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Starting her life in soviet Kiev, Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky's mother opened Chicago's first Eastern European deli on Devon where she introduced the city to Nutella. Meanwhile, Julie's father first began making kefir in the family basement. Julie joins The Chicago Network President and CEO Maria Doughty to tell how she brought the family business to new heights.

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A self-professed geek, Dr. Jennifer Holmgren was a part of the team that produced a ground-breaking non-petroleum based fuel that allowed a fighter jet to break the sound barrier. As CEO of LanzaTech, Jennifer leads the organization in producing clothing, fuel, and even food from recycled carbon.

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Sol Flores, CEO, Knight Impact Partners, joins Maria Doughty to discuss her Puerto Rican roots, founding La Casa Norte, an organization dedicated to helping families escape homelessness, and her journey to serving as Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services for the State of Illinois.

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From a small town in Greece, Vicky Kalogera escaped poverty through education, becoming a leading member of the LIGO Collaboration that observed gravitational waves in 2015, and a leading theorist in the study of gravitational waves: “A new way to study the universe for centuries to come.” Today, Vicky is a Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy Director, CIERA, and Director, NSF-Simons SkAI Institute at Northwestern University.

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In Lima Peru, a young woman by the name of Sara Sirotzky responded to an ad seeking to hire an individual who spoke some English. Little did Sara know that this opportunity would take her and her young son almost four thousand miles away to Chicago, where she would build a legendary career culminating in serving as Managing Director of the Chicago office of Marsh McLennan, the world's leading professional services firm in risk, strategy and people.

American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gold Medal winner, founding member and former first President of Chicago Women in Architecture (CWA) Carol Ross Barney joins Maria to discuss her life story, designing the Chicago Riverwalk, joining the peace corps, and the lack of peanut butter in Düsseldorf.

When a young Janet Foutty considered her future, she imagined herself in the arts: music, or theater; she certainly never anticipated that she'd one day become Executive Chair of the Board of Deloitte US, or Chair and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP. In this episode, Janet recounts the journey that led to her tremendously successful career.

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Roseanna Ander joins Maria to discuss how her background led to her work today in reducing gun violence and advancing justice as Founding Executive Director of The University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab.