Leadership Team

G. Sequane Lawrence

Non Voting Member & Director

Sequane Lawrence is the co-founder of Prim Lawrence Group a community economic development and real estate finance consulting firm founded in 1992. Sequane Lawrence was a Chicago Community Trust 2011 Fellow. His fellowship was concerned with the efficacy of worker-owner cooperatives as an entrepreneurial and workforce development model for low- income people. He has traveled to Mondragon, Spain to study first-hand the history

Board of Directors

Jessyca Dudley

Co-Chairwoman

Jessyca Dudley is an associate director at Arabella Advisors. She helps philanthropic organizations develop strategies, evaluate programs, and explore responsive fund development plans. Jessyca manages projects and advises clients focused on a variety of topics.

Ahmadou “Mo” Dramé

Co-Chairman

Ahmadou “Mo” Dramé is the Housing and Community Development Policy Manager at MPC. Prior to joining MPC, he served as the Director of Policy, Advocacy and Legislative Affairs at Safer Foundation, one of the nation’s largest organizations helping people with arrest 

William Lowry

Vice President

William Lowry was Special Assistant to the President for The Chicago Community Trust. Bill Lowry has been a member of several boards including the Donor’s Forum of Chicago, United Way/Crusade of Mercy, Illinois Issues, the Chicagoland Project

Spruiell Douglas White

 

Spruiell D. White retired from the MacArthur Foundation as a Senior Program Officer in the U.S. Program in 2011 after fifteen years of service.Prior to his Foundation appointment, he served in a number of executive leadership positions at the Chicago Jobs Council,

Michael  Bennett, Ph.D

Treasurer

At DePaul University, Dr. Bennett served as executive director of the Egan Urban Center (1997-2008) and Associate Professor in DePaul’s Department of Sociology where he teaches courses in urban planning, community development, economic

Lorri Jenkins

Secretary

Lorri Jenkins is an accomplished professional with more than 20 years of experience designing and managing programs and projects. She has comprehensive expertise in grant-making and funding, which has been acquired across numerous industries for the purpose

G. Sequane Lawrence

Non Voting Member & Director

Sequane Lawrence is the co-founder of Prim Lawrence Group a community economic development and real estate finance consulting firm founded in 1992. Sequane Lawrence was a Chicago Community Trust 2011 Fellow. His fellowship was concerned with

Lou Turner

Lou Turner was principal grant writer for the AALPI Steering Committee. He is currently Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban & Regional Planning and the College of Fine & Applied Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. From 2008 to 2017, he was Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies

Clinton Boyd, Jr., PhD

For over a decade, Dr. Boyd has utilized evidence to ensure policies and institutions value fathers as assets to their children, families, and communities. His research primarily examines how the life course events of African American men shape their experiences as fathers.

Robert E. Wordlaw

Robert E. Wordlaw was appointed the Executive Director of the Chicago Jobs Council in in December 1995, bringing over 25 years’ experience in planning and managing economic development programs to move disadvantaged individuals into employment and self-sufficiency. 

Stephen Alexander

Dr. Stephen Alexander is an urban planner and public policy analyst focusing on social justice issues impacting the black community on economic development, strategic planning, and workforce development. Alexander holds a Master’s degree in economics and a Ph.D. .