Speakers

State’s Attorney Michael G. Nerheim is a lifelong resident of Lake County. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota and earned his Juris Doctor, Cum Laude, from the John Marshall School of Law in Chicago, Illinois

 

Lake County State’s Attorney Michael G. Nerheim has extensive experience working in all criminal divisions of the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office as a former assistant state’s attorney. His experience also includes areas of complex civil litigation, criminal defense and municipal law.

 

State’s Attorney Nerheim was named the 2015 Justinian of the Year by the Coalition to Reduce Recidivism, 2014 and 2017 State’s Attorney of the Year by the Illinois State Crime Commission and 2013 Person of the Year by the United Hellenic Voters of America. He was awarded the 2015 Executive Director’s Award from the Lake County Juvenile Officer’s Association, the 2014 Frederic Milton Thrasher Award from the National Gang Crime Research Center for outstanding leadership in prosecution, and the 2014 Moxie Award from the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) for supporting sexual assault victims and justice through the criminal justice system. Mike was recognized with the 2014 Community Leadership Award from the Overdose Awareness Day Planning Committee and the 2013 Home for the Holidays Award from Waukegan Township for his dedicated service and commitment to the Eddie Washington Center and Staben House.

 

He has demonstrated strong leadership and business experience, and is involved in the Lake County community. He is one of four cofounders for the nationally recognized Lake County Opioid Initiative.

 

Dr. Paul Sally has served as Superintendent of New Trier Township High School District 203 since July 2017. He began his career at New Trier as a math teacher in 1994 and spent 15 years on the mathematics faculty, including four years as the Northfield Campus Coordinator for the Mathematics Department. He was promoted to Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in 2009 and Associate Superintendent in 2014.

Dr. Sally holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Yale University, a master’s degree in computer science from Northwestern University and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from National Louis University. He worked in software development for seven years before changing careers to education in 1992. Dr. Sally and his wife, Gina, reside in Wilmette.

Roberta's Biographical Sketch

I was an independent bookseller for almost 40 years!  I worked in the Glencoe Book Shop from 1975-1981 before buying The Book Stall  in Winnetka IL in 1982.  In the Fall of 1986, I purchased Chestnut Court Book Shop in downtown Winnetka, and merged the two businesses in early 1987.  Chestnut Court was started in 1937, on Chestnut Court Avenue in Winnetka.  When I moved into the store, it had moved to 811 Elm Street.  I called the store The Book Stall at Chestnut Court, and it was close to 1000 square feet.  By 1999, it had grown from 1000 sq. feet to 5000 sq. feet – I like to say that we expanded from one awning to four awnings!  I brought   Caribou Coffee into the corner space in 1999, although I never owned any part of it. It was just attached to us on the corner of Chestnut and Elm.

We worked closely with the surrounding North Shore communities as well as with the downtown Chicago Clubs.  In 1993, we won the Haslam Award for Excellence in Independent  Bookselling across the country.  In 1997, we were named by USA Today as one of the 10 Outstanding Bookstores in America.  And in 2012, we were named the Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year – quite an honor among all the bookstores in the country. 

While owning The Book Stall, I introduced in-store book clubs that took place once a week for many years!  I started out being a book club leader on the roster of 7 to 8 leaders in each one of the sessions (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall).  I had been a Junior Great Books leader in the schools, and I had also hosted my own adult Book Club for about 10 prior to owning the store.

Another activity that I found very satisfying in the early 2000s was giving 4 minute book talks on WFMT.  Mary Dempsey from the Chicago Public Library and I alternated the weekly book talks about books that we thought would interest the listeners.  I picked a wide range of books and it seemed to be very well received.  That was from  2000 – 2004.

I was also one of the first booksellers in the country, in the mid 1980’s , that went to New York to interest the publishers  in bringing authors to Chicago to help “ sell their books!”  By the 1990’s, we were hosting some of the big name authors either in the store or in the community.  We eventually built a large audience in the downtown Chicago Clubs,  i.e. The Union League Club,  The University Club, The Standard Club , the WAC, to name a few.  I would say we had over 400 authors and writers a year in various venues.

My husband David and I raised four wonderful children – three girls and a boy at the end!  They live in New York, Boston, and two of them in Ann Arbor.  I am a grandparent to 7 grandchildren- and unfortunately, my husband David did not live to see any of them born.  My second husband, a sportswriter and head of operations for the Chicago Bears died  in 2015.  I now live in Evanston at The Mather Home, instead of in Glencoe, where we raised our kids.

