's civic community, known for leading crucial pro bono initiatives. His contributions include rebranding the Chicago Public Library and its foundation, developing the city's bid for Amazon HQ2, supporting the City's Census 2020 efforts, and spearheading "Boards of Change," an award-winning voter registration campaign. He recently co-chaired Mayor Johnson's transition subcommittee on Economic Vitality & Equity. Michael’s extensive board service includes the Chicago Public Library Foundation, The Civic Consulting Alliance, CURRENT, Illinois EDC, the Executives' Club of Chicago, and World Business Chicago. He also advises P33 and The Chicago Prize by the Pritzker/Traubert Foundation. He is a 2022 Daniel Burnham Fellow.

Michael was born in Germany and made his way stateside in college where he met his wife, Dr. Rhonda Duffaut. They currently reside in Chicago and have two children, Maya and Ryan.

Tom Fay has been The Seattle Public Library’s Executive Director and Chief Librarian since April 2021. Fay previously served as the Library’s Director of Programs and Services from 2015 to 2021, directing the Library’s Public Services and Programs, Collections, Materials Handling, and Information Technology departments at Seattle’s downtown Central Library and all 26 neighborhood branches. As a native of southern Nevada, Fay’s 43-year career in libraries began as a page for the Las Vegas Clark County Library District. Prior to joining The Seattle Public Library as Director of Programs and Services in 2015, he held roles as the Executive Director of Henderson Libraries in Nevada and the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Clark County Library District in Nevada. Fay graduated with a Fine Arts degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He has been awarded the O’Callaghan Public Sector Person of the Year and selected as Nevada’s Librarian of the Year.

Dr. Jane Fleming is the Director of Literacy for Chicago Public Schools. She oversees the district’s literacy instructional vision and strategic planning for all K-12 literacy initiatives across the district, serving 315,000 students across 514 district-run schools. Dr. Fleming is a reading specialist with more than 30 years of experience working in urban public schools. Prior to her current role with CPS, she served on the faculty at Erikson Institute where she conducted research on teachers’ use of culturally relevant literature in reading and writing instruction and its impact on student engagement and achievement. She is lead author of the book, More Mirrors in the Classroom published by Roman & Littlefield Education.

Ann Ford has more than 20 years of experience in the library industry and currently leads hoopla’s Sales and Customer Support teams. Her expertise and deep understanding of the library landscape have helped hoopla evolve and grow to better serve the changing needs of public libraries and their patrons. Ann is also the co‑host of Straight Download, a hoopla podcast she hosts with Founder and President Jeff Jankowski, which features candid conversations with library leaders about the issues shaping the digital and public library landscape. Today, Ann focuses on supporting public libraries and their vital role in the community through responsiveness to evolving library needs, meaningful policy and collection development, DEI initiatives, community programming, workflow enhancements, and the development of online tools and resources that help librarians do their jobs more effectively.

Secretary Alexi Giannoulias was sworn into office as Illinois’ 38th Secretary of State in January, committing to restore trust in government, modernize services and strengthen state ethics. He is committed to transforming operations through modernization efforts, which will improve customer service, expand online services and reduce wait times. In addition, he is seeking to strengthen state ethics laws to curb corruption, protect voter rights and increase registration opportunities, improve road safety and enhance public libraries to make learning resources more accessible across the state. On his first day in office, Secretary Giannoulias signed a wide-ranging Executive Ethics Order to improve transparency, enhance protections afforded to victims of sexual harassment or threats of violence, and simplify the public’s ability to submit complaints to the Inspector General’s office.

As State Librarian, Secretary Giannoulias is dedicated to fighting against book censorship in our libraries. Amid the surge of book bans nationwide, Giannoulias introduced first-in-the-nation legislation, which was signed into law in June, designed to support public and school libraries by withholding state grants from libraries that remove books. He is a staunch supporter of librarians, who have found themselves on the frontlines of culture wars and have been targeted by extremist groups in Illinois. Secretary Giannoulias also drafted legislation to narrow the digital divide by increasing access to e-books and digital materials. His “License to Read” bill, which passed the General Assembly this spring, allows his office to negotiate with publishers on behalf of public libraries to enable them to acquire the licenses needed to allow more library users access to more e-books and audiobooks. He also secured a reoccurring $5 million appropriation in the state’s budget for annual technology grants that allow libraries to update and upgrade their equipment and services to provide the latest technology and better serve their users, regardless of where they live.

Secretary Giannoulias served as a member of the Chicago Public Library’s Board of Directors for five years and has seen first-hand how indispensable libraries are to communities. One of his priorities as State Librarian is improving the public’s access to the vital services libraries provide and ensuring libraries have the resources to continue providing the tools and knowledge that open doors for learning and opportunity.

In 2006, Giannoulias was elected Illinois State Treasurer, becoming the youngest State Treasurer in the nation at age 30. After leaving the Treasurer’s office in 2011, Giannoulias was appointed chairman of the Illinois Community College System. He also became senior director at BNY Mellon Wealth Management and taught at Northwestern University. Secretary Giannoulias graduated cum laude from Boston University with a degree in economics and earned a law degree from Tulane University’s School of Law. He is a lifelong Chicagoan and still calls the city home along with his wife and their three daughters.

