Mellody Hobson

Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs. With a current membership of 4,000 American Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members, the Academy has four major goals: Promoting service and study through analysis of critical social and intellectual issues and the development of practical policy alternatives; Fostering public engagement and the exchange of ideas with meetings, conferences, and symposia bringing diverse perspectives to the examination of issues of common concern; Mentoring a new generation of scholars and thinkers through the Visiting Scholars Program and Hellman Fellowship Program; Honoring excellence by electing to membership men and women in a broad range of disciplines and professions. Click here to learn about our new members. The Academy's headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With its geographically diverse membership, it conducts activities in this country and abroad

YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) connects people with successful young chief executives in a global network unlike any other. Founded in 1950 in New York City by a young president named Ray Hickok, the organization unites approximately 20,000 business leaders in more than 120 countries around a shared mission: Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange. A great deal has changed since YPO’s founding but certain things have remained the same: the value of a peer network and trusted mentors, the importance of ongoing education, and the need for a “safe haven” where issues can be aired in an environment of confidentiality. Over the past six decades, YPO has maintained its core commitment to these ideals while embracing change with each successive generation of young business leaders.

The Commercial Club of Chicago resulted from the 1907 merger of two predecessor Chicago clubs: the Merchants Club (organized in 1896) and the Commercial Club (organized in 1877). Its most active members included George Pullman, Marshall Field, Cyrus McCormick, George Armour, Frederic Delano, Sewell Avery, Rufus C. Dawes, and Julius Rosenwald. The club has promoted Chicago's economic development for generations and championed member Daniel Burnham's Plan of Chicago (1909), also known as Burnham's plan. The plan gave the blueprint for the future growth and development of the entire Chicago region.