Dr. Jarmese Sherrod is a visionary educator, humanitarian, and global leader whose work advances the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially Quality Education (4), Gender Equality (5), Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (16), and Partnerships for the Goals (17). As founder of SheWill Legacy and Sherrod’s Independent Mentoring Program (S.I.M.P.), she has empowered thousands across the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe through youth development, women’s leadership, and international service.

With 24 years of experience as an English, Communications, and Media professor, Dr. Sherrod has transformed academic systems through equity-centered teaching, curriculum innovation, and statewide higher-education reform. She has taught globally through the Department of Defense and provides professional development to educators and leaders in Lesotho, Nigeria, and Uganda.

A fierce advocate for women and girls, she has built reentry and leadership programs in Illinois correctional centers, trained over 6,000 women through leadership training institutes, and mentors women and doctoral candidates through numerous universities. She takes joy in leading an Illinois & New Jersey Youth Development Leadership Team.

Through ICJIA R3–funded initiatives, she has led violence prevention, restorative justice, and reentry programs impacting more than 20,000 youth and families. Her collaborative leadership has produced more than 100 annual partnerships with schools, government agencies, community organizations, and global networks—including the American Red Cross,  Sandy Hook Promise, Chicago Youth Centers, Roosevelt University, Global Citizens, International Youth Conference, United Nations, Chicago Public Schools, UN Working Group on Girls, and Law enforcement.

Ranked #1 in Illinois by the Governor’s Hometown Awards and honored with the American Red Cross International Humanitarian Award, the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, 2025 SIUC Woman of the Year, 2024 Shine Powerful Woman, Turnitin Global Innovation Award, and multiple national recognitions, Dr. Sherrod continues to break barriers, build global bridges, and champion empowerment across communities worldwide.

Momin Ahmed is a social entrepreneur dedicated to expanding access to global education. He is the Founder and President of Model UN Academy, the world’s largest youth-led educational Model UN nonprofit. Momin launched and developed the organization's platforms, engaging over 18,000 students across 101 countries and leading the creation of 1.3 million words of educational guides in 104 languages. These initiatives, in association with organizations such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill International Relations Association and MedGlobal, have garnered over 415,000 organic views.

Momin has been profiled in the Chicago Tribune and over a dozen additional outlets for efforts in global education. His work has also appeared on WBEZ Chicago. He's earned the United Nations Association (UNA–USA) Global Goals Ambassador Award, the Youth Service America Everyday Young Hero Award, as well as national and international Model UN awards.

Momin is a distinguished speaker and has spoken at events hosted by MedGlobal and the United Nations Association (UNA–USA). He was also one of the youngest delegates in history at the United States–United Nations Advocacy Summit, where he spoke with members of Congress and United Nations representatives in closed-door meetings on Capitol Hill.

Akima Brackeen is a designer, educator and researcher and director of Exhibit A. Her design practice blends architecture, digital media, and sound to investigate the social, political, and ecological dimensions of water access. This work exposes the systems of power and care, and the material traces that shape perceptions and values within the built environment. Akima Brackeen is currently an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Jimmy Kern completed an undergraduate minor in botany at the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MS in Agronomy from Penn State. 

Since 1995, he has designed and directed environmental projects in Cook County. These include a prairie restoration project at the Cove School in Northbrook and a greenspace project at Richards Career Academy in Chicago. 

He has led prairie restoration activities for high school students in Chicago and Northbrook. Kern won funding for the Network 49’s Vine Trellis Project from the Delta Institute in 2024. He also received the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Public Education Award in 2024.

April Kanne Donnellan joined Global Philanthropy Partnership as executive director in 2005. In 2021, GPP launched the Simmons Center for Global Chicago, where April is also co-director. She previously served as program director of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Prior to that, Ms. Donnellan was a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State completing assignments in Port Louis, Mauritius and Washington, DC, earning a Meritorious Honor Award for her work implementing multilateral sanctions. Ms. Donnellan, a former term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, is

a graduate of Georgetown University and fluent in French. She served for 9 years as a board member of Women’s Global Education Project, and currently is a director of the Stanley Center for Peace and Security board. She was a Girl Scout troop leader for 12 years.

ABOUT: The Simmons Center for Global Chicago creates strategic pathways for interaction and collaboration among nonprofit organizations in the global development sector. We foster connections between these nonprofit groups and the wider international landscape in the greater Chicago region.