Elizabeth Graettinger is Co-Founder and CEO of Aim & Arrow Group, a social sector consulting firm supporting government agencies, non-profits, and philanthropy to create lasting change, at scale. Aim & Arrow has been the research and design engine behind initiatives like Family Connects Chicago, Resilience Supportive Schools Illinois, the Illinois Benefit Hub, the Creative Schools Fund, and the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. Prior to consulting, Eli oversaw grant-making at United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and spent a decade at YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Eli and her team have been proud to support the partnership between Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Public Library as part of the 81 Club Initiative.

The Honorable Valerie Jarrett is Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of The Obama Foundation where she is overseeing the creation of a new world class cultural and civic institution on Chicago’s south side, and the Foundation’s programs that inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. Ms. Jarrett is also a Senior Distinguished Fellow at The University of Chicago Law School, and the author of the New York Times bestselling book Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, published in April 2019. Jarrett is Board Chairman of Civic Nation and serves on the boards of Walgreens.com, Inc., Ralph Lauren Corporation, Ariel Investments, The University of Chicago, and the Sesame Street Workshop. Jarrett also serves on the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women Advisory Board, the Bank of America Enterprise Executive Development Council, and the Microsoft Advisory Council.

Ms. Jarrett was the Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama from 2009-2017, making her the longest serving senior advisor to a president in history. She oversaw the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and Chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls. Ms. Jarrett has a background in both the public and private sectors. She served as the Chief Executive Officer of The Habitat Company. During her tenure Habitat was the largest multi family housing developer and manager in Chicago. Prior to joining Habitat, Ms. Jarrett was the Commissioner of Planning and Development for the city of Chicago, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. She practiced law for ten years in the private and public sector.

She previously served as the director of numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards, including leadership roles as Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Stock Exchange, Chairman of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board of Trustees, Vice Chairman of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees, Chair of Chicago Transit Board, and Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Ms. Jarrett has also received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including TIME’s 100 Most Influential People Award and Forbes 50 Over 50. Jarrett received her B.A. from Stanford University in 1978 and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.

Dr. Macquline King, Ed.D., is a District educator and leader of more than 30 years and the recently-named superintendent/CEO of Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Dr. King has served as interim superintendent/CEO since June 11, 2025 and will remain interim until her three-year contract takes effect July 1, 2026. Since assuming the interim role, Dr. King has led the District through a period of transition and unprecedented challenges. She advanced a $10 billion Board-approved Fiscal Year 2025 District budget, maintained stability amid increased external immigration enforcement activity, and prioritized students’ academic opportunities, safety and well being.

Dr. King began her career in CPS as a teacher, later earned her National Board Certification, the highest professional certification in the United States for educators, before becoming a principal at Alexandre Dumas Elementary School on the South side before it closed in 2013. She subsequently took on the role of principal of Courtenay Language Arts Center in Uptown which had merged with another neighborhood school. Dr. King strengthened community trust, and expanded student supports, including mental health services and restorative practices that contributed to an improved school climate.

From 2022 to 2025, Dr. King served as Senior Director of Education Policy (P-16) in the City of Chicago’s Office of the Mayor, where she aligned resources and policies across CPS, City Colleges, and early childhood programs. She also provided strategic guidance on City agency budget proposals and helped advance initiatives supporting early childhood access, career pathways, and Sustainable Community Schools.

Tommi Laitio is an internationally recognized leader and expert on public life, cities and public innovation. Tommi’s advisory and consultancy builds on his background as a city executive and a researcher. Tommi was the City of Helsinki’s first Executive Director for Culture and Leisure where he led a team of 1,800 professionals delivering over 20 million annual arts and culture, sports, public library and youth work experiences. Based on his innovative leadership, he was appointed as the inaugural Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow at Johns Hopkins University where his international research focused on the partnership capabilities of local governments in creating public spaces.

Marcus Lumpkin has worked in several Chicago Public Library branches on the South Side, a journey that led him from managing the historic Blackstone Branch—the oldest commissioned neighborhood library in the CPL system—to becoming the Director of the newest branch at the Obama Presidential Center. Marcus’s programming experience spans a spectrum of patron services, including hosting children’s story times, leading maker workshops for teens, and moderating adult book discussions. In 2010, he worked with a dynamic team of teaching artists, librarians, and mentors to help launch YOUmedia, CPL’s flagship teen space. There, he supported teens who would go on to shape and define Chicago’s music and performance culture. His love of libraries is rivaled only by his fanatical interest in bike culture and cycling; he is a co-founder of Chicago United, a BIPOC cycling club.

