Alumni Association Board of Directors

Bob graduated from Illinois Tech in 1970 with a degree in accounting from the Stuart School of Business. During his time on campus he was very involved in student government, working his way to the top as president of what was then called the Illinois Tech Student Association. Bob continued to be involved on campus after graduation, mostly as a member of Triangle Fraternity. After spending 34 years in various capacities at RR Donnelley, he retired in 2004 to become a full time volunteer.

Bob has spent six years on the Alumni Association Board and serves on the Career and Professional Development Committee and the Executive Committee as Vice-Chair. Bob was elected a Trustee of the University in October of 2018 and serves on the Academic Affairs Committee, The Chicago Difference Task Force and the Executive Committee.

Bob and his wife Nancy have two adult children with families on their own. In addition to his volunteer work, Bob does a lot of ornamental and vegetable gardening and is an avid cyclist. Additionally, Bob sits on the Board of Ride Illinois, the state-wide bicycle advocacy organization, and served 4 years as president of the Board of the Active Transportation Alliance, one of the largest regional active transportation advocacy groups in the United States.

George is the managing partner of Global Consultants United (GCU) – a International Business Consulting Group that provides world-class solutions with a team of collaborating partners.

George is the current Vice-Chair. He served on the Illinois Tech Alumni Board from 2014 to 2021 and as the Chair of the International from 2020 to 2021. As the Chair, he expanded the International Committee to include Alumni from all major regions and countries. He initiated the Virtual Global Alumni Gathering in 2020 and it is now a tradition.  Leveraging his relationship to the local Asian American community, he also initiated multiple Asian American community programs for Asian Americans & Asia international students and the alumni network.

Since graduating with a master’s degree in computer science in 1980, George’ career spanned four decades and multiple sectors. George served 12 years at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the White House Initiative for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders where he provided International Business consulting and facilitated access to government service for minority businesses. He led multiple trade mission to Asia including the 2015 Presidential SME Trade Mission to APEC in the Philippines. His career also included two years at the SBA Small Business Development Center Director in Chicago; five years as an international business management consultant; and 20 years at AT&T Bell Labs and Lucent Technologies where he started as software engineer and finished as Product Management Director managing a $400 million dollars data networking business unit.

George is the founder of the Asian American Executive Network. Founded in 2013, It is a national networking group that provides a forum for professionals and executives to support each other and the community. Recent Asian American Executive Network programs include Asian American small business advocacy, Virtual AAPI Career and Job fair, Silver Career Management, and Asian American Board Exchange.

George has a master’s (1980) and bachelor’s degree (1976) in Computer Sciences. He also completed two Executive Education programs at Stanford University in Marketing and Business Management. George is married with 2 children and one grandchild. 

Olurotimi (Timi) Akindele is a resident of Chicago. He matriculated into Illinois Tech in the Fall of 2012 after earning an associate degree from the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC). During the pursuit of his Political Science degree at the Lewis College of Human Sciences a t IIT, Timi played varsity soccer for the school and was the recipient of both the Student-Athlete of the Year Award and Excellence in Sports Award. He held memberships at the Student Government Association (SGA), National Association of Black Engineers (NSBE), and at the African Student Association (ASO).

After graduating from Illinois Tech, Timi went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Communications and Management from Northwestern University. He currently works as an outreach recruiting manager for the United States Department of Commerce. Before that, he worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago—improving the Fed’s industry relations program.

Shanita Baraka Akintonde, aka ShaniTaDa! (MBA ’97) is Chair, Illinois Tech Alumni Association, International Committee and Chair, Global Gathering event. This firecracker communicator is propelled by love! She met her husband, Jimmy (Arch ’95, Board of Trustee Member) on IIT’s campus nearly 30 years ago. The pair share two sons. Their oldest, Jimi, completed his Civil Engineering studies at Illinois Tech. Anthony, the youngest, is a Man of Morehouse College.

ShaniTaDa!,  is an accomplished professional speaker, author, entrepreneur, and educator who has transitioned thousands of students from the classroom to the boardroom during her 23 years as a tenured professor at Columbia College Chicago. Her company Shanita Speaks, LLC, energizes clients to LEAD, LISTEN, and LOVE better—themselves and those who appear to be different via keynotes, workshops, and specialized training sessions. Her audiences span from Houston to Hawaii, Baltimore to Boston, Canada to Ohio, and San Francisco to South Africa.

She is the youngest and first Black female to sit on boards for The American Marketing Association, The American Advertising Federation, and The Public Relations Society of America, Inc (PRSA) simultaneously.

ShaniTaDa! is a leader in other capacities as well. She serves as Board Vice Chairman of The Metropolitan, the largest private club for business leaders in Chicago. She is the founder & President of Leading Ladies Toastmasters™ Club, the first specialty Club of its type chartered in the Chicagoland area and is among over 350,000 Toastmasters around the world. She is a Life Member of The Chicago Writer’s Association, Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She credits her Illinois Tech education with forging her life path of success.

