Toi Salter

Toi Salter is a recognized leader in the field of financial and business management. As CEO and Founder of Salter Financial Management LLC, she manages and oversees the day-to-day and long-term financial & business affairs for professional athletes and a media personality. Ms. Salter, a 27-year financial professional, is especially committed to professional athletes after seeing how so many lost their wealth because of improper financial guidance and counsel. Determined not to let this happen on her watch, she landed top picks in the NBA against all odds and incorporated the industry’s most respected wealth institutions and top tier financial professionals as part of her team. This approach has been a winning combination.

Raised by a family of entrepreneurs, Toi’s goal was to always employ herself, as that is what she witnessed growing up. The path that led her to where she is today was non-traditional and based on her guts and passion. After graduating from college, she immediately hung her shingle and opened a nail salon, as they were virtually non-existent at that time in Chicago. The success of her salon and the invaluable relationships that were created served her well and led her into other entrepreneurial endeavors as she continued to follow her instincts. She’s a master at reinvention, believing one should reinvent themselves until they discover their true God given purpose.

Ms. Salter works tirelessly for causes that impact her community. Over the past several years she has received many honors and awards for her dedication to her craft, community, and philanthropy. She believes in higher education and cites it as one of her pillars of success. As a long-
time champion for youth and education, she has generously committed her time to raising funds for several organizations and in particular UNCF. To date Toi has raised over $3 million dollars for UNCF Chicago and is featured in the national UNCF’s annual report under the heading “The Power of One”. Ms. Salter has successfully championed the fundraising efforts of other organizations as well collectively raising over $8 million dollars.

Toi is featured in “Unselfish Women” a coffee table book that features over 100 women from across the country that are living life selflessly
and making a difference in the lives of others. In February 2021 she was one of four women featured in the nationally televised “Women on The
Move”. Amongst her many honors and awards she has received the Kia Motors and Uptown Magazine’s “Game Changer” honor, the Black
Women’s Expo Phenomenal Women Special Recognition Award, a Chicago Defender Women of Excellence Honoree and featured in the 2020 HBCU Black History Calendar under the month of April. In June 2022 she received the “Trail Blazer” award at the UNCF’s “A Mind Is …” Gala.

A life-long learner Toi received her B.S. in Commerce from DePaul University, a Master of Accountancy from National University, and a M.S. in Financial Planning from the College of Financial Planning. Additionally, she holds the CFP(R) designation. Ms. Salter is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and is a resident of Chicago IL.

Dr. Carol L. Adams

Carol L. Adams, PhD., is founder and CEO of Urban Prescriptives, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in program and organizational development for enterprises engaged in educational, social, political, and cultural practice.  This venture merges the diverse experiences that comprise her remarkable career and her commitment to asset-based, culture-centered models for social change.  Her past positions include: President; DuSable Museum; Director, African American Studies, Loyola University; Executive Director, House of Blues Foundation; Director, Center for Inner City Studies, Northeastern Illinois University; and Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Described as a Pan-Africanist and scholar-activist, the constant theme throughout her life has been her commitment to her people.  Beginning as a civil rights activist and CORE president in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, continuing as a student at Fisk University marching with the legendary Rev. C.T.Vivian and on to Chicago where her association with a group of social engineers called The Catalyst would define her remarkable career and her worldview.

An author, Adams’ memoir “That’s All She Wrote” is a lyrical expose that chronicles her journey as she delved into the morass of societal and cultural contradictions that confound Black life in America.  Her soon to be published anthology, ”My Dad: The Man”, celebrates Black fathers through the eyes and words of 20 prominent daughters whose Dads were major influencers in their lives.  She is currently working feverishly to complete “Our Black Bag: The Catalyst Story”, a historical account of a group of legendary game-changers who set out to change the socio-political landscape in Chicago and did.

Known for her social marketing acumen, Adams has coined a host of impactful taglines, among them: “Bring It On Own Home”, for the Obama Presidential Center’; “Be The Change” for the Chicago Police Department; Ceasefire’s “Don’t Shoot I Wanna Grow Up!”; “Du Something!”for The DuSable Museum of African American History”  and “See Something, Say Something”, now licensed by the US Dept. of Homeland Security

Dr. Adams studied at Lincoln University, Fisk University, Boston University, University of Chicago and Union Graduate School. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors and has served on a host of Boards and high-level advisory groups.

She is the proud Mother of Nia Malika Augustine and her bonus son, Vance Henry, and scores of mentees and former students who affectionately call her “Doc” or “Mama Carol”.

Dr. Adams has recently become Chief of Community Engagement for SIMPCO, the nation’s first managed preventive care organization.

Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott

Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott, J.D., was unanimously appointed by the Board of Trustees to serve as the 12th permanent president of Chicago State University and assumed the role on July 1, 2018.

President Scott oversaw the development and advancement of the CSU Strategic Plan 2020-2025, ensuring that the institution will lead with the mission of transformation for students’ lives through innovation and excellence in ethical leadership. She also supervised the launch of a historic rebrand of the University, putting into motion new brand assets and campaigns to revitalize the institution’s reputation and raise awareness among new stakeholders. President Scott is a well-known advocate for equity in higher education, having formed and co-chaired the Equity Working Group, a body of leaders from across the education, public, private, philanthropic, and community development sectors to formulate an action plan for addressing Black student access and success in Illinois higher education.

Prior to her current role, President Scott was an equity partner in a national law firm with an international practice that focused on corporate internal investigations, counseling clients on regulatory compliance and crisis management. She also spent more than 16 years as a federal criminal prosecutor in the position of Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, where she served as Chief of the General Crimes Section. Upon leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Illinois State Senate confirmed her appointment as Illinois’ first Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Governor and its Public Universities. In this role, she created an independent executive branch state agency from its inception, developed the
United States’ first statewide ethics training platform for state government employees and created a protocol for the investigation of claims of misconduct, waste, fraud, and abuse.

President Scott taught at some of the nation’s most competitive law schools, including Northwestern University School of Law, the University of Chicago Law School, and UIC John Marshall Law School. The Indiana University Maurer School of Law honored her with its Distinguished Service Award (2012) and selected her for induction into the Law School’s Alumni Hall of Fame (2019).

President Scott is a highly sought-after speaker and lecturer on topics related to leadership, crisis management, trial advocacy, ethics and compliance and equity in higher education. She has received numerous awards honoring her service from organizations including the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association, La Rabida Children’s Hospital, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the American Constitution Society, and the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Chicago. She was recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the Most Powerful Women in Chicago Business (2018) and as one of Chicago’s Most Impactful Leaders in Education (2022). She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and the Commercial Club of Chicago. President Scott’s peers rank her among the nation’s top lawyers, resulting in her inclusion in Chambers and Partners USA, U.S. News Best Lawyers, Women in Business Law Guide, the Best Lawyers in America, Leading Lawyers 2015, Top 10 Women in Criminal Defense, and Illinois Super Lawyers.

President Scott holds a Juris Doctor from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.