Illinois Legal Aid Online's Board of Directors is a diverse group of leaders and innovators who are passionate about using technology to help people in Illinois seek justice and resolve their legal problems.
Our Board's substantial work is performed via its standing and ad hoc committees. Interested in joining? Contact Executive Director Teri Ross.
Renee McMahon, Chair
Vice President, Charles River Associates
Renee is Vice President in the Finance Practice at Charles River Associates, a leading global consulting firm that offers economic, financial, and business management expertise to major law firms, corporations, accounting firms, and governments around the world. Renee holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois and an MBA with honors from University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Karim Basaria, Vice-Chair
Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
Karim is a partner at Sidley with a focus on representing companies, individuals, and public accounting firms in civil litigation, regulatory matters, and internal investigations. Karim has a B.S. in Accounting from University of Illinois at Chicago, and a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Previously he was a CPA focusing on financial statement audits of public entities.
Tim Smith, Treasurer
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at LanzaJet
Tim is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at LanzaJet, a leading alternative fuels technology and engineering company committed to accelerating the global transition to sustainable aviation fuels. In this role, Tim oversees all legal matters and leads the company's Legal Department and related functions. Before joining LanzaJet, Tim served as Managing Director and Chief Counsel of Corporate Transactions at CME Group Inc. He also spent several years as a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Purdue University and earned his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School.
Christopher Comerford, Secretary
Director of Platform Operations, Planet Labs PBC
Chris is the Director of Platform Operations at Planet Labs PBC, where he leads the software engineering infrastructure organization to enable Earth data delivery at scale. Chris has served in multiple technology leadership roles in the academic, nonprofit, and private sectors over the past twenty years, including four years as VP of Enterprise Strategy & Solutions and CIO at the Adler Planetarium. He holds his bachelor's and MBA degrees from the University of Chicago.
David Ader
Strategy & Operations Senior Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers
David is a Senior Manager for Strategy&, the global strategy consulting arm of PwC. He has a decade of experience specializing in technology-led transformations and capability-driven digital engagement strategies. As part of the Customer Transformation practice, he supports a range of leading health plans and financial service organizations, developing high-impact solutions to address the complex challenges endemic to highly regulated industries. Before PwC, David was part of Deloitte Digital, ThreatMetrix (a LexisNexis Risk Solutions company), The Online Trust Alliance (an Internet Society initiative), and the King County Prosecutors office.
Kourtney Baltzer
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP (former)
Kourtney represented clients in intellectual property litigation matters. Kourtney focused her trial and appellate practice on patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation matters, including jury trials, Section 337 proceedings before the U.S. International Trade Commission, appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and petitions for inter partes review before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. She also has experience with European Patent Office opposition proceedings and has assisted clients in drafting and negotiating licensing and settlement agreements. Kourtney is also actively involved with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and its Election Protection program, the nation’s largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition. Kourtney has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University.
Benjamin Bradford
Partner, Jenner & Block LLP
Benjamin Bradford is a Partner at Jenner & Block in Chicago, specializing in patent litigation, technology disputes, and intellectual property matters. A former programmer with degrees in mathematics and computer science, he leverages deep technical expertise to handle complex cases involving patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and software licensing. Benjamin represents global corporations across various industries, successfully leads trials and negotiations, and negotiates multi-million-dollar licensing agreements.
Annie Wang
Partner, General Counsel at LivCon, a Blackstone Portfolio Company
Annie is General Counsel at LivCor, a real estate company specializing in multi-family housing and committed to creating great places to live, work, and grow. In her role, Annie oversees all legal matters for LivCor. Before joining LivCor, Annie served as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Revantage. She also spent several years as an attorney at Paul Hastings and Katten Muchin Rosenman. Annie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from The University of Chicago and earned her Juris Doctor from The University of Virginia School of Law.
