Revolving Tables 2026 Mentors

Benjamin Bornstein

Benjamin Bornstein is the Founder and President of Prospero Capital Management, LLC (since 2002) and Managing Partner of Prospero Spirit Funds, based in Chicago. He oversees all aspects of Prospero’s whiskey barrel investment portfolio, fundraising, and advisory operations. Previously, Ben was Managing Director at Arctaris Impact Investors, where he led fund structuring, investment evaluation, and investor development, drawing on over 30 years of financial experience in senior investment roles worldwide.

He also served as CEO of Imerman Angels, the world’s largest support network for cancer fighters, survivors, and caregivers, and held investment leadership positions at Omega Advisors and Orbis Investment Management in London and Bermuda.

Ben graduated magna cum laude from Princeton in Economics and earned a JD/MBA from Harvard, graduating from Harvard Business School with high distinction as a Baker Scholar (top 5%). He received the John Loeb Award in Finance and the Sheridan Logan Fellowship. His philanthropic work includes board involvement with Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs, the Lurie Cancer Center, Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center, the H Foundation, and PAWS Chicago.

Brent Novoselsky

Brent Novoselsky has been with Alera Group since 1995 and has served clients, their families, and their businesses since 1989. With a specialized focus on the accumulation and preservation of wealth, risk management, and executive benefit strategies, Brent brings over three decades of financial experience paired with a values-first approach to planning.

Before entering financial services, Brent played seven seasons in the National Football League, beginning with the Chicago Bears in 1988 and continuing with the Minnesota Vikings from 1989 through 1994, retiring after a serious neck injury. He is a member of both the Chicago and Philadelphia Jewish Sports Halls of Fame, and credits the discipline, preparation, and teamwork from his NFL career with shaping his client-focused approach.

Brent serves as a board member of the NFL Players Association Former Players Chicago Chapter, is co-chair of the Bnai Brith Scholarship Program and is the Ambassador of American Football in Israel.

He and his wife live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and have three children. Outside of work, Brent is a brown belt in Taekwondo, a Pilates aficianado – and an avid bad golfer.

Cliff Stein

Cliff Stein is a former Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Chicago Bears, where he spent 22 years overseeing all legal affairs and serving as lead negotiator for player contracts and salary cap strategy. Over the course of his 30-year career, he has worked on both sides of the negotiating table — including eight years as an NFLPA-certified agent.

Cliff currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and University of Miami law, where he teaches The Art of Player Contract Negotiations, a course built on decades of real-world experience in high-stakes negotiations.

He is the Founder & CEO of Negotiation Whisperer, LLC, a consulting firm that partners with collegiate athletic departments, and leadership teams on NIL and revenue share cap management, contract architecture, negotiation strategy, and front office structure. He also leads the Negotiation Warriors platform, focused on developing elite negotiation mindset, preparation, and performance. He is also the host of Negotiation Warriors Podcast, launched earlier this year, which features conversations with the greatest negotiators in professional sports.

In addition, Cliff is the founder of Front Office 360, a cap management software platform designed to assist college athletic departments in managing revenue share and NIL compensation for student-athletes.

Dan Raskin

Dan Raskin is the fourth-generation owner of Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen, the legendary Chicago institution that has been serving classic Jewish deli fare since 1942. Working alongside his father, Ken Raskin, Dan carries forward the family’s commitment to generous portions, handcrafted recipes, and the welcoming spirit Manny’s has been known for across generations.

Dan has guided Manny’s through major updates and expansions while preserving the charm and traditions that make the deli a beloved landmark. From modernizing the space to introducing new offerings inspired by both heritage and innovation, his leadership ensures Manny’s remains both timeless and relevant.

Passionate about food, community, and family legacy, Dan continues to steward Manny’s as a gathering place for Chicagoans of all backgrounds — a home for regulars, newcomers, and generations of families who return for the same quality and comfort they’ve loved for decades.

Daniel Tatar

Dan Tatar brings together two worlds, as the head of a nonprofit and as a professional television actor. He serves as Interim CEO of The iCenter, where his work focuses on strategic partnerships, educational programming, and strengthening how individuals and communities build personal, evolving relationships with Israel. With more than two decades in experiential education and nonprofit leadership, Dan centers his work on people, trust, and translating values into practice, especially in moments of change and complexity.

