Gov. Pritzker Announces Five Appointments to Boards and Commissions

Capital Development Board

Ama Addai will serve as a Member of the Capital Development Board.* Addai has over twenty years of civil engineering experience. She currently serves as the Director of Utility Engineering and Land Development with The Roderick Group. While in this role, Addai leads several diverse teams of engineers, designers, and field personnel on a wide variety of projects Addai is a member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar International Chicago Chapter, Women’s Energy Network Chicago Chapter, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Addai received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois and Master of Construction Engineering and Management from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes

Marcia Balonick will serve as a Member of the Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes.* For over forty years, Balonick has dedicated her career to women’s rights, equal pay, and fighting against hate speech. She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Joint Action Committee. Balonick received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Denver.

Energy Workforce Advisory Council

Alaina Harkness will serve as a Member of the Energy Workforce Advisory Council.* Harkness has dedicated over 25 years of her career to urban development. As the Executive Director of Current, Harkness leads a team devoted to growing an inclusive blue economy, accelerating innovation, and solving pressing water challenges. Under her tenure, Current has helped attract more than $20M in federal investments for water innovation to the region, launched the first real-time water quality monitoring tool for the Chicago River, and supported the commercialization of more than a dozen water startups. Prior, she served as managing director for the economic development firm RW Ventures, held an urban governance fellowship at the Brookings Institution, and led urban development strategies for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and civic collaboratives at the Chicago Community Trust. Harkness is a nonresident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and has published research and commentary for the Brookings Institution, Crain’s Chicago Business, the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and CityLab. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester, and Master’s degrees in Public Policy and Latin American Studies from the University of Chicago.

Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission

Vanessa del Valle will continue to serve as a Member of the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission.* Del Valle has over 15 years of federal legal experience. She currently serves as a Clinical Associate Professor of Law in the Bluhm Legal Clinic within the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. While in this role she co-teaches seminars on civil rights litigation and supervises students’ participation as junior counsel on the Center’s cases. Prior to joining Bluhm Legal Clinic, del Valle served as a Law Clerk for Chief Judge Ruben Castillo. She has been recognized by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Federal Bar Association, and was given the Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service. Del Valle received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford University.

Michael Strom will serve as a Member of the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission.* Judge Strom has over 30 years of trial counsel, negotiating, and trying difficult, complex civil cases—often involving catastrophic injuries. He devoted time to helping students at his alma mater, South Shore High School, returning annually for 30 years and teaching trial process and coaching Mock Trial teams—including 2 City Championships. As President and Board Member of Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Strom helped bring restorative justice programs to under-resourced public schools by recruiting multiple bar associations to provide lawyers for volunteer work with students and teachers in challenging areas. He left private practice to be a Staff Attorney at the Office of the Chief Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County. This provided a court system overview during the development of restorative justice reform initiatives. In 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously appointed Strom to fill a 23-month Circuit Court vacancy. Most of his tenure was devoted to Housing Court and review of Chicago Administrative Hearing appeals. Judge Strom earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois and Juris Doctor from Boston University.

* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.

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