Pilar Martinez is the CEO of the award-winning Edmonton Public Library, where she is responsible for leading 650 staff, managing a $69 million operating budget and supporting the Board of Trustees and stakeholder relations. Over the last 10 years, Pilar has successfully led and implemented capital projects totaling over $200 million. She has championed numerous innovative services, including community-led service delivery, makerspace and digital initiatives, highly popular early literacy services and speakers’ series. Pilar has a broad base of experience in executive leadership including advocacy, strategic planning, recruitment and change leadership. She holds an MLIS from the University of Alberta, a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in English from Acadia University and recently completed the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Directors Education Program.

Liz McChesney is a career-long children’s librarian and administrator, and under her leadership, numerous national initiatives have been spearheaded, including the move to broaden summer offerings for youth. Liz serves as a Senior Advisor in Educational Equity at The Urban Libraries Council, is a Fellow at the National Summer Learning Association and is the Community Partnerships Director for the Laundry Literacy Coalition. A frequent author and speaker, Liz has earned numerous national awards, including the ALA Library Service to Children Distinguished Service Award and the Library of Congress David M. Rubenstein Award for literacy excellence — the highest honor in the nation for innovative literacy work. Liz is the author of four books and has two picture books forthcoming in 2026: One Day Came a Rumble by Trellis Press and Once Upon a Page by SourceBooks.

Nesha Saunders is a graduate of California State University, San Bernardino. During her time at CSUSB, she served with AmeriCorps, where she discovered her passion for advocacy and community organizing. She also holds an MA in Women and Gender Studies from Roosevelt University and an MLIS from Dominican University. Nesha began her career at the Chicago Public Library in 2007 as a library page and went on to serve for many years as a Children’s Librarian. She later became Branch Manager at both the Douglass and Blackstone branches. In 2020, she started as District Chief for the Chicago Public Library. She is district chief for sixteen branches on the southeast side of the city, including the Obama Presidential Center Branch Library. Throughout her career, Nesha has contributed to numerous initiatives and collaborations aimed at creating community-centered, inclusive, and welcoming library spaces.

Terrance Smith serves as Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Baltimore, where he leads the Mayor’s Office of Innovation in designing and scaling solutions to complex urban challenges, including housing vacancy prevention and public safety recruitment and retention. As a Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow with the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, his work sits at the intersection of research and practice, translating insights on trust into real-world institutional change. Terrance’s work centers on a core belief: trust is not an outcome to be hoped for, but a system to be designed. Through his Trust–Innovation Spectrum, he advances a framework for how public institutions can strengthen their ability, humanity, and integrity, creating the conditions for communities to engage, participate, and co-create solutions over time.

In Baltimore and previously in Mobile, Alabama, Terrance has led cross-agency efforts that move beyond program delivery toward building durable civic infrastructure, integrating data, partnerships, and community voice to shift systems upstream. His work emphasizes prevention, coordination, and activation: ensuring institutions not only provide access, but create the conditions for long-term transformation. A nationally recognized practitioner and speaker, Terrance has shared his work at Harvard University, the NATO Youth Summit, and CityLab. He is committed to helping public leaders reimagine how institutions show up in people’s lives, moving from transactional service delivery to relational, trust-centered systems that strengthen civic life.

Bob Wislow is a lifelong Chicagoan and a senior real estate executive who is deeply committed to supporting Chicago’s not for profit, civic education, governmental, arts, and education communities and to enhancing the quality and value of life in the Chicago region. Bob began his business career on the trading floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, became a sales executive at IBM and subsequently became a founding partner of LaSalle Partners, (now Jones, Lang, LaSalle, the world’s second largest publicly traded commercial real estate brokerage firm). In 1978, Bob, with his partner Camille Julmy, founded U.S. Equities Realty, where its assignments included the renovations, management, and leasing for major properties such as the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Building. As development managers, the firm oversaw the design, zoning, and construction of major health care projects, including The John Stroger Hospital, the Comer Children’s Hospital and Emergency Room, the University of Chicago’s Center for Care and Discovery, and the Cook County Health Services Central Clinic and Administration Building. The firm’s major public projects included The Harold Washington Library, Evanston’s main public library, and Millennium Park’s Crown Fountain, Cloud Gate (“The Bean”), Pritzker Pavilion & Sound Trillis, and the BP Bridge. In 2014, U. S. Equities Realty merged with CBRE, the world’s largest publicly traded commercial real estate brokerage firm.

In 2019 Camille and Bob founded Parkside Realty where Bob is the Chairman & CEO today. Parkside Realty provides management, leasing and development services for commercial real estate. In 2020, Parkside Realty completed Fulton East, the city’s first post-pandemic office building focused on tenants’ health, safety, and well-being. In July 2021 Fulton East, was awarded both the Best Office Development of 2020 and the Best Technology Pivot of 2020 at the Annual Illinois Real Estate Journal Award Dinner. Bob remains highly active and deeply committed to Chicago’s civic and not-for-profit communities and is a member of the Civic Committee, Chairman of the Civic Consulting Alliance’s Governance & Nominating Committee and member of its Executive Committee, past Chairman and current Executive Committee member of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Chicago Public Library Foundation and of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, serves on the Executive Committee and as Chairman of the Facilities Committee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and is a member of The Economic Club and the Commercial Club.