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21st Annual Midwestern Regional Conference
June 26 – 28, 2014
Hilton Ballpark
St. Louis, Missouri
Speaker Biographies
Jessica Armstrong
Early Diagnosis Campaign Manager
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Until 2012, Jesica Armstrong worked for the US Army in Afghanistan, utilizing her cultural expertise
to gather intelligence on the Afghan point of view, a perspective she then brought to the military
decision-making process. Today, after a life-changing collision with pulmonary hypertension, Ms.
Armstrong manages the Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s Early Diagnosis Campaign
(SometimesItsPH.org) and frequently speaks on Capitol Hill about her experiences as a patient and
as the survivor of a loved one claimed by this devastating disease.
Jennifer Drake Fantroy
Assistant Director
Sue Shear Institute
Jennifer Drake Fantroy is the Assistant Director of the Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public
Life. In addition to managing the 21st Century Leadership Academy and the University of Missouri,
St. Louis LEAD Program— programs to promote civic engagement and improve leadership skills
among college women— Ms. Fantroy provides leadership for all the Institute’s programming and
represents the organization both on campus and in the community. Before joining the Institute,
Jennifer worked at The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy in
Washington, DC, where she was most recently the Assistant Director for State Support. In this role,
she provided technical assistance and training to state and community organizations in their efforts
to reduce teen pregnancy, and provided assistance and advice to local, state, and federal
policymakers on the issue. Ms. Fantroy also briefly served as a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholar for the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s (D-MA) health
policy staff on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Before her time in
the nation’s capital, Ms. Fantroy worked and volunteered for a number of organizations to help
improve the health and lives of Missouri women. She is a 2005 graduate of the 21 st Century
Leadership Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Truman State University the
same year.
Jane Fraser
CEO, US Consumer & Commercial Banking and CitiMortgage
CitiMortgage
As the Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Consumer and Commercial Banking and Global Mortgages
at CitiMortgage, Jane Fraser has responsibility for Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Small
Business Banking, and Wealth Management in the U.S. and Citi’s residential home mortgage lending
business globally. Ms. Fraser sits on Citi's Operating Committee. From 2009 to 2013, Ms. Fraser
served as CEO of Citi's Global Private Bank. Over the course of four years, she transformed the
business, recruiting and developing top talent to deliver strong results and industry-leading efficiency
ratios. Under her leadership, Citi Private Bank was named Best Global Private Bank by the Financial
Times, The Banker and PWM for three consecutive years. Prior, Ms. Fraser was Global Head of
Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions for Citi from 2007 to 2009 and also led the firm’s reengineering effort. She joined Citi in 2004 to run Client Strategy for the Global Banking division.
American Banker has recognized her several times as one of the "Most Powerful Women in
Banking”. Prior to joining Citi, Ms. Fraser was a Partner at McKinsey & Company where she
worked in London and New York for 10 years serving clients in the financial services industry. She
started her career at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions department in London and then
worked for Asesores Bursátiles in Madrid, Spain. Ms. Fraser has an MBA from Harvard Business
School and an MA in Economics from Cambridge University. She is a board member of the Touch
Foundation in New York, which runs a medical college and hospital, and works to improve the
healthcare system in Tanzania, Africa. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Tamara Hannon, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Indiana University School of Medicine
Dr. Tamara Hannon is a pediatric endocrinologist in Indianapolis, Indiana and is affiliated with
Indiana University Health North Hospital. She received her medical degree from Indiana University
School of Medicine and has been in practice for 18 years. Dr. Hannon is trained to treat disorders
such as diabetes, obesity, early or delayed puberty, growth problems, thyroid problems and other
hormonal conditions that can affect development. She is one of 11 doctors at Indiana University
Health North Hospital who specialize in pediatric endocrinology. The first objective of Dr.
Hannon’s research program is to describe the associations between cardiometabolic risk markers
and sleep quality, a potentially modifiable risk factor, in obese children. Dr. Hannon also serves as
the Director of the Clinical Pediatric Diabetes Program and the Director of Youth Diabetes
Prevention Clinic at the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health.
Jacqueline Lukitsch, MPA
Director of Advocacy
National Alliance on Mental Illness, St. Louis
Jacqueline Lukitsch has served as Executive Director for the St. Louis Chapter of the National
Alliance on Mental Illness since 2003. As an advocate for positive public policies for people with
mental illness, one of her most valued experiences was serving as a member of the Joint Interim
Committee on Mental Health Insurance Availability appointed by the late Governor Mel Carnahan
in 1997. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Community Alternatives (a nonprofit
agency that serves the homeless), the Behavioral Health Initiative Steering Committee for the St.
Louis Regional Health Commission and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Community Advisory Board.