Alongside his leadership work, Dan is a professional stage and television actor. His recent screen credits include Euphoria, Chicago Med, and The Studio, with a career that spans off-Broadway, regional theater, and television. He brings an artist’s sensibility into every leadership conversation, curiosity, presence, and an ability to listen for what matters most.

Gary Grad

Gary Grad is a highly experienced medical oncologist, who joined Tempus AI in 2019. He currently serves as Senior Medical Oncologist on the Medical Science team.

Prior to Tempus, he did his medical and oncology training at The University of Chicago and subsequently spent 28 years in a distinguished clinical practice in the Chicago area.

Gary has focused on delivering personalized precision cancer care and advancing treatment through innovative solutions. In addition to his clinical work, Gary engaged as a thought leader and strategic consultant for prominent pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and healthcare systems.

Gary previously served several years on both the Chicago and International boards of ICRF. He currently splits time between the Chicago suburbs and southern Baja, Mexico.

Hank Zemola

If there were ever a pioneer in the field of event management, it would surely be Hank. A lifelong Chicagoan, Hank started producing events in 1970 and later founded Special Events Management (SEM) in 1988. Since that time, the company has grown to become the largest full-service producer of runs/walks, art/street fests, parades, and other special events in the Midwest.

Leading by experience has been his model. A former event director himself, and former Executive Director of the Chicago Area Runners Association, Hank has directed over eight hundred road races including the Shamrock Shuffle and YME Race Against Breast Cancer, with honors of race director of the year.

Within the festival and other special events segments of the business, Hank has been the director of some of the largest festivals and events in the City of Chicago including Northalsted Market Days, Old School Picnic Reunion, Pridefest, Burgerfest, the Wells Street Art Fair, Pride Parade, Tacofest including other top special events that include: National Championship of Cycling, National Championship of Inline Skating, National Championship of Inline Hockey, World Championship of Inline Hockey,Tour of Elk Grove International Cycling Classic.

Hank started in the event business at an early age after working at United Parcel Service in a management role where he claims the foundation of hard work and high quantity taught him the basis of good business operation.

After UPS he first owned nightclubs and managed music venues which included TUTS, Stages (now the “Metro”), and the Vic Theatre. He was a musician first in his youth and later became a well skilled talent buyer of national entertainment. He later served three years as executive director of the then-infant Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) before founding SEM.

Today the company produces more than seventy annual runs/walks and art/street fests, concerts, parades and provides assorted services to score more while having oversight of the company’s nine event managers, forty full time employees and two hundred seasonal workers.

An active member of several Chicago area civic and professional organizations, one of Hank’s primary visions since founding the company has been to produce events that raise money to benefit non-profits, community/neighborhood groups, chambers of commerce and scores of others.

Jeff Aeder

Jeff Aeder is co-founder and principal of JDI Realty, a small real estate firm that acquires a wide range of property types throughout the United States.

While Jeff has enjoyed the real estate business for 41 years, he spends a large portion of his time pursuing philanthropic passions ranging from conventional to quirky. He and his wife Jennifer were named a Chicagoan of the Year in 2013 for founding Wolcott School, an independent high school for bright, college-bound students who learn differently. The only school of its kind in Chicago, Wolcott is quickly becoming a national model for teaching students who experience reading, attention, and organizational challenges. Currently, Wolcott has 135 students.

Feeding his love for barbecue and commitment to building community, thirteen years ago Jeff opened Milt’s Barbecue for the Perplexed, a popular kosher barbecue near Wrigley Field. All profits from the restaurant were donated to charity. A few years ago, Jeff sold the restaurant to his long-term employees for $1.

Jeff, the largest private collector of Jewish baseball memorabilia, created the Jewish Baseball Museum, an on-line museum showcasing the collection and highlighting the journeys of Jews assimilating into American culture. Jeff and his family completed Phase I and II of the renovation Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, a small mixed Kibbutz (secular and religious) located on the border of Gaza.

Since October 7th, Jeff has devoted much of his time rebuilding of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom and supporting the Jewish community both here and in Israel.

Jeff lives in the Gold Coast with his wife and three of their four children.