Christina Castillo was a recipient of the Duchossois Leadership Scholarship and graduated from Illinois Tech with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics in 2016. During her undergraduate studies, Christina was an active member on campus. She was the Director of Illinois Tech’s Female A Cappella Group for 2 years, a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority, a SOAR Leader, and a Stryker award recipient. Christina graduated with her master’s degree in 2018.

Christina worked for 7 years as a teacher at a Chicago Public School, where she won the student-awarded Educator of the Year for two consecutive years. During her time in CPS, Christina was afforded the opportunity to develop curricula for district use in financial literacy, train aspiring educators from varying universities, deliver professional development district and nationwide, and assist in post-secondary planning for graduating seniors.

After leaving Chicago Public Schools, Christina joined the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) as the Deputy Programs Director, where she works on the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of programming that aims to remove barriers for underrepresented populations in the construction industry.

Harley Feldman graduated Illinois Tech in 1969 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry and a Computer Science Minor and later received his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. He was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity for four years at Illinois Tech, including being Secretary, Vice President and President. Harley is the Cofounder and Chief Marketing Officer of Seeonic, LLC. His career has involved technology development, marketing, sales and business development in computing electronics from his early days in large scale computers to today’s Internet of Things applications.

Following graduation from Illinois Tech, Harley worked for Control Data Corporation for 28 years. Since then, Harley has been involved with several technology startup businesses including his current involvement in starting Seeonic in the RFID technology market in 2015.

Harley has been a member of the Christmas Lake Homeowners Association Board of Directors for 30 years, and he served a three-year stint as President. He has also served on the Board of Directors of ALARC, a running organization in the Twin Cities that provides running guidance and exercise programs and funding to non-profit organizations.

Currently, Harley serves on the Alumni Board Career and Professional Development Committee and the Admissions Committee.

Zuly Gomez graduated from Illinois tech with dual degrees in 2014. She was an IIT Leadership Academy Scholar, Kern Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy (KIEA) Scholar and a recipient of the Martin Cooper Endowed Scholarship. She was also an active member of SHPE, LIFE|HACE, served on the Executive Board of the NSLS IIT Chapter, and played for the IIT tennis team ('08-'09) and IIT Women's Hawk Basketball team ('13-'14).

She applied her leadership skills as director of the Exelon Institute Program, program director and educator of the Motorola Summer Program, and founding team member of the IIT Idea Shop.

Since graduating, personal experience has guided Gomez' path toward the healthcare industry. She is a co-founder and serves as Executive Vice President of Customer Experience & Business Development at myowndoctor, where she drives business development, sales, customer implementations and experience, and product marketing strategies that aim to innovate on the way care is delivered to improve health. She brings a multitude of experiences and perspectives. During her free time, Zuly volunteers at Gilda's Club and speaks at high schools about the importance of STEM education.

Gomez remains connected to Illinois Tech via the Exelon Summer Institute Program, where she returned to speak about her experiences at the university, the program, and life after Illinois Tech.

Frank is currently leading the engineering efforts of Tel-IT Technology Solutions, servicing the technology needs of the SMB market segment in the Chicago area and beyond. He aims to provide world-class IT solutions including collaboration, hybrid work, and cloud adoption to enable customers achieve their business goals.

Previously, Frank worked at Motorola for 20 years, rising through various levels of engineering leadership. Always advocating for the customer, he led various large, diverse, international teams in the deployment and optimization of cellular infrastructure in over 30 countries on 6 continents. In 2006, he received the CDMA Quality Award for the development of his innovative process of defect containment though the injection of field deployment results into the earliest product development phases.

Throughout his 30-year career, Frank has recognized the acute under-representation of people of color in the fields of technology. A son of immigrant parents from El Salvador, he feels he has lived through many of the obstacles that limit the intelligent, talented, and hardworking individuals that come from underserved neighborhoods. He is now passionate about helping at-risk youth realize that they too, can have a future in technology.

Born and raised on Chicago’s West Side, Harold Mays (EE ’89) is currently the director of Illinois Department of the Lottery where he oversees a $3.6 billion organization whose primary mission is to responsibly generate funding to support K-12 education in Illinois. His varied career includes work in power distribution, telecommunications, information technology, project management, operations, and gaming having worked at Motorola and ComEd. An avid engineer in the early part of his career, he maintains his analytical skills in his current role leading the nations’ 12th largest lottery and enjoys sharing his experiences as a minority navigating such a diverse career path.