She has a master’s degree in Public Policy Administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Representative Kim Norton
Minnesota State Legislature
Kim Norton is a Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the Minnesota House of Representatives,
representing District 25B. She was first elected to the chamber in 2006. Since the 2013 legislative
session, Representative Norton has served as an Assistant Majority Leader. She currently serves as
Vice Chair of the Health and Human Services Finance Committee and as a member of the Capital
Investment, Higher Education Finance and Policy, Jobs and Economic Development Finance and
Policy, and Rules and Legislative Administration Committees. Representative Norton’s professional
experience includes serving on the Rochester School Board and working as a substitute teacher for
ISD 535-Rochester Public Schools. She was also the District Manager of the Upper Midwest Region
for Junior Achievement. Representative Norton served as Executive Director of Rochester Area
Math/Science Partnership from 2008-2010. She received her Bachelor of Science in Human
Development and Special Education from the University of Nebraska.
John Peller
Interim President & Chief Executive Officer
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
John Peller has served as the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s (AFC) interim president/CEO since
April 2014. Previously, Mr. Peller oversaw the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's advocacy and policy
work at the city, state and national levels as AFC’s vice president of policy. Mr. Peller’s recent areas
of focus include implementing the Affordable Care Act and ensuring that new federal and state
healthcare systems meet the healthcare needs of people with HIV, Medicaid policy, federal and state
budget and appropriations and the Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Mr. Peller led
the HIVHealthReform.org project, which aims to prepare the HIV community for healthcare
reform. He has participated in webinars, which have reached several thousand people with HIV and
people working in the HIV field. Mr. Peller’s advocacy promoting affordable access to HIV
medications on marketplace plans attracted national attention from The Wall Street Journal, Time
Magazine and The Washington Post. Mr. Peller started at AFC in 2005 as AFC's state lobbyist. He
worked in Springfield, Illinois to enact sound HIV/AIDS public policy, defend the rights of people
with HIV/AIDS, and advocate for increased services and prevention for people living and at risk
for HIV/AIDS. He has over a decade of nonprofit sector leadership expertise in policy, advocacy,
programs, grants management and operations.
Representative Melissa Sargent
Wisconsin State Legislature
Since November 2012, Representative Sargent has served the Wisconsin State Legislature,
representing District 48. The incoming Democratic freshmen elected her as co-chair of the
Freshman Democratic Caucus. She has served on six legislative committees including the Aging and
Long Term Care, Financial Institutions, Small Business Development, International Trade and
Commerce, Joint Law Review and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. Representative Sargent
has served as PTO President of Gompers Elementary School. She has been a member of the
Friends of Cherokee Marsh, Friends of Lake View Hill, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters,
Sierra Club, NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, Wisconsin Business Alliance, River Alliance, Wild
Warner, and Midwest Shiba Inu Rescue. She was also a founding member of Make Room for Youth
(MRFY), an advocacy group for homeless, unaccompanied youth. Melissa was elected to the Dane
County Board of Supervisors in 2010 and re-elected in 2012. In 2012, Representative Sargent was
appointed Chairwoman of the Dane County Health and Human Needs Committee.
Amy Sherman
Associate Vice President for Policy and Strategic Alliances
Council for Audit and Experiential Learning
As Associate Vice President for Policy and Strategic Alliances at the Council for Adult and
Experiential Learning (CAEL), Amy Sherman engages in policy research and analysis, coalition
building, advocacy, and technical assistance to state and federal policy leaders. Ms. Sherman is a
national and international speaker on issues related to lifelong learning and the workforce. Her
diverse areas of expertise range from supporting the mature workforce to promoting access and
degree completion through Prior Learning Assessments. Ms. Sherman also leads CAEL's work to
expand educational opportunities and improve services for veterans and military affiliated students.
Prior to joining CAEL, Ms. Sherman was Executive Director of the Manufacturing Workforce
Development Project (MWDP), a project of the Chicago Federation of Labor funded by the U.S.
Department of Labor. The MWDP built a consortium of influential business and labor leaders,
educational providers and public officials. The MWDP helped set the stage for the establishment of
the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council. Ms. Sherman earned her law degree with honors
from Northwestern University School of Law. While serving as Dean of Students at Northwestern,
the Student Bar Association established an annual Amy Sherman Student Leadership Award. Ms.
Sherman practiced in the area of employment law at major law firms such as Sonnenschein Nath &
Rosenthal.
Representative Jacqueline Sly
South Dakota State Legislature
Representative Jacqueline Sly is a Republican member of the South Dakota House of
Representatives, representing District 33. She was elected to the chamber in 2008 and currently
serves as Majority Whip. Representative Sly is the Chair of the Education Committee and a member
of the Health and Human Services Committee. She earned her BA in Elementary/Special Education
from Northern State University and her MA in Curriculum/Instruction from Black Hills State
University. Her professional experience includes working as an Elementary/Middle School Special
Education Teacher for South Dakota Public Schools from 1969 to 2002 and Teacher/Deputy
Director for Starbase from 2002 to 2006.