Jennifer Clark

Jennifer Clark has over 25 years of strategy and operations experience leading organizations through periods of high growth and transformation. She is currently the Owner of LaunchSpot Consulting, serving as a fractional Chief Operating Officer for health and wellness companies. Her clientele has included both pre-revenue companies helping them launch as well as public companies overcoming operational challenges. She is also a leadership coach through LaunchSpot Coaching, helping women in their mid-careers navigate professional growth and transitions.

Jennifer worked at Abbott and AbbVie for a combined 20 years where she worked across operations, quality, and business excellence, and served as the technical product lead for cancer, hepatitis, and thyroid products.

She was also Senior Vice President of Operational Excellence at Cresco Labs, one of the largest U.S. cannabis operators. During her 4-year tenure, she scaled the company from $10M to $825M annual revenue, managed 5 mergers and acquisitions, and led the company through an IPO.

Jennifer has a B.S. in Biology (Pre-Medicine) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She graduated from the Kellogg EMBA program in 2023 where she served as Board President of the Kellogg Women@EMBA affinity group. She now serves on the Board of HER HEALTHX, a non-profit closing the care communication gap between patients, caregivers, and providers, leveraging AI tools and resources to improve health outcomes. Jennifer lives in Evanston with her husband and two kids and enjoys tennis, cooking, and traveling in her free time.

Joanna Horsnail

Joanna Horsnail is an infrastructure construction partner at Mayer Brown LLP, where she has practiced for 28 years. She is the Office Managing Partner for Mayer Brown’s Chicago office. Joanna represents public and private owners, developers, lenders, and contractors regarding the design, construction, development, financing, acquisition, and disposition of facilities, including alternative delivery and public-private partnership projects. She has negotiated billions of dollars’ worth of contracts for infrastructure, energy and commercial projects. Joanna is recognized by Chambers USA for Construction and has been ranked as a “Leading Lawyer” by Legal 500 for Construction in the United States for numerous years.

Joanna is a member of The Chicago Network. She was a 2015 Fellow in Leadership Greater Chicago, was named a 2007 Women in Public Finance Woman of the Year Award and was named by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the 2018 “Notable Women Lawyers in Chicago.” She received a “Lifetime Achievement” award at the Corporate Counsel 2020 Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards, and a “Managing Partner of the Year” award at the 2024 awards.

Joanna is on the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Keystone Board and the Misericordia Women’s Board. In the past, she has served as a director of Cabrini Green Legal Aid, Anixter Center, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, Women in Public Finance and the PURA Syndrome Foundation.

Lori Andre

Lori Andre is the founder of Lori’s Shoes and a longtime champion of craftsmanship, community, and causes that matter. Known for her curated eye and hands-on leadership, she has spent over 40 years shaping a fashion destination grounded in style, substance, and service.

Equally committed to advocacy and philanthropy, Lori leverages her voice and platform to advance education, access, and patient-centered initiatives – proving that fashion, when led with intention can go far beyond the closet.

Mara Greenwald

Mara brings over 15 years of experience across the digital media landscape, including commerce, performance media, data and audience strategy. In her current role, she oversees the product roadmap and activation of a rapidly growing Retail Media Network. Her commerce experience spans from DTC and retail direct to shopper and delivery partnerships.

Prior to Omnicom, Mara held roles at agencies such as Mindshare, Horizon, and Publicis. Throughout her career, she’s worked with brands including Unilever, Revlon, SharkNinja, White Claw, Kohl’s, Lenovo, Oracle, and Procter & Gamble, among others.

A respected industry thought leader, Mara’s insights have been featured in Ad Age, Adweek, Campaign, and more. She regularly presents her learnings and takeaways on the evolving commerce space, speaking at industry events and groups such as AdWeek Commerce Week, Ad Age Next: Retail, The Advertising Research Foundation, Path to Purchase Institute, and others.

Matt Wren

Matthew (Matt) Wren is a nationally recognized immersive technology leader and one of Chicago’s foremost voices driving virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) adoption for workforce development. He is the Founder and CTO of VRAR Chicago, an advisory that provides independent solutions architecture and implementation strategy consulting services to industrial, government, and workforce training partners.

