From left to right: Moderator John Assel with panelists LeMonte Booker, Joyce Simon, Peggy Papaioannou and Kathryn Preston.
The 2016 L&Q annual seminar series, “Managing Mission and Margin,” gathered top financial executives from some of Chicago’s most well-known cultural institutions. Students and industry professionals came to DePaul to hear a panel of experts discuss the different challenges leaders face when managing finances for mission-driven organizations.
Making up the panel of speakers were LeMonte G. Booker (BUS ’96), chief financial officer of The Field Museum; Peggy M. Papaioannou (BUS ’84, MACC ’85), chief financial officer of the Museum of Contemporary Art; Kathryn N. Preston (BUS ’79), controller for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and Joyce Simon, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Shedd Aquarium. The panel was moderated by L&Q member Jonathan R. Assell (BUS ’06), controller for the Museum of Science and Industry.
L&Q’s Membership Outreach Committee Chair Kate Dahlberg (BUS ’06) has been organizing the L&Q seminar series for the last few years and moderated the “Meaningful Mentorship” event in 2015. What surprised Dahlberg most about this year’s series was how passionate panelists were about their roles at their institutions, and how much camaraderie panelists shared although they are vying for a similar, if not the same, pool of donor dollars.
“Many of us have visited Chicago’s museums as adults or children, with fond memories of exhibits and shows,” says Dahlberg. “However, we haven’t had an insider’s perspective on what it takes to keep the doors open and visitors engaged. This event afforded us that insight in a really incredible and personal way.”
The 2017 seminar series event, titled “Meet Success at the Intersection of Accounting & Entrepreneurship,” took place in September and focused on the intersection of entrepreneurship and accounting. Many accounting professionals find themselves working at a startup or forming their own firm or small business at some point in their careers. The seminar captured the nuances of entrepreneurship endeavors, which come with risks and uncertainties that differ from working for an established firm or corporation.
“I hope that members reaffirm their place in the DePaul community through the seminar series,” says Dahlberg. “It’s an event to reconnect with old friends and acquaintances as well as the perfect environment to reach out to someone new. Many of our panelists at this past year’s event were DePaul alumni or have a strong DePaul connection, and the event was a great way to showcase what the DePaul community has to offer!”