Advisory Committee
Brian Hetherington is a founder and the Chairman of The ABD Team, a boutique consulting firm providing risk management, insurance brokerage, human resources, and retirement consulting services. He earned his BA in political science with high honors from Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in 1988. Brian is also an alum of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Worldwide Broker Network and the Industry Insurance Charitable Foundation.
Jill Schaeffer Hetherington is senior vice president of business development at the ABD Team, a boutique consulting firm providing risk management, insurance brokerage, human resources, and retirement consulting services. She earned her BA in business management, economics, and sociology from Bucknell University. Jill earned her MBA with honors from Harvard Business School, where she was a recipient of the prestigious Dean’s Award for exemplary leadership. Jill currently serves on the Silicon Valley board of directors for How Women Lead and is an active volunteer in her sons’ schools.
Adam Karr is Managing Director of Orbis Investment Management (US), LLC, and a director of its parent company, Orbis Investment Management Limited. Adam is a 1992 honors graduate from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Economics. He earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Adam currently serves on the Board of Directors of Sponsors for Education Opportunity (SEO) and as a Trustee of Northwestern University.
Chuck Lewis is Chairman of the Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation. He is a retired Vice Chairman, Investment Banking, of Merrill Lynch & Co., having worked for it and a predecessor for almost thirty-five years. Earlier, Chuck was Assistant to the CEO of Computer Technology, Inc., and served in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of Captain.Chuck received a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and honorary degrees from Amherst and from Grinnell College. He is a Life Trustee of Amherst and was a Trustee of the University of Chicago. He is a Life Trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a Trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, a member of the Board of Directors of Chicago Public Media, and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago. Chuck is married to Penny Sebring, who is also a member of the CSDD Advisory Board. They live in Evanston, just north of Northwestern.
Brian Posner is the founder and President of the Point Rider Group LLC. From 2005 to 2008, he was the CEO, President, and co-Chief Investment Officer of ClearBridge Advisors LLC, which is one of the largest mutual fund companies in the United States. Brian received his BA in history from Northwestern University and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a Trustee of Northwestern University.
Paula Pretlow is a former senior vice president of Capital Group, a $2.2 trillion-dollar privately held investment management firm. She received both her BA in political science and an MBA in finance from Northwestern University. Paula currently serves on public, private and philanthropy boards, including Williams-Sonoma, Inc.; Vroom, Inc.; Bitwise Industries; The Kresge Foundation; and The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. She is also on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University.
Penny Sebring co-founded the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research in 1990 and continues to help lead it. She is a co-author of Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 2010) and How a City Learned to Improve Its Schools (forthcoming, Harvard Education Press). Penny also is President of the Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation. Previously, she was a Peace Corps volunteer and high school teacher. Penny graduated from Grinnell College and was a long-time member of its Board of Trustees. She received a master’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University, a Ph.D. in Education and Policy Studies from Northwestern University, and an honorary doctorate from Grinnell. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Public Education Fund and Kids First Chicago and is a member of the Policy Advisory Board of the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern. Penny is married to Chuck Lewis who is also a member of the CSDD Advisory Board. They live in Evanston, just north of Northwestern.
Rob Seidner is edX’s Director for Government Partnerships where he works with Federal and state agencies to provide access to the edX platform for adult learning, which is currently used by more than 44 million registered learners building skills and developing capacity. Rob continues to be engaged with governments to modernize training and standards. Rob had a nearly 20 year career in the US Federal Government, the last 8 years in the Executive Office of the President of the United States’ Office of Management and Budget as the Performance Manager for Federal Human Capital Policy.
Jeffrey (Jeff) Zukerman is a founding partner of Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman LLP, a New York City based law firm. He maintains a diverse practice that includes corporate and real estate transactions, executive compensation (with a particular emphasis on the financial services industry), and employment law. Jeff earned a BA with honors in political science from Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in 1979. He earned his JD in 1982 from the Washington College of Law of the American University, where he was the Articles Editor of its Law Review. Jeff is a member of the Weinberg College Board of Visitors, is co-chair of Northwestern’s Leadership Circle New York Regional Council, and a member of the New York Regional Campaign Committee. He also served for many years as a member of Northwestern’s Alumni Admission Council.