Staff

Jack Lavin

President & Chief Executive Officer, Chamber Senior Executives

Jack Lavin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. He has more than thirty-five years of financial and management experience in both the public and private sectors. Throughout his career, Jack has focused on economic and business development in order to create jobs and improve the quality of life for people in Chicago and Illinois.

Jack served as Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the State’s economic and workforce development agency. Jack also served as Chief of Staff for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, and Chief Operating Officer of the State of Illinois. He led the passage and implementation of the largest capital infrastructure bill in Illinois history and was responsible for managing the operations of the Governor’s office and all State government agencies.

Jack serves his community on the boards of the Chicago Children’s Theatre, and the University YMCA. He also served on several task forces for the Mayor of Chicago including must recently The Museum Campus Working Group and the Central Business District Recovery Task Force. Jack is a strong advocate for people with disabilities. He led a Task Force for Mayor Daley on Special Education in the Chicago Public Schools and serves on the advisory board of the Adult Down Syndrome Center.

Jack holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois. He lives in Chicago with his wife and three children.

Sara Barnett

Senior Vice President, Operations and Administration, Chamber Senior Executives

Sara is the Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Administration, and Interim Executive Director of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Prior to joining the Chamber staff, she served as President and CEO of the destination marketing organization, Visit Oak Park. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Council of Convention and Visitors Bureau. Earlier, Sara worked in high-level positions with the Illinois Lottery and the office of the Illinois Governor.

A Chicago resident, Sara graduated from Marquette University with a BA in Political Science, and earned her MA in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University.

Jan Kostner

Senior Vice President, Membership & Corporate Relations, Chamber Senior Executives

Jan is the Senior Vice President, Membership and Corporate Relations. She has a wealth of experience in both the private and public sectors. She began her career at Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications, where she served many corporate clients. In government, Jan was the longest-serving Director of Tourism for the State of Illinois. She later was part of the team that created the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. Most recently, Jan served as Director of Marketing at the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Jan is a graduate of New England College with a BA in Communications and holds a certificate in Social Media Marketing from DePaul University.

Emily Cooper

Vice President, Programs, Chamber Senior Executives

Jake DiGregorio

Vice President, Communications and Marketing, Chamber Senior Executives

Marianne Floriano

Vice President, Corporate Development, Chamber Senior Executives

Brad Tietz

Vice President, Government Relations and Strategy, Chamber Senior Executives

Brad Tietz is the Vice President, Government Relations and Strategy at the Chamber. Previously, Brad served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Illinois Department Commerce and Economic Opportunity. In this role, Brad was successful in shepherding through the legislative process a number of bills that created new programs and modernized existing programs always with a focus on transparency and ensuring greater access for small and minority-owned businesses. Before that, he served as a Senior Legislative Analyst for revenue and labor issues for the Illinois House Republican Caucus.

Brad graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a BA in Political Science. He currently resides on the northwest side of Chicago with his wife and son.

Hannah Ashby

Coordinator, Events, Chamber Staff

Corbett Campbell

Manager, Membership Retention, Chamber Staff

Pati Flannery

ETIP Consultant, Chamber Staff

Ramiro Hernandez

Manager, Government Relations & Public Policy, Chamber Staff

Alex Krebs

Manager, Marketing and Communications, Chamber Staff

Adrienne McFarland

Program Director, Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Staff

Adrienne is a Marketing and Event Planning professional born and raised in Memphis Tennessee. She has been a Chicago resident since 2012. She is the owner of Chaibles, an event supply small business, she and her husband launched in 2017, located in Chicago, Illinois.  Adrienne began her career as a marketing and game day operations coordinator for the NCAA Ohio Valley Conference. She knows what truly drives conversions, builds relationships, and engagement strategies. She believes it’s not mastering the marketing plan, it’s how well you connect with people you’re trying to help and get to know and then communicating your understanding back to them.

Upon arriving to Chicago, Adrienne held a fundraising position with ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, overseeing various donor relationships and fundraising events across the Midwest region. In addition to her professional career, She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She was married in 2016 to her husband Billy. They have a 2 year old daughter, Aja.  Adrienne holds a BA in Mass Communications and a MA in Sports Administration from Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee.

Demerike Palecek

Manager, Events, Chamber Staff

Sofia Rivera

Executive Assistant to the CEO and Board Liaison, Chamber Staff

Thorsten Sahlin

Manager, Member Engagement, Chamber Staff

Jill Synoga

Controller, Chamber Staff

Jill received her Bachelors and MBA from St. Xavier University. She is responsible for preparing the monthly financial statements, audit and tax preparation, and payroll and employee benefits. She enjoys shopping, baking and spending time with her family.

Sarah Tuohy

Director, Member Engagement, Chamber Staff

Kristina Wynne

Business Advisor, Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Staff

Nico Varela

Associate, Member Resources, Chamber Staff

Gabriela Verdin

Staff Accountant, Chamber Staff

John Yoo

Senior Manager, CRM Administrator & IT, Chamber Staff