LSI Information Session

Seth Green is the dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago. Under his leadership, the school has grown more than fourfold, strengthened its storied tradition in the lifelong liberal arts, and built new programs in advanced leadership.

Before joining UChicago, Green served as founding director of the Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility at Loyola University Chicago. During his tenure, the Center launched a top-ranked specialty MBA program, a nationally significant award for social innovation in business, and an array of educational programs and events that annually engaged more than 4,000 learners. Green also served as an executive lecturer in Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business, receiving recognition as the Mission-Driven Faculty Member of the Year in 2021.

Prior to Loyola, Green led Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.), a nonprofit organization that prepares low-income youth for post-secondary and life success. At Y.O.U., Green oversaw nearly fourfold growth in youth served and a $16.4 million fundraising campaign to build a state-of-the-art youth center. He also spearheaded two strategic planning processes, resulting in an enhanced program model and deepened impact. Alongside Y.O.U., Green taught courses on nonprofit management as an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University.

Earlier in his career, Green worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, guiding private sector clients through strategy development and change management. A recipient of McKinsey’s Community Fellowship, he spent one year of his time at the firm supporting nonprofit clients, including the Gates Foundation and United Way.

Green speaks and writes on social innovation. His commentaries and research have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Fortune Magazine, the Journal of Business Research, and the Social Innovations Journal, and he previously served on the Editorial Review Board of the Business and Society Review. Green has been a featured guest on Slate Podcasts, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, MSNBC, and CNN, and his efforts have been covered by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2008, Utne Reader named him one of 50 “Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.”

Green’s civic service centers on education, the arts, and public-interest research. He serves on the boards of NORC, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, North Shore Country Day School, and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, and on the Membership Committee of the Economic Club of Chicago. He has previously served on the Campaign Cabinet of the United Way of Metro Chicago, the Impact Investing Advisory Council of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, the Advisory Board of Concordia Place, and the Advisory Board of the Executives’ Club of Chicago.

A Marshall Scholar, Green holds a JD from Yale University, a master’s in women’s studies from Oxford University, a master’s in development studies from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University.

Diana Petty designs and oversees leadership development programming to help senior executives prepare for their next chapters in leadership, service, and philanthropy. She builds collaborations across the University’s Schools and Divisions and with civic partners to deliver a distinctive higher education experience supporting accomplished leaders committed to using their talents toward creating positive societal impact. You can contact Diana at dpetty@uchicago.edu.

Diana has spent her career helping mission-driven organizations deepen impact in their communities, with expertise in strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and program evaluation. She brings extensive experience working in municipal government and public-sector consulting, particularly leading cross-sector, cross-functional partnerships. Diana received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Media Studies from Macalester College, and is a graduate of the New York Urban Fellows Program, the New York University Wagner School’s Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service, the StartingBloc Fellowship for Change Leaders, and the University of Chicago Booth School’s Executive Program for Emerging Leaders.

In her spare time, Diana enjoys exploring Chicago by bike with her family and playing cards with friends, specifically bridge, euchre, and cribbage.

Jorge Blanco has leveraged more than 25 years of global leadership experience to drive innovation and business growth across multiple industries.

Jorge served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Altus Group since early 2025, where he led the company’s strategic vision, product roadmap, and market expansion initiatives. He joined the company in early 2021 as Chief Product Officer. He ascended to Chief Commercial Officer and President of the Analytics business in early 2022.

Under Jorge’s leadership, Altus Group reshaped its strategic focus toward advanced analytics platforms like ARGUS Intelligence, enabling commercial real estate firms to better assess asset performance, predict risk, and capitalize on future market shifts. These efforts led to his recognition as a 2025 CRE Technology Influencer by GlobeSt., underscoring his impact on PropTech innovation. He is also a recognized speaker at major real estate and technology forums, sharing insights into Al integration and strategic transformation.

Prior to Altus Group, Jorge was a Principal in the Advisory Service Group at KPMG US having joined the Partnership in 2017. He spearheaded solution management for the firm’s expansion into on-demand services. He also held executive positions in product management and product marketing at industry leaders FICO and Avaya.

Based in Summit, New Jersey, Jorge has specialized on the commercial and organizational impact of technology transitions. He has led through many industry inflection points such as the emergence of Voice over Internet Protocol (VolP), software-oriented architecture, and advanced analytics.

Jorge is a member of the 2006 Young Global Leader class sponsored by the World Economic Forum, has been recognized as a top 100 leader by the High Technology Executive Council (HITEC), served on the Land Use Board for the Town of Clinton, and was a member and President of the Board of Trustees at the Hunterdon Art Museum.

Michael R. Zimmerman is a strategic, results-driven executive with a proven track record for growing top and bottom line organically and through M&A. As Executive Vice President, Polymers & Fluids for Illinois Tool Works Inc, Mike lead a $1.8 billion global business with approximately 3,500 employees and more than 30 manufacturing plants around the world. ITW is a Fortune 200 global multi-industrial manufacturing leader with revenues totaling $16.1 billion. The company leverages the unique and proprietary ITW Business Model to drive solid growth with best-in-class margins. Mike has led 15 M&A transactions worldwide during his tenure at ITW. He is a Founding Executive Sponsor of ITW’s African American Network and of “Pride at ITW” and was a member of ITW’s Diversity and Inclusion Council.

Mike received a BA in history and economics from Brandeis University. He also received an MBA from Columbia University. He is currently the Board Chair for the Chicago Botanic Garden. He started on the Board in 2018, became Board Chair in 2022, and was recently re-elected to a second term as Chair, through 2028. The Chicago Botanic Garden set a record for visits in 2024 with 1.3 million and is cherished by visitors of all ages. In addition to its main 385 acre display garden, the CBG’s Science, Education, and urban agriculture programs are national and international models.

Mike was born in Brooklyn, NY and considers Port Washington, NY his hometown.  He and his wife Debbie also lived in Westchester County, NY and chose to raise their two wonderful daughters in bucolic SImsbury, CT.  The girls are now young adults living in Philadelphia (Carrie, a surgical resident) and Maine (Emma, a writer).  Mike and Debbie have lived in Chicagoland for the last ten years.  Mike is an avid sports fan particularly of the NBA and the NY Knicks and sadly, also for the NY Jets.  Mike is also a slow, but enthusiastic cyclist, having done RAGBRAI three times, and marvels at the wonderful athletes at the Tour de France every year.