After retiring from the store in 2013, and selling it to a local woman who wanted to “buy a bookstore,”  I found another exciting book opportunity – to be in on the founding of The American Writers Museum and bringing it to Chicago.    It officially opened in May of 2017, at 180 N. Michigan Avenue.   I am presently co-chair of the Board of Trustees.  The Museum is one of a kind – there is no other museum in this country that honors American writers in all the disciplines of writing , i.e.  authors, journalists, songwriters, poets, to mention a few.  It is being embraced as a national tribute to the heritage in this country of writing, reading, and the written word. An exciting place!

I love to read, of course, and I am still active as a tennis player, a walker and a runner.   I am now happy to add Authors Voice, an online interview program for authors and writers with new books, to my list of book related activities.  And,  I lead an occasional book club in the bookstore.     Books and book people are in my blood!! 

 

 

Joseph Friedman R.Ph MBA is the founding member and principal at Professional Dispensaries of Illinois, (PDI) Medical LLC, a unique medical cannabis dispensary owned and operated by healthcare professionals (Pharmacists and Nurses) and cannabis experts.

 

Friedman was Director of Marketing and Business Development at Mark Drugs LLC, a specialty compounding pharmacy in Illinois.

 

Friedman made history in the fall of 2016 by being the first medical cannabis dispensary in the country to have 4^th year pharmacy students do a clinical rotation in a medical cannabis dispensary.

 

He has a pharmacy degree from the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy, and a MBA from Illinois’ Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.  

 

He was Director of Pharmacy at Topco Associates LLC, and was Senior Director of Pharmacy Marketing at the Nash Company in Minneapolis.

 

Friedman has become a content expert in the scientific, legal, social, political, and financial challenges facing U.S. entrants to the burgeoning medical marijuana industry. He has contributed to several published articles in the Chicago Tribune, Pharmacy Practice News, Crain’s Chicago Business, TheStreet.com, The Daily Herald and the UIC College of Pharmacy newsletter.  In the December 2013 issue of Drug Topics, Friedman wrote an article entitled, “Should You Establish a Medical Marijuana Dispensary?”  This article has been syndicated in healthcare trade journals across the country.  In April 2014, Friedman presented at the NASP (National Association of Specialty Pharmacy) EXPO on the topic, “Specialty Pharmacists role in the legalization, distribution & therapy management of medical marijuana.

 

Friedman works tirelessly to advocate for pharmacists’ involvement in our nation’s medical cannabis industry, and has been a public speaker on the topic of medical cannabis and pharmacist involvement at pharmacy conventions across the nation.

 

Dan is the Manager of the Meat and Sea Food Department at Sunset Foods.

Alejandro Urzagaste is a multi instrumentalist, teaching guitar, bass, drums and piano. Alejandro Urzagaste studied guitar at Northern Illinois University with Fareed Haque. Primarily a jazz guitarist he also plays classical, rock and flamenco although he appreciates music regardless of genre.

"There are only twelve notes."

Summary of the program: Kraig will share some interesting photos and stories behind the creation of The Furnace Girl. The book has been featured on WGN TV’s Backstory with Larry Potash, and New York radio Mornin’ with Bill Schulz.  Several local magazines including Sheridan Rd, Forest & Bluff Magazine, and Modern Luxury have covered the book and it has been the top selling book in 2018 at Lake Forest Bookstore.

 

Biography: Kraig has lived in Lake Bluff, Illinois his entire life. After working 10 years in advertising and marketing, he founded New Vision Athletics, Inc. in 1996, a privately-held sports league on the north shore of Chicago. Kraig and his wife Jennifer have raised their four children in Lake Bluff.  They co-founded the Margo Moreland Charitable Foundation in 1999, which supports children afflicted with Cerebral Palsy.

 

Kraig has a great passion for film and local history.  Over the last 15 years, he has helped write and co-produce the Lake Bluff Ghost Walk.  In 2011, Kraig wrote, filmed, and produced a two-hour documentary "A Childhood Lost & Found - A Journey back to The Lake Bluff Children's Home," a heart-felt story of the Lake Bluff Orphanage, the children who lived there and the people who cared for them. The film was awarded a "Superior Award" from the Illinois Association of Museums in 2012.

He is the recipient of the 2012 I Care Award, and also an honorary Paul Harris Fellow Rotary award. Kraig was a featured speaker at Rosalind Franklin University Medical School in 2014 for the TedMed Live talk.