Over the past decade, Matt has spearheaded more than 70 real-world XR (Extended Reality) deployments across government, education, and industry. His work focuses on creating safer, more efficient, and more inclusive training, education, field support, and collaborative design programs through spatial computing. Previously, he served as the Co-Founder and CTO of BUNDLAR, a no-code AR platform that supported global clients including Microsoft and the U.S. Air Force.

Matt is an active leader in Chicago’s tech ecosystem. VRAR Chicago is the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center’s implementation partner for the “The Journey Back” VR program. VRAR Chicago also produces the not-for-profit “The Next Evolution” monthly educational event, which has been growing the local XR community since 2017 and hosted the Chicago XR Summits in 2018 and 2025.

He has served as a technology advisor to Loyola University Chicago’s Ignite Lab, a technology entrepreneurship mentor at Illinois Tech, and a guest lecturer at DePaul University. Matt is a regular contributor to WBBM NewsRadio’s “Technology Thursday” segments. He previously served as the IT Director for Chicago Ideas Week and the Chicago Chapter President of the VR/AR Association. Matt also spent several years as an IATSE Local 2 Stagehand, including two years backstage at the Lyric Opera House, which he credits for his solutions oriented – “show must go on” – approach to technology implementation.

Michael Cherney

Michael Cherney is the CEO and co-founder of Cooler Logistics, bringing years of experience and a proven track record in the logistics industry. Early in his career, he was the seventh employee at Load Delivered and played a pivotal role in leading their expansion to the West Coast.

With a Master’s degree in Global Supply Chain Management from the University of Southern California and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification, Michael combines expert knowledge with strong leadership, negotiation, and organizational skills to drive results. He is passionate about building team-focused cultures where collaboration and selflessness pave the way to success.

Motivated by his family—his wife Lauren and daughter Frankie—Michael strives to create a life they can be proud of. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing in the summer, playing paddle in the winter, cheering for Chicago sports teams, and grilling.

Paul Fox

Paul T. Fox is a founding shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Chicago office where he serves as Chairman and has been instrumental in growing that office from its original 3 lawyers to almost 200 lawyers today.

He has practiced commercial litigation for almost 50 years and been a member of the Trial Bar for the United States District Court in Chicago for 40 years, as well as practiced in numerous federal and state courts throughout the country. Paul is an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law where he has taught trial advocacy and civil discovery, and has also been a faculty member at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

In addition to serving on the Executive Committee and co-chairing the Governance Committee for the ICRF Chicago Board, Paul is also a member of the ICRF International Board of Trustees, and is a Board member of Albany Bank & Trust Company, N.A.

Phyllis Tabachnick

Phyllis partners with individuals, families and business owners to offer high-touch, personalized service tailored to their complex investment management needs. She embraces a client-centric approach, driven by a steadfast commitment to their best interests.

Clients benefit from the exceptional team Phyllis has built. As the co-founder of The Tabachnick Oskin Group, she prioritizes the growth and development of each member, believing that empowering them enhances the overall client experience and drives positive outcomes.

In a testament to her commitment to her clients and colleagues, Phyllis has been at J.P. Morgan for more than 30 years. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and regularly speaks to students and boards on fundraising, leadership, career advancement and investment management. She is a sought-after speaker, leading a popular fundraising workshop called “Fundraising is Not an F-Word.”

Phyllis is grateful that her work allows her to engage in issues she’s passionate about, believing that her philanthropic endeavors—rooted in meaningful relationships, expanded skill sets and impactful contributions—are integral to her identity. She has leveraged her financial acumen to serve on the investment committees of various charitable organizations. A native of Akron, Ohio, Phyllis enjoys reading, cooking and traveling. She is an avid birdwatcher.

Yadira Guzman

Yadira Guzman is the Chief Financial Officer at Vivaldi Capital Management, a wealth management firm specializing in alternative investments. She oversees all financial functions of the organization.

Prior to joining Vivaldi, she was an audit manager in the Wealth and Asset Management practice at Ernst & Young, LLP. During her time in public accounting, she oversaw the audits of funds and investment advisors. Before that, Yadira provided accounting and tax services to small businesses throughout Chicago.

Yadira received her B.S. in Accounting and Economics from DePaul University and is a Certified Public Accountant.