Playworks Illinois Regional Advisory Board
The Playworks Illinois Regional Advisory Board is a group of change-makers who believe in the power of play and are active ambassadors for Playworks. These playful professionals contribute their personal time to share the mission of Playworks: to improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play. Learn more about our board members below and click on the link for more information about getting involved.
Jamie Buckley, Chair
Partner, PwC
Jamie is a Partner in PwC’s Finance Transformation practice and the leader of PwC’s order to cash capability working with the world’s leading banks and global exchanges to drive efficiency and value in their revenue cycles. Jamie leads dedicated teams of talented PwC professionals with cross disciplinary skills to deliver global transformations. He is excited to be able to bring PwC’s passion for community engagement and supporting youth to the Playworks mission. Prior to PwC, Jamie earned an MBA in Finance and Strategy at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business. In his spare time, Jamie enjoys playing hockey and hiking in the mountains, when not juggling various sporting events for his 3 children with his wife, Eileen.
Yasir Safdar
Partner, PWC
Alex Persha
Manager, West Monroe Partners
Alex is a Manager in the Operations Excellence practice at West Monroe Partners, a mid-sized consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. For the 7+ years he has been supporting the Chicago communities volunteering across various nonprofits and now an active member of the Playmakers associate board. Alex earned his Industrial Engineering degree from Purdue University (Boiler Up!). He is enjoying his time living in the Chicago suburbs, spending time with his family & friends, travelling around the US and the world, and being an amateur at home chef (aka he really enjoys cooking and eating). Alex is an engaged member of the Playmakers associate board and is happy to be a small part of such an important organization. He loves giving back to the community, spending time with his friends & family, travelling, and eating delicious food. He is an avid reader, enjoys listening to podcasts, and watching TV & movies.
Andrew DuVoisin
Senior Accounting Manager, Consolidations and Intercompany
Andrew has always had a passion for turning even the most mundane life tasks into fun games and is excited to use that desire on the Playmakers Board. He credits a lot of his social and behavioral skills to his access to safe physical play as a kid and now hopes to do what he can to bring those same experiences to kids in the Chicagoland area. Even as an adult, Andrew created Park Olympics for his friends during the summer of 2020 as a way to help bring joy, laughter, and camaraderie to people’s lives when it was badly needed. Professionally, Andrew is a Senior Manager on the Lyft Accounting Team with over 10 years of experience in various accounting roles. He earned his bachelor and master degrees in Accounting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In his free time Andrew will assuredly be doing something related to sports and cheering on the Cubs to their next World Series!
Traci Gibbs
Senior Business Development Manager, PowerPost
Traci leverages her marketing experience to help PowerPosts clients identify and execute a customized marketing strategy. By combining her business process and platform expertise with her clients’ vision, she enables clients to realize their full business potential. She continues to use these same skills to benefit Playworks through brand awareness, marketing efforts and the power of play! She has always given back to her community through various non-profits and coached AYSO soccer. Originally from California, she has made Chicago her home since graduating from Loyola with a bachelor’s degree in business and a concentration in marketing. In her free time, she loves traveling, watching sports, and enjoys being outdoors either running or hiking.
Playworks Illinois Emeritus Board Members
Playworks Illinois has been running programs across the region for the last 9 years. Our organization has benefited tremendously from the efforts of former board members. Today these individuals still provide support and advice as members of the Emeritus Board.
Mir Ali, Vice Chair
Partner, ArentFox Schiff, LLP
Mir is a Partner in the Chicago office of the law firm Schiff Hardin, LLP, focusing his practice on commercial litigation and dispute resolution. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School where he also worked for the Child Advocacy Law Clinic. Prior to his law career, Mir served seven years on active duty in the United States Army. As a Special Forces Detachment Commander, he led his team of Green Berets through two combat deployments to Afghanistan. He is a founding member of Team Red White & Blue, a non-profit that helps veterans connect to their communities through physical and social activities. Mir and his wife are proud parents of three kids. Mir enjoys the outdoors and physical activity, so he LOVES Playworks, which improves kids’ lives both in and out of the classroom and promotes their physical and mental health. Mir can’t wait till the next Playworks Kickball Tournament!
Chris Renn, Chair Emeritus
SVP of Operations, RR Donnelly
As Senior Vice President of Strategic Communication Solutions, Chris leads business development and consulting services efforts to architect communications management and supply chain management solutions for the Fortune 1000. Prior to his professional career, he graduated from Ball State University and earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. Chris has been involved in several non-profit activities including President of the Lexington Musical Theatre and many governance roles at the Union League Club of Chicago. He learned the importance of structured play through involvement in numerous high school athletics, the YMCA and coaching youth basketball. Today he enjoys intramural sports, squash, a variety of outdoor activities and is a dedicated supporter of the arts. He believes fully that children need the opportunity to develop all aspects of their lives to become well-rounded adults and is excited to join an organization that shares these beliefs by focusing on healthy fair play.
Steve Tennessen, Chair Emeritus
Director, Talent Acquisition, Abbott
Emma Adam
Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, School of Education and Social Policy and Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University
Dr. Emma Adam is the Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. She received her PhD in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota and an MA in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. Adam is a developmental psychologist, and an expert on child and adolescent stress, and the implications of stress for mental and physical health and academic performance. Emma’s research has received national and international research awards, including the Curt P. Richter award from the International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology. Emma believes that play, and the positive social relationships with adults and peers that Playworks promotes are crucial for stress reduction in children.
Elizabeth Cummings
Senior Vice President and Head of Technology, Infrastructure and Innovation, CIBC’s US Region
Elizabeth is Senior Vice President and Head of Technology, Infrastructure and Innovation for CIBC’s U.S. Region. In her role, she is the leader of information technology, operations, the Data Management Office, corporate services, and program management functions that support the U.S. Region. She is a member of the U.S. Regional Executive Committee.
Cummings most recently held the position of Managing Director and Head of Operations for the CIBC Bank USA, where she oversaw all CIBC U.S. operations, operational audits, compliance and regulatory matters.
Before CIBC acquired The PrivateBank in 2017, Cummings served as Managing Director and Chief Information Officer. Prior to joining The PrivateBank, Cummings served for more than 25 years in leadership positions at JPMorgan Chase, and its predecessor Chicago banking companies, First Chicago NBD and Bank One Corporation. Cummings had contributing roles across Treasury Management Client Services, Corporate Operations, and Information Technology and held many responsible positions through bank mergers.
Cummings serves on the board of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Information Systems from Elmhurst College (IL) and her MBA from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago.
Naufal Khan
Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
Naufal Khan is a Partner in the Chicago office of McKinsey & Company. He serves leading organizations across a wide range of industries including retail, transportation & logistics, financial services, and the public sector. Naufal also leads McKinsey’s IT Strategy & Organization practice, and in that capacity, advises senior management and executives on a broad set of strategy, technology, and operations topics. Prior to McKinsey, Naufal launched and scaled a software start-up, and held other senior leadership roles in R&D, engineering, and operations.
Naufal has a B.S in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A from Northwestern University. Naufal lives in the western suburbs of Chicago and has four children. With two boys, he understands and is inspired by Playworks’ mission of using healthy, inclusive play at school for a greatly enhanced learning experience that develops leadership, conflict-resolution, and social and emotional skills.
Greg Healy
Product Executive, ISACA
Manika M. Turnbull
Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois