SUMMIT 2022 Speaker Bios
DARRYL DENNARD
Darryl W. Dennard is a face and voice familiar to television viewers and radio listeners everywhere. He is an award-winning Broadcast Journalist. His news anchoring talents are heard weekly on iHeartMedia’s WVAZ-FM, WGCI-FM and WGRB-AM’s Community Affairs programming. He is the host and producer of Chicago Insight and Chicago Speaks, Chicagoland’s number one rated talk radio program, airing live on Sundays from 6am to 8am. His producing and on-camera skills were most recently viewed every week in tens of millions of homes via The Black Enterprise Report, (BER). Prior to BER he was host/producer of The Minority Business Report, the nation’s longest running television program devoted to minority business. His news and marketing experience has him in demand as a moderator and public speaker.
ROBERT P. DUNN
Robert P. (“Bob”) Dunn is the President & CEO of Landmark Development and has been active in the real estate development, investment, management and construction industries for over 30 years. Mr. Dunn was the founder of Landmark Development in 2002 and is responsible for the management of each of the firm’s operating divisions. These include Strategic Planning & Development, Finance & Investment, Marketing, and Operations for major economic development initiatives anchored by transit, urban mixed-use, sports and entertainment, academic, and health care projects. Mr. Dunn is highly regarded in the industry for his efforts to structure and deliver complex public-private partnership (P3) transactions.
Bob has served in the leadership role on a number of the nation’s largest urban mixed-use and destination-oriented developments in diverse markets from New York to Los Angeles and even abroad. He has been directly responsible for real estate development and investment projects with a current value in excess of $26 billion, including the Mayo Clinic – Destination Medical Center, MetLife Stadium in New York, US Bank Stadium and East Town Entertainment District, the Lambeau Field Redevelopment and Titletown Entertainment District, NFL-Los Angeles, and Beijing Olympic Games, among others. Mr. Dunn is currently serving as Managing Partner on ONE Central – an $18 billion transit-oriented development (TOD) planned here in Chicago.
THE HONORABLE KAREN FREEMAN-WILSON
Karen Freeman-Wilson began serving as President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League in January 2020. She brings a passion for equity and social justice to the organization, which works to achieve equity for Black families and communities through social and economic empowerment.
Having served in the public arena most of her professional life, Freeman-Wilson has deep experience in addressing issues that impact urban communities. She was mayor of her hometown of Gary, Indiana, from 2012 through 2019. She was the first female to lead the city of Gary and the first African-American female mayor in the state of Indiana. Her mayoral accomplishments included job creation, completion of a $100 million airport runway relocation, and the development of key areas in the city. She also previously served as Indiana Attorney General, Director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission and presiding judge of the Gary City Court. She also served as CEO of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and Executive Director of the National Drug Court Institute.
Freeman-Wilson is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She is a past President of the National League of Cities and past Chairperson of the Criminal and Social Justice Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She is a member of Israel C.M.E. Church; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; the Links, Inc.; the NAACP; the Urban League of Northwest Indiana and the Indiana Bar.
Freeman-Wilson and her husband Carmen Wilson II have a blended family of four children.
HELENE D. GAYLE, MD, MPH
Helene Gayle is president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations. She has served in this role since October 2017. Under her leadership, the Trust has adopted a new strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region.
For almost a decade, Dr. Gayle was president and CEO of CARE, a leading international humanitarian organization. An expert on global development, humanitarian, and health issues, she spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS. She worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, directing programs on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues.
Dr. Gayle serves on public company and nonprofit boards, including The Coca-Cola Company, Organon, Palo Alto Networks, Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, New America, ONE Campaign, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and Economic Club of Chicago. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Council on Foreign Relations, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, National Academy of Medicine, American Public Health Association, National Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics.
She was awarded the Chicago Mayor’s Medal of Honor for her work on COVID relief and recovery for the city. Named one of Forbes’ “100 Most Powerful Women” and one of NonProfit Times “Power and Influence Top 50,” she has authored numerous articles on global and domestic public health issues, poverty alleviation, gender equality, and social justice.
Dr. Gayle was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She earned a BA in psychology at Barnard College, an MD at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPH at Johns Hopkins University. She has received 18 honorary degrees and holds faculty appointments at the University of Washington and Emory University.
PASTOR CHRIS HARRIS
Pastor Chris Harris leads Bright Star Church (www.BrightStarChurchChicago.com) in Chicago’s Bronzeville Community and has ministered in over 24 countries singing Gospel and Jazz.
He is founder of Bright Star Community Outreach (www.BrightStarCommunityOutreach.com) a 501c3 dedicated to youth & family anti-violence programs. He has developed the TURN Center (The Urban Resilience Network) based on the Israeli model of NATAL in Tel Aviv. TURN endeavors to focus on five core competencies: counseling, parenting, mentorship, work-force development and advocacy. Its unique model will utilize faith and community leaders as trauma counselors and use community surveys as the basis for services that directly correspond to the unique needs of constituents. Its end-to-end approach offers a replicable, evidenced-based template for risk assessment and program evaluation. Although the TURN Center will sit in Bronzeville; it will serve Chicago as a whole, and our ultimate goal is to replicate this model across the United States in other traumatized communities.
BCSO’s partners in this effort are: Northwestern Medicine, University of Chicago Medicine, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, Jewish United Fund, Sinai Community Institute, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and now CIGNA to name a few. This community impact project has received more than $9 Million dollars of support thus far. BSCO now employs 500+ (full and part time) residents in Chicago and has served thousands of residents in the Bronzeville Community. One of the most exciting things for Pastor Harris and BSCO is their Greater Bronzeville Community Action Plan where more than 50 Bronzeville organizations are collaboratively partnering to make a community level impact on violence and trauma. This collaborative vision plan birthed from and led by Pastor Harris recently received a $1 Million Grant from the MacArthur Foundation over a four year period.
Pastor Harris has served as National Council Member of AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and is the Chairman of the Bronzeville Community Action Council. He is also a member of the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) Community Advisory Council and has served as President of the 4th Ward & Cook County Clergy Coalitions. He’s the proud husband of Jojo Harris and father of four beautiful children.
MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY
Professor Melissa Harris-Perry is the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair in the Department of Politics and
International Affairs, the Department of Women and Gender Studies, and the Program in Environment
and Sustainability at Wake Forest University. There she teaches courses on American politics at the
intersections of race, place, and gender.
Melissa serves as host and managing editor of The Takeaway, a daily, national public radio program and
podcast distributed by WNYC and PRX. Professor Harris-Perry is founder and president of the Anna Julia
Cooper Center, whose mission is to advance justice through intersectional scholarship and action. And
along with Dorian Warren, Harris-Perry is co-creator and co-host of The Takeaway’s special project Deep
Dives with MHP and Dorian and the podcast System Check.
Melissa is a non-resident fellow of the Brookings Institution. She is the author of the award-winning
Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, and Sister Citizen: Shame,
Stereotypes, and Black Women in America.
From 2012-2016, she hosted the television show “Melissa Harris-Perry” on weekend mornings on
MSNBC and was awarded the Hillman Prize for broadcast journalism. She served as editor-at-large for
Elle.com and for ZORA. She continues to serve as contributing editor for The Nation.
Professor Harris-Perry is an award-winning author and sought after public speaker, lecturing widely
throughout the United States and abroad. Harris-Perry received her B.A. degree in English from Wake
Forest University and her Ph.D. degree in political science from Duke University. She studied theology at
Union Theological Seminary in New York. Harris-Perry previously served on the faculty of the University
of Chicago, Princeton University, and Tulane University. Professor Harris-Perry has been awarded
honorary degrees from many universities including Meadville Lombard Theological School, Winston Salem State University, Eckerd College, New York University, and Ithaca College.
Melissa serves on several boards and award committees and is a trustee of The Century Foundation, The
Next 100 and The Markup. She and her family live in North Carolina.
PASTOR JAMES T. MEEKS
Pastor James T. Meeks is the founder and senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church of
Chicago, which has been recognized as one of the fastest growing megachurches in the
United States. Salem is the largest African American church in Illinois with over 15,000
members.
In 2002, Pastor Meeks successfully ran for Illinois state senator. His win made him the
first Independent legislator ever elected to the Illinois Senate. He served three terms,
where his major focus was on educational equity. He has also served in positions of
leadership including chair of the Education committee as well as joint chairman of the
Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. Pastor Meeks currently serves as Chairman, Illinois State
Board of Education.
In 2005, Pastor Meeks led Salem in the building of the House of Hope, a $50 million,
10,000 seat community and worship center which is the largest facility built from the
ground up for the purpose as a worship venue in the United States.
Throughout his life, Pastor Meeks has served the needs of the people whether it was
through legislation on the Senate floor, community organizing events in the streets of
Chicago or from the pulpit every Sunday morning.
In 1998, he led a rally to “dry up” the Roseland community, which resulted in the closing
of 26 liquor stores. He distributed 30,000 Bibles to residents in the church’s zip code. He
provided every prisoner in the state with the Bible on cassette.
The list goes on and in his 38 years of ministry, Pastor Meeks has taken his message of
hope and reform around the world including Israel, Africa, China, Jamaica, Argentina,
Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Australia.
He is the author of two books, “How to Get out of Debt and Into Praise,” and
“Life-Changing Relationships,” which have been received with critical acclaim.
Pastor Meeks and his wife Jamell are the proud parents of four children and five grandchildren.
THE HONORABLE TONI PRECKWINKLE
Toni Preckwinkle is the 35th president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, an office she has held since 2010. She is the first Black woman to be elected to the office. A dedicated and effective public servant, President Preckwinkle has worked to transform County government through increased fiscal responsibility, transparency, and improved services.
Leveraging more than 30 years of political experience and leadership, President Preckwinkle has restored credibility to County government, solving for more than $2.87 billion in budget deficits and providing supplemental pension payments of almost $2 billion above the required contribution since 2016, significantly reducing unfunded pension liabilities.
