2023 Chicagoans for Cincy! Celebration Program

Chicagoans for Cincy!

Celebration May 11, 2023

Chicagoans for Cincy! Celebration COCKTAIL RECEPTION 6 p.m.

WELCOME 6:45 p.m.

Bruce Hopple, Bus ’75, Law ’80 Co-Chair, Chicagoans for Cincy! Celebration Jacki Adkins, A&S ’13 UC Alumni Chicago Network Leader Lia Cockerill, Nur ’26 Chicagoans for Cincy! Alumni Scholarship Recipient REMARKS Peter E. Landgren, CCM ’78 President, UC Foundation Jennifer L. Heisey, A&S ’97 Chief Alumni Officer RECOGNIZING HONOREES Jacki Adkins, A&S ’13 UC Alumni Chicago Network Leader SILENT AUCTION CLOSES AND WINNERS ANNOUNCED 8:45 p.m.

EVENT CONCLUDES 9 p.m.

Honorees Outstanding Achievement Award This award is given to an alumnus of UC on the basis of notable achievement in his or her field.

Shannon Finn Connell, PhD, A&S ’92 Shannon Finn Connell is the Chief Executive Officer of the David R. Metcalf Invisible Wounds Foundation, established to advance brain health care for military and veterans by addressing traumatic brain injury and suicide prevention. She is an executive coach, author, organizational change leader and member of Forbes Coaches Council, an invitation-only organization for leading business and career coaches. A former executive with SYSCO, Shell Oil and Procter & Gamble, Shannon worked internationally in China and Latin America before combining her corporate experiences and academic pursuits. She earned her Ph.D. in organizational development, researching design thinking as a problem-solving methodology in global organizational change initiatives.

While maintaining leadership positions in business, Shannon was appointed adjunct professor of management in the MBA program at Rice University. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board of UC’s College of Arts and Sciences. She is also an advisor to the Navy SEAL Foundation where she supports special operations warriors transitioning from active military service to civilian life.

Chicagoans for Cincy! Celebration Honorees Distinguished Service Award This award is given to an alumnus of UC who has faithfully rendered outstanding service to the University of Cincinnati. This award is meant to recognize outstanding contributions by UC Chicago alumni volunteers who are usually over-modest, unpaid and unthinking of personal award.

Dr. Steven Edelstein, Med ’89 Steven Edelstein, MD, is an anesthesiologist, award-winning educator, chair of the Loyola University Chicago Department of Anesthesia, and the author of numerous abstracts, textbook chapters and peer-reviewed research articles.

He has been with the Loyola University Chicago Department of Anesthesia since 1997.

At the University of Cincinnati, he established the Dr. Steven Edelstein Medical Student Endowed Scholarship Fund, which supports MD degree-seeking students with a preference given to underrepresented students in their third or fourth year. Dr. Edelstein has also included UC in his estate plans. In addition to his own scholarship, he has been a consistent donor to the IvaDean Scholarship Fund. He served as a visiting professor to UC’s Department of Anesthesiology in 2008.

Rising Star Award This award is given to a young or newly-involved alumnus of UC on the basis of professional achievement in his or her field of endeavor, and continued service and involvement with the university and community.

Bhavik Modi, Bus ’15 Bhavik Modi is a Senior Director of Innovation & Digital Transformation at BTS, a global consultancy firm that works with leaders to help turn strategy into action with a focus on the people side of strategy execution. Bhavik is also the CEO and co-founder of Chicago’s Azadi Brewing Company which pairs Indian culinary inspiration with American craft beer.

A rapidly growing brand, Azadi was named one of three new local breweries to know by Chicago Magazine, and Bhavik was named one of 23 people to watch in 2023 by Hop Culture Magazine.

Azadi was also featured in Fortune, Forbes, The Guardian and several international publications.

A staunch supporter of UC, Bhavik brought BTS to the Cincinnati Innovation District as a corporate partner, leading their new office in the 1819 Innovation Hub. He frequently attends UC Alumni Association events including the Chicagoans for Cincy! Game Watch hosted by Azadi Brewing, the Chicagoans for Cincy! Celebration and other activities with the Chicago network. He also supports UC Athletics (proudly traveling from Chicago to use his season tickets for football and basketball), hosting student visits to BTS global offices, and sponsoring student organization projects for both BTS and Azadi Brewing.

Chicagoans for Cincy! Celebration Support the Chicagoans for Cincy!

Alumni Scholarship Chicagoans for Cincy! supports scholarships that help Chicago’s best and brightest students receive a world-class education at our alma mater, one of the nation’s top urban research universities. Since establishing an endowed scholarship fund in 2016, Chicagoans for Cincy! has raised well over $100,000 to provide an annual scholarship award for incoming first-year students from the Chicago area, renewable for up to eight semesters pending fund availability and student eligibility.

Lia Cockerill, Nur ’26 Chicagoans for Cincy!

Alumni Scholarship Recipient

Please consider making a gift to support the Chicagoans for Cincy! Alumni Scholarship Fund for Chicagoland students.

Make Your Gift

Thank you to our 2023 sponsors.

1819 Sponsor Bob and Rose Fealy

Chicagoans for Cincy! Sponsor Eva and Lynn Maddox

Bearcat Sponsor The Finn Connell Family

Table Sponsors Tom and Linda Behringer Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Smidebush

Supporter Sponsors Bruce Hopple and Neal Novak

*As of May 1, 2023

Chicagoans for Cincy!

Celebration