Beth Chiarello
Partner, Alston & Bird
Beth Chiarello is a seasoned litigator, defending companies in mass tort, toxic tort, products liability, class action, and other complex litigation disputes. She is a vigorous advocate both inside and outside the courtroom, as she represents clients in significant and high-stakes litigation matters. She has defended class actions and mass tort cases on behalf of Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries, including industrial services, medical device, contract sterilization, pharmaceutical, electronics, financial services, transportation, telecommunications, cosmetics, food, nutritional supplements, and other types of consumer and industrial products. She has served as national coordinating counsel in a variety of nationwide putative class actions and mass tort lawsuits filed in federal and state courts.
Amanda Collman
Sr. Associate General Counsel, Covista
Amanda Collman is VP, Sr. Associate General Counsel for Covista, America’s largest healthcare educator. In this role, she advises higher education institutions on legal issues affecting their operations, with particular experience in regulatory, student affairs and discrimination law. Before Covista, Amanda was a partner at an Illinois-based law firm representing institutions on education and labor and employment matters. Amanda holds degrees from DePaul University College of Law and Indiana University, Bloomington.
Andrew Davidson
Independent Consultant
Andrew is an independent consultant specializing in organizational design and technology operations. He works with startups and nonprofits looking to maximize resource utilization and do more with less. He was previously a Vice President of Operations with Yum! Brands and COO of QuikOrder, Inc. Andrew holds a J.D. from DePaul University and an M.B.A. from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management
David Hambourger, Past Chair
Chief Information Officer, Chapman and Cutler LLP
Dave is Chapman and Cutler LLP’s Chief Information Officer. A law firm technology veteran, he has spent the last 17 years developing comprehensive and strategic technology initiatives at large law firms designed to increase productivity, collaboration, efficiency, and profitability. Dave holds degrees from Northwestern University, Loyola University College of Law, and University of Illinois.
Kenneth Jennings
President, Gridiron Alliance
Kenneth Jennings is the CEO of Gridiron Alliance a non-profit organization, a peer-mentor at Lifecenter at Shriley Ryan AbilityLab, a football coach, an advocate, motivational speaker, poet, he does 2 podcasts, he works for a California company named Neuralink, on the board of Bright Promises Foundation and lastly soon to be author of his own book titled How 8 Seconds Change My Life.
Jacqueline McLaughlin
Founder and Principal, J. McLaughlin Legal
Jackie is the founder and principal of J. McLaughlin Legal which provides strategic counsel on matters related to IPO and M&A preparedness and execution, corporate governance, legal operations, and crisis management. Prior to founding J. McLaughlin Legal, Jackie was the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of UL Solutions where she led UL's Legal, Brand Integrity, Ethics and Investigations, Government Affairs, Communications and Security teams during all or part of her tenure there. Prior to Jackie's position at UL, she was a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP.
Chris Petrini-Poli
Executive Chairman, K2 Services
Chris serves as the executive chairman of K2 Services, advising the executive team on strategic direction, thought leadership and the evaluation and incubation of joint ventures and acquisitions. With a deep commitment to consistently exceed client expectations, Chris formerly held the role of CEO for HBR Consulting and has held leadership roles at Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, Hildebrandt International, Thomson Reuters, Huron Consulting Group and Arthur Andersen.
Meredith Pike
Senior Counsel, BMO Bank
Meredith Pike is Senior Counsel at BMO Bank N.A., a U.S. national, full-service bank headquartered in Chicago that offers personal, business, and commercial banking- including lending, investing and wealth management solutions. A seasoned litigator with over two decades of experience, she represents the bank in both employment and general commercial matters. Meredith holds a B.S. from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Robert Sam
ILAO Board Fellow
Robert Sam is a devoted husband, father, and community advocate committed to strengthening families and helping others navigate challenges. With a background in public service, entrepreneurship, and grassroots advocacy, he brings practical insight, resilience, and a strong sense of fairness to the organizations he supports. Robert is driven by a mission to build meaningful projects and opportunities that create lasting positive impact for families and future generations.