As the top executive in Cook County, the nation’s second most populous County, President Preckwinkle oversees one of the nation’s largest public health and hospitals systems and one of the nation’s largest criminal justice systems.
Under her leadership, Cook County used the Affordable Care Act to create CountyCare, a managed care program for Medicaid-eligible residents. Cook County provides quality care to more than 500,000 individuals through the health system and health plan.
President Preckwinkle has remained committed to reimagining our criminal justice system and taking an approach that also addresses mental health issues, substance abuse and addiction as illnesses to be treated, not crimes to be punished.
During President Preckwinkle’s administration, she has worked to expand the scope of the Justice Advisory Council (JAC) to coordinate and implement juvenile justice reform and public safety policy. In coordination with the JAC, President Preckwinkle has worked collaboratively with the County’s public safety stakeholders towards the goals of safely reducing the population of the Cook County Jail and Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center while preserving public safety, reducing recidivism, and promoting fair and equitable access to justice.
Cook County represents the core of the region’s population, jobs, businesses and productivity. The economic footprint of the Chicago region is larger than that of most nations in the world. One of the great strengths of Cook County, and the larger region, is the diversity of the local economy. In 2011, President Preckwinkle created the Bureau of Economic Development to lead and promote equitable economic growth and community development throughout the County.
Promoting equity, specifically racial equity, has been a central principle of President Preckwinkle’s leadership. In November 2018, the Office of the President released the Cook County Policy Roadmap: Five-Year Strategic Plan for Offices Under the President to guide her administration’s policy and equity work.
President Preckwinkle is also President of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, one of the oldest and largest forest preserve districts in the United States. The district receives an estimated 62 million visits each year, providing residents with outdoor recreation and environmental education opportunities.
Before she was elected Cook County Board President, President Preckwinkle served 19 years as Alderman of the 4th Ward. As Alderman, she oversaw the redevelopment of the Kenwood, Oakland, Douglas, Grand Boulevard and Hyde Park neighborhoods. She established a reputation as a progressive on the City Council and a champion for affordable housing. She was a co-sponsor of the living wage ordinances that passed the City Council in 1998 and 2002.
Prior to holding elected office, President Preckwinkle was a high school history teacher for ten years, before serving as an economic development coordinator for the City of Chicago and the executive director of the Chicago Jobs Council. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, President Preckwinkle came to Chicago to attend the University of Chicago, from where she holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She is the proud mother of two and grandmother of three.
MELODY SPANN-COOPER
Melody Spann-Cooper is Chairman and CEO of Midway Broadcasting Corporation, a best-in-class African-American owned media company whose properties include radio and interactive platforms. The properties combine to provide niche programming to Chicago’s thriving Black and Hispanic populations. As Chairman of Midway Broadcasting Corporation, she joined an elite list of America’s female broadcast owners after purchasing the company’s controlling interest in 1999.
Spann Cooper’s other professional affiliations include: Commissioner of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission; Vice Chair of the Illinois Broadcasting Association; Co-Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Council for the Obama Library Foundation; Board Member of Chicago’s tourism board, Choose Chicago; Trustee of the Museum of Science & Industry; Executive Committee Member of the Business Leadership Council; Executive Board Member of The National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters, and Co- Founder of the Color Us Women Organization.
Spann-Cooper’s accomplishments in broadcast media have been recognized by numerous organizations that have highlighted her achievements in leadership and business. In her first book, “The Girlfriend’s Guide To Closing the Deal,” Melody uses her special brand of warmth, candor and wit as she shares with readers how they can use their power to enhance opportunities at the highest level. Spann-Cooper holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Loyola University of Chicago. She is married and is the daughter of the late legendary radio personality Pervis Spann “The Blues Man.”
REV. DR. JANETTE C. WILSON
Rev. Dr. Janette C Wilson to our community the new Pastor of the Maple Park United Methodist Church. She served as Senior Advisor to Rev. Jesse L Jackson, Sr. National President Of RainbowPush Inc., and Special Assistant to the Chief Administrative Officer of the Chicago Public Schools. She and her husband founded the Wilson, Howard P.C Law inc in which she served as a criminal defense attorney. After leaving private practice she served as Full time Assistant General Counsel to Rev. Jesse L Jackson and ultimately Push’s National Director. She also served as General counsel for Chicago State University and special Counsel to Mayor Eugene Sawyer.
She is a member of Cook County bar Association and formed the Interfaith Lawyers Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. She has lectured on a number of subjects in the area of civil rights, Affirmative Action and School Law. She has been an adjunct Professor at a number of seminaries and Universities teaching courses in Marketing , Business Law , Church Ethics, and Church Administration. She hold a B. A in Chemistry , Master in Environmental Science, J. D and Doctor of Divinity and admitted to the Federal Trial Bar and the US Tax Court and the US District Court. She was appointed by late US Representative Charles Hayes to represent the 1st Congressional District of Illinois at the White House Conference on small business and International Trade Conference.