Mays is proud to be a member of the Illinois Tech Alumni Association and sits on its Professional & Career Development Committee. He is also a member of the Illinois Tech African American Alumni Association (4A). He is passionate about mentorship as well as restorative justice and social emotional learning practices that help support our youth to and through their post-secondary education path. He serves on the board of the NewRoot Learning Institute (formerly known as the Umoja Student Development Association) to satisfy that passion. He is the vice president of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries whose mission is to advocate for state and provincial lottery organizations on matters of general lottery policy and leverage collaboration, communication, education, and information for the betterment of the industry.

Mays is a life member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., is a member of the Major Taylor Cycling Club Chicago, and enjoys salsa dancing.

Sandro Mazzini is the Global Director of Business Development with KBR, an aerospace, defense, and oil & gas engineering/technology services firm in Houston, Texas. Born in Lima, Peru, Sandro immigrated to the US in 1989, landing in Chicago to live with his Aunt and Uncle. He began his college studies with at the City Colleges of Chicago. Through an academic transfer scholarship program with Illinois Tech, Sandro transferred in 1991 to complete his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, with a minor in Polymer Science, all while balancing a full-time academic load and full-time work load. After 12 years with Honeywell UOP LLC in progressively influential roles in catalyst research, refinery and petrochemicals plants design, and global business development. Sandro accepted a role with Shell Oil Company in Houston, TX, where he enjoyed a diverse 13-year career expanding his global experience in technical sales, marketing, and new business development. Since mid-2019, an exciting new opportunity with KBR in Houston, TX presented new challenges to capitalize on leadership, complex sales, and relationship management while tapping into the extensive refining and petrochemical knowledge/experience garnered throughout his career.

Attributing the scholarship with Illinois Tech as the single game-changing event in his career, Sandro is passionate about giving back to Illinois Tech, through mentorship and promoting new opportunities to students needing financial assistance, as a member of the Gunsaulus Society.

Griselda Monsivais, PE, CFM, LEED GA, is the Director of Transportation and Water Resources at Wight & Company. For over 20 years, she has planned and designed public and private infrastructure projects within Chicago’s transportation industry. Her expertise in water resources management and complex drainage design extends to major infrastructure projects including interchange and roadway reconstruction, bridge replacement, and regional storm water planning improvements. These projects have enriched her knowledge of the federal processing guidelines needed to navigate the balanced approach required by transportation leaders.

Griselda was born and raised in Chicago’s Little Village Community, completed high school in Mexico, then returned to Chicago to attend Illinois Tech. She is a member of the Illinois Association of State Floodplain Managers, and WTS (Women’s Transportation Seminar)-Greater Chicago Chapter. She is passionate about sharing her experiences as a woman working in transportation and infrastructure and enjoys mentoring college students and new graduates pursuing careers in engineering and science.

James Muraida (ME ’84) is a Vice President and Project Director at Sargent & Lundy an engineering firm in Chicago. He is currently serving international clients in Canada, South Korea, Italy and Romania in the commercial nuclear power industry.

Jim began his career at Sargent & Lundy in 1981 as part of Illinois Tech’s co-op program and joined S&L upon graduation. In 1995, Jim joined Commonwealth Edison (now Exelon) as a Senior Engineer, but in 1999 entered the Operation License Program where he attained a Senior Reactor Operator License at the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant. Jim held numerous positions, including on-shift Shift Manager and off-shift Senior Manager of Operations until his retirement in 2013. Ultimately, Jim returned home to S&L to continue his passion in nuclear and mentoring the engineers of the future.

Mr. Raymond C. Nelson graduated from Illinois Tech in 1978, earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Management Minor. Upon graduation, Mr. Nelson joined the DuPont Corporation where he served over 37 years in Operations, Supply Chain, Project Management and Maintenance/Reliability Engineering. He became a Licensed Engineer in the State of Texas in September 1993, and retired in March 2016.

Since 2007, Mr. Nelson began to focus on Lean Six Sigma (LSS) based technologies as a Black Belt, becoming a Master Black Belt in 2013. He currently serves as Director, Lean Operations and Global Strategy for Basal Solutions, LLC providing Lean Six Sigma, Design of Manufacture, Minitab, FEMA, HAZAOP, Design Review, KPI Facilitation and Performance Management training and consulting.

Mr. Nelson has previously served as a Trustee for Prairie View A&M Foundation Board, DuPont Representative and Co-Chair on the Gulf Coast Alliance for Minorities in Engineering, DuPont Representative and Industry Co-Chair on the Prairie View A&M Cluster, Charter member of the PVAMU College of Business Advisory Board, and Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee for the Sickle Cell Association for the Texas Gulf Coast, where he was honored with a DuPont Volunteer of the Year award in 2001. Currently, he serves on the Career and Professional Development Committee for the IIT Alumni Association. Raymond was recently appointed to the Alumni Executive Board to lead the effort to implement the Strategic Plan opportunities.

Angela Ng (CE ’11) is a senior project manager in the planning department at Chicago Transit Authority where she manages the Transit Signal Bus Priority program. After graduating from Illinois Tech, she earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

She has an executive role on the Associate Board of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA). Ng supports the Asian American Executive Network on campus. She was a recipient of the Camras Scholarship and now connects with current Cameras Scholars. She originally chaired the IIT Young Alumni Council for five years, where she helped plan and organize several events.

She is chair of the Nominations Committee for the Illinois Tech Alumni Association, as well as an active member of the Career & Professional Development Committee since 2016. She looks forward to continuing to support the university through her service.

Anthoula Kyriaz Pomrening (ME ’89) is group technology counsel at Illinois Tool Works, a global industrial company where she is responsible for advising on all matters of intellectual property. She earned her law degree from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 1999. Pomrening has substantial experience securing and protecting intellectual property rights, and is enthusiastic about encouraging engineers to consider the field of patent law. She is a member of the Illinois Tech Alumni Association’s International and Career & Professional Development Committees. While at Illinois Tech, she served on the executive board of Kappa Phi Delta Sorority. Pomrening also married fellow Illinois Tech alumnus Norman Pomrening (AE ’89).

Anne is the founding officer, shareholder and President of Shaw Legal Services, Ltd. Anne’s more than 28-year legal practice centers around taking care of families and the businesses that support

those families. Her and her firm’s work focuses on civil litigation in the areas of civil rights, real estate and business. Her firm also handles estate planning, small business representation, and commercial and residential real estate.

Anne is an award-winning attorney and recognized nationally and locally for her legal work and civic leadership. She has been named an Illinois Super Lawyer from 2021 through the present and for the past decade has been rated a 10/10 Superb Top Attorney with AVVO.com. Some of her awards include the prestigious Vanguard Award from the Chicago Bar Association; an outstanding pro bono award from Chicago Kent College of Law; and the Outstanding community service award from Cook County State’s Attorney. In 2021, Anne was named a Chicago United Business Leader of Color

Allison graduated from Illinois Tech in 2013 with a Bachelor of Architecture, minors in Structural Engineering and Applied Mathematics, and specializations in Landscape Architecture and Architecture History and Theory, then completed her Masters in Structural Engineering in 2015.

Within her career, Allison has taken the role as a Project Consultant II for Simpson Gumpertz & Heger in Waltham, MA. Her building enclosure focus is on existing historical, vintage, and post-modern structures, Allison has utilized her expertise to bring awareness and visibility of the built environment, especially when handling properties with federal and local landmark designations. She actively and previously holds various Board and Committee leadership roles within Landmarks Illinois, Northern Illinois Historic Directory League, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Association for Preservation Technology International and has spoken at numerous seminars and conferences regarding her work on restoration of vintage metals.

She received the 2020 American Express Aspire Award presented by the National Trust, in 2021 listed as one of the Landmarks Illinois Influencers, in 2022 one of her projects (a former office building converted into a hotel) received the Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence presented by the City of Chicago – Department of Planning and Development, and in 2023 received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award presented by Illinois Tech.

Phyllis is the Deputy General Counsel and Head of Intellectual Property with Hewlett-Packard. Prior to stepping into the role as Head of Intellectual Property, Phyllis was the Director of RFIP and Strategy Licensing for HP. She earned her JD from the University of Cincinnati in 1993. While a student at Illinois Tech, Phyllis was a member of UCBS, NSBE, NTA, and Honor Marshalls. She has presented on a panel with the Office of Career Services to assist students studying STEM to consider a career in law, utilizing their STEM background with intellectual property. Phyllis is passionate about supporting the pipeline of enrollment growth for minority students from engineering to law.

Santosh Vijay (M.A.S. TC, M.A.S. SE ’99) is currently director and CTO of software strategy at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences providing leadership to software product architecture, design and testing, DevOps and cyber security. He is based in Orange County, California. Vijay is accredited as an associate certified coach by the International Coaching Federation and he focuses on executive and career coaching. He also mentors technologists and managers both within his organization and pro-bono on career development. He currently sits on the Career & Professional Development Committee of the Illinois Tech Alumni Association and looks forward to supporting the university.

Namrata is a Senior Vice President and Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity Strategy for Bank of America. Considered an influencer in the Asian American community, Namrata was named 40 Under 40 in 2018 by Crain’s Business Chicago. She is passionate about volunteerism, social impact, and civic-community engagement. In 2016, she kicked off the Bank of America's “Let’s Get Real” series of live video broadcasts, which have a regular audience of 115,000 mid-level and senior leaders. The series features authors, researchers and company leaders discussing sensitive topics like religion, social rights, LGBTQ issues, gender and our polarized politics. The content initiates conversation around this central question: “Can we really bring our whole selves to work?”