KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Andrea Zopp

In her current role at Cleveland Avenue Ms. Zopp leads the organization’s work investing in and supporting minority and women entrepreneurs and their companies. Additionally, Ms. Zopp currently serves in a part-time capacity as Senior Advisor Legal and Business Affairs with the Chicago Bears Football Club. Previously she served as President and CEO of World Business Chicago, where she led the organization’s mission of inclusive economic growth, supporting businesses, and promoting Chicago as a leading global city. Prior to joining WBC, she served as Deputy Mayor, Chief Neighborhood Development Officer for the City of Chicago. Ms. Zopp has held executive leadership positions at several Fortune 500 companies. She was General Counsel and Chief Human Resources Officer at Exelon Corporation and served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Sears Holdings Corporation. Ms. Zopp also served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Sara Lee Corporation. As the former President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, she led the nationally-recognized organization's focus on expanding economic opportunity in underserved communities. Ms. Zopp also served as a federal and state prosecutor, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney and as the first woman and African American First Assistant in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Ms. Zopp currently serves on the boards of Relativity, a global e-discovery and document management software company, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, a federally chartered wholesale bank with $90 billion in assets and Intelligent Growth Solutions, a Scotland based, vertical farm manufacturer. She previously served on the boards of Empowerment and Inclusion Capital I Corp. (NYSE: EPWR), Andrew Corporation (NYSE: ANDW) and Urban Partnership Bank. She is the Chair of the Board of Trustees at Chicago State University, and also serves on the boards of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Black Ensemble Theater. She received her BA in History and Science from Harvard University and her JD from Harvard Law School.