Mario L. Baeza, Esq.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

The Baeza Group, LLC and Baeza & Co., LLC

Founder and Executive Chairman

V-Me Media, Inc.

Mario is chairman and CEO of The Baeza Group, LLC and Baeza & Co., LLC, an investment firm specializing in private equities aimed at the U.S. Hispanic market and hedge funds anchored in global macro strategies. He is also the founder and executive chairman of V-Me Media, Inc., a new national Spanish language television network. He is a former chairman and CEO of TCW/Latin America Partners, LLC, a private equity capital firm. He serves on the board of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Brown Shoe Company, Inc., Israel Discount Bank as well as various nonprofit organizations. Mario received a BA from Cornell University and a JD from Harvard Law School.

James W. Compton

Retired President and Chief Executive Officer

Chicago Urban League

Jim is the former president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League and the Chicago Urban League Development Corporation, which have worked to eliminate racial discrimination and segregation since 1916. He is actively involved in various civic organizations and also serves on the board of directors of Seaway Bank & Trust Company and Commonwealth Edison Company, a unit of Exelon Corporation. Jim holds a BA from Morehouse College.

William C. Dietrich

Former Executive Director

Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, Inc.

Prior to his retirement, Bill was the executive director of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, Inc., an internationally known ecumenical training institute for contemplative living and leadership founded in 1973. He also serves on several nonprofit boards. Bill holds a BS degree from Georgetown University.

Royce N. Flippin, Jr.

Lead Independent Trustee

President

Flippin Associates

Royce is president of Flippin Associates, a consulting firm for the public and private sectors. Formerly, he was director of athletics at Princeton University and director of both athletics and program advancement for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Royce is on the board of Technical Career Institute, NYC, TerraCycle, Inc. as well as several nonprofit institutions. He earned his AB from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

John G. Guffey, Jr.

President

Aurora Press, Inc.

John is the president of Aurora Press, Inc., a publisher of trade paperback books. Formerly, John served as director and treasurer of Silby Guffey & Co., Inc., a venture capital firm investing in early stage companies in the health care and environmental industries. He holds directorships with various nonprofit organizations, and he is also a founder of Calvert Group, Ltd. and a trustee of select Calvert mutual funds. John earned a BS from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Mellody Hobson

Chair of the Board of Trustees

Ariel Investment Trust

President

Ariel Investments

As president of Ariel Investments, Mellody is responsible for firm-wide management and strategic planning, overseeing all operations of Ariel’s business outside of research and portfolio management.  Mellody has become a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy and investor education.  She is a regular financial contributor on ABC’s Good Morning America, a featured columnist in Black Enterprise magazine as well as a spokesperson for both the annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey and the 2009 Ariel/Hewitt study, “401(k) Plans in Living Color.”  Beyond her work at Ariel, Mellody is a director of three public companies:  DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.; The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and Starbucks Corporation. She also serves on the Investment Company Institute’s board of governors and the SEC Investor Advisory Committee, and is a director of various professional and civic organizations. Mellody earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy and is a former trustee of the University.

Christopher G. Kennedy

President

Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.

Executive Officer

Vornado Realty Trust

Chris is president of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. which is a leading owner and operator of showroom buildings and trade shows, including The Merchandise Mart in Chicago. He is also an executive officer of Vornado Realty Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Chris serves on a variety of civic and corporate boards, including Interface, Inc. and the University of Illinois Board of Trustees (as chairman). He earned his BA from Boston College and his MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Merrillyn J. Kosier

Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Mutual Funds

Merrillyn is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s mutual fund business from marketing, advertising and shareholder services to Ariel’s online presence. Specifically, as chief marketing officer, she oversees all brand-building and client servicing efforts related to the funds, including oversight of the transfer agent. Additionally, she is in charge of all media and public relations for the firm. Merrillyn also serves on the board of trustees for Ariel Investment Trust and is president of Ariel Distributors, LLC. Prior to joining Ariel in 1999, she served as a senior executive at the Acorn family of funds and Kemper Financial Services. Merrillyn is the former chairman of the Mutual Fund Education Alliance as well as a current board member of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. She earned a BBA in marketing from Andrews University and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago, where she currently serves on the council of regents and the advisory board for the School of Business Administration. She is also an advisor to the Investment Policy Committee of the University’s board of trustees.

William M. Lewis, Jr.

Managing Director and Co-Chairman

Investment Banking Lazard Ltd.

As a senior executive at Lazard Ltd, Bill advises blue-chip clients on a broad range of corporate and financial issues including merger and acquisition activity, deal origination and leveraged buyouts. Prior to joining the firm in 2004, Bill spent 24 years with Morgan Stanley in a variety of leadership positions, most recently as managing director and co-head of the firm’s Global Banking Department. Beyond his work at Lazard, Bill is actively involved in the broader community. He serves on a variety of boards including Phillips Academy and The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Additionally, he is a director of Darden Restaurants. Bill attended Harvard University where he earned both his undergraduate degree with honors and his MBA.

H. Carl McCall

Principal

Convent Capital, LLC

Carl is a principal of Convent Capital, LLC a financial services advisory firm. He served as the comptroller of the State of New York between 1993 and 2002 until he became the state’s Democratic nominee for the 2002 governor’s race. Carl is also a former New York State senator; ambassador to the United Nations; commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; commissioner of New York’s Division of Human Rights; and president of the New York City Board of Education. He is a past board member of the NYSE. Carl graduated from Dartmouth College, Andover Newton Theological Seminary and studied at the University of Edinburgh.

John W. Rogers, Jr.

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Ariel Investments 

John’s passion for investing started when he was 12 years old when his father bought him stocks every birthday and every Christmas instead of toys. His interest grew while majoring in Economics at Princeton University. After graduation, he worked as a stockbroker for 2½ years at William Blair and Company, LLC—a regional investment banking firm. In 1983, at age 24, John founded Ariel Investments to focus on undervalued small and medium-sized companies showing strong growth potential. Patience served as the cornerstone of a disciplined approach that still drives the firm today. Beyond Ariel, John serves as a corporate board member for three Fortune 500 companies: Aon Corporation, Exelon Corporation and McDonald’s Corporation. His civic mindedness is reflected in his roles as chairman of the Economic Club of Chicago, trustee of the University of Chicago, director of the Chicago Urban League and member of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In 2008, John’s dedication to the community was recognized when he was awarded Princeton’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, bestowed annually on a graduate whose career embodies a commitment to national service. Following the election of President Obama, John served as co-chair for the Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009. He received an AB in economics in 1980 from Princeton University where he was also captain of the varsity basketball team.

James Williams

Vice President and Chief Investment Officer

J. Paul Getty Trust

As vice president and CIO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, Jim is responsible for a $6 billion endowment which underwrites the Trust’s art museum, acquisitions, grants and art conservation activities. Previously, he served as president of Harbor Capital Advisors and the Harbor Mutual Funds. He also spent nearly thirty years with Ford Motor Company, most recently managing the company’s pension plan. Jim serves on the board of SEI Mutual Funds. He holds a BS in engineering from the University of Michigan and earned an MBA in finance from The University of Chicago.

Bert N. Mitchell, C.P.A.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Mitchell & Titus, LLP

Chairman Emeritus
(has no trustee duties or responsibilities)