125th Anniversary Event: Speaker Biographies
LARRY MILLER is the Chairman of the Jordan Brand Advisory Board, a division of Nike, Inc. Known for his inspirational leadership, he has significantly shaped the sports and lifestyle sectors, particularly in athletic luxury footwear and apparel. Miller has served as President of the Jordan Brand twice, where he oversaw its $3 billion operation and collaborated closely with Michael Jordan and Nike's global leadership to drive business growth.
Before rejoining the Jordan Brand in 2012, Miller was President of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, leading the team to three consecutive postseason appearances and achieving notable business successes, including the first American sports franchise to earn Gold LEED status. He initially joined Nike in 1997, holding various roles, including Vice President of the U.S. Apparel division and Vice President and General Manager of Nike Basketball, where he played a key role in expanding the Jordan Brand and launching women's apparel.
Miller is also actively involved in community organizations in Portland, advocating for education and mentorship. His memoir, JUMP, My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom was published in 2022. Co-authored with his daughter Laila Lacy, JUMP details Miller's ascent from the streets of West Philadelphia to some of the highest distinctions of the corporate world.
LUKE TANEN oversees Chicago Innovation’s efforts to celebrate, educate and connect innovators throughout the Chicago region. He works closely with the Chicago Innovation staff, along with the organization’s 40+ person Board of Advisors to carry out all activities designed to drive growth at the organization. He oversees the recruitment of sponsors and all fundraising activities, provides counsel on all events and programs, and manages the process through which the Chicago Innovation Awards are announced and nominations gathered.
Luke is the author of two books, Innovating…Chicago-Style: How Local Innovators are Building the National Economy, which profiles the stories of 80 companies that have launched groundbreaking new products and services in the marketplace; and Rising Together: The Story of Chicago’s Innovation Ecosystem which chronicles the factors and forces that have nurtured a culture of innovation within the Chicago region. He has been published and featured in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Crain’s Chicago Business, NBC News, WGN Radio, WBEZ Radio, and other media.
In 2020, Luke was selected as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “Top 25 Emerging Leaders in Tech.” He is also a recipient of the 2011 Chicago Ideas Week “Ideas Award” and was selected to Crain’s “20 in their 20’s” list in 2014, which annually recognizes twenty leaders who are on-the-rise.
Luke received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He lives in Riverwoods, Illinois with his wife and twin boys.
SANDRA BROWN holds an MA in Humanities and is a doctoral student at Illinois State University’s Leadership, Equity, & Inquiry program. She served 22 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections as an incarcerated survivor. Brown became the first incarcerated woman in Illinois to earn an academic master’s degree and gain acceptance into an academic doctoral program. Barriers to accessing higher education spearheaded Brown’s work as an educator, activist, and writer.
Brown earned the Davis-Putter Scholarship and Marilyn Buck Awards twice. Her poetry collection, Odyssey in Progress, depicts portions of her lived and learned experiences. Past publications include her writings in Critical Storytelling from Behind Invisible Bars: Undergraduates and Inmates Write Their Way Out, and “Labor Pains,” included in Tupit Magazine’s Spring 2022 volume called reSentencing.
As a visiting scholar with the Women’s Justice Institute, Brown prepared a policy research paper recommending strategies to support college degree programs in Illinois women’s prisons. That work has culminated in the launch of the WJI WISE (Women Incarcerated Seeking Education) Program. WISE connects women at Logan Correctional Center facing barriers to accredited higher education correspondence degree programs. Today, Brown serves as the Director of Education and Training with the Women’s Justice Institute of Chicago, as a national trainer with CORE Associates, and as a consulting program manager with Adler University.