Joseph P. Schwieterman, PhD
Director of the Chaddick Institute &
Professor in DePaul's Graduate School of Public Service
jschwiet@depaul.edu
Dr. Schwieterman is a Professor in the
School of Public Service, Department of Public Policy, and Sustainable Urban Development programs. He is an expert in the fields of public policy, transportation and urban planning, and is the author of numerous books and peer-reviewed articles on the development of cities and transportation.
He has consulted with prominent national organizations on planning and development issues, and advised national trade groups and research organizations on trends in transportation. In addition to serving as the Director of the Chaddick Institute, Dr. Schwieterman serves as president of the Transportation Research Forum's Chicago Chapter, which is part of an international organization founded in 1958 and having chapters in seven cities.
In addition to having published more than 40 technical articles, Dr. Schwieterman has authored five books, including The Politics of Place: A History of Zoning in Chicago, which won an independent book publishers award. His most recent book, Terminal Town, offers an illustrated history of Chicago’s airports, bus depots, and train stations since 1939 and was featured in a traveling exhibit circulating throughout the metropolitan region. Since joining DePaul, he has also published an illustrated history of planning for the Chicago region, Beyond Burnham, and a book, with companion east and west volumes, about the abandonment of American railroads, When the Railroad Leaves Town, which was a finalist for the prestigious
George Hilton Award.
Dr. Schwieterman is frequently seen and heard on radio and television, making appearances on Chicago Public Radio and
WBBM’s Noon Business Hour. His work through the Chaddick Institute has also been featured in USA Today, Bloomberg News, and the Chicago Tribune, among other national publications.
William C. Kling, JD
Assistant Director & Director of Great Rivers Project
chaddick@depaul.eduAn attorney, policy consultant, and academic Prof. Kling oversees Chaddick programs involving local government, community capacity building, and environmental policy. His responsibilities include managing Chaddick’s partnership with the National Great Rivers Research & Education Center, which promotes effective public policy for our region’s waterways, while also supporting our relationships with prominent governmental and civic organizations. Prof. Kling has extensive experience drafting and advocating for legislative change at the local, regional, state and federal level. He has worked in preeminent law firms in Chicago and has served as General Counsel for a well-known community college. He has contributed to major innovations in Chicago and Illinois, including initiatives involving vertical farming, cannabis, water resource management, housing, food systems, education, workforce development, and community and economic development. In addition to his law and policy practice, Prof. Kling has been a clinical assistant professor and an adjunct professor at several institutions. He teaches courses for both DePaul’s School of Public Service and Master of Public Health programs. He is well-known for his work in African American and LatinX communities throughout our region a state. Over the years, he has served on a wide variety of nonprofit boards. He also has an appointment on the Illinois Leadership Council on Agricultural Education and the State of Illinois' Comptroller's Local Governmental Advisory Board.
C. Scott Smith, PhD AICP
Adjunct Faculty & Urban Programs Advisor
c.scott.smith@depaul.edu
Dr. Smith supports many programs and activities for Chaddick including our research publications, Municipal Design Review Network (MDRN) and Transportation Research Forum's Chicago Chapter.
He received his PhD in Planning, Policy and Design from the University of California, Irvine and Master of Environmental Planning and BS in Geography degrees from Arizona State University. Dr. Smith previously worked as an Assistant Professor of urban planning at Western Michigan University's Department of Geography and Director of Outreach for the University's Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities where he designed and carried out numerous collaborative research projects. Dr. Smith's recent research has explored the social performance of urban transportation systems including the distributive equity of bike-sharing systems, multimodal accessibility models and novel approaches to advancing ADA compliance in public rights-of-way. An AICP certified planner, Dr. Smith also worked as Transportation and Land Use Manager for the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference.
Residing in Oak Park, Dr. Smith enjoys serving on the Village’s Community Design Commission and administering waste-free programs at his son’s elementary school. He can also be seen kayaking on the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers.
Abby Mader Postgraduate Fellow
chaddick@depaul.edu
Abby is a recent graduate student of the Sustainable Urban Development Program at DePaul. She joined our university after earning her bachelor's degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. As an undergraduate, Abby worked as an environmental science researcher and gained critical-thinking skills related to making metropolitan areas more sustainable. In addition to her master's degree, Abby is pursuing a certificate in Geographic Information Systems. Abby enjoys spending time outdoors, including hiking, and has a passion for nature. Abby current works in Wisconsin in urban & regional planning sectors.
Blythe ChesneyProgram Manager & Graduate Research Associate
Blythe is a graduate student in the Sustainable Urban Development program at DePaul. She holds an undergraduate degree in Architectural Studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Blythe’s interests lie within affordable housing and community development and hopes to work within affordable housing advocacy after finishing her graduate degree. In her free time, Blythe is a figure skating coach and Zamboni driver at a local ice arena and enjoys cycle classes, reading, and making jewelry for which she is a self-taught metalsmith.
Emily Hamilton Program Manager & Graduate Research Associate
Emily
is a graduate student in the Sustainable Urban Development Program at DePaul.
She is a "Double Demon", having received her undergraduate degree in anthropology
from our university. Her interests within the Chaddick Institute focus on finding
creative ways to create sustainable development in cities, specifically,
adaptive reuse, urban design, public art, and community engagement. Prior to
working with Chaddick, Emily worked with the Office of Sustainability in
Oklahoma City to raise awareness of water quality issues within the city
through educational signage and public art. In her free time, she enjoys biking
through the city, playing the guitar, and crafting. After finishing
her studies at DePaul, she hopes to work in the field of urban planning.
PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM LEADERS
John Hedrick,
JD
Municipal Design Review Program Advisor
John Hedrick is the founder and Chair of Scenic Illinois, which supports public land-use, planning, and design. He also organized the Municipal Design Review Network (MDRN) for the Chaddick Institute, which focuses on municipal design review practices. A licensed attorney for over 30 years, Mr. Hedrick specialized in advertising, corporate and regulatory matters. He has also served on various municipal planning committees, including Village Commissioner for building and landscape design review. Currently, Mr. Hedrick is Chair of the Glenview Appearance Commission and has recently served on special facade improvement and comprehensive planning committees for the village. In his latest legal work, John specialized in board planning and organizational issues.
Stephen B. Rudolph, MEd JD
Manager, Air Transport Policy Initiative
srudolph@depaul.edu
Stephen B. Rudolph has more than 40 years of business and entrepreneurial experience, including stints as deputy director of the Illinois Department of Labor, principal aviation writer for one of the world’s largest legal publishers, and executive director of the International Aviation Law Institute at DePaul’s College of Law.
In 2001, Rudolph – along with former Virginia governor and noted transport advocate Gerald L. Baliles – founded the journal Issues in Aviation Law and Policy, which moved to Chaddick in 2017.
An attorney and DePaul Law graduate, Rudolph received the university’s 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award. Rudolph has an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and a Master’s degree from National-Louis University.
VISITING SCHOLARS & ADVISORS
Susan Aaron
Civic Program Design
Susan Aaron's work for the Chaddick Institute reaches a broad variety of projects and initiatives. Along with her many civic affiliations, she is a contributing author to "The Plan of Chicago@ 100: 15 Views of Burnham's Legacy for a New Century" and is the 2009 recipient of Lambda Alpha International and Chapter awards. She was also an appointed member of the Burnham Plan Centennial Committee. Ms. Aaron has had a very successful career in the arts, as well as community and economic development. She was a primary leader in the creation, development and coordination of The Plan of Chicago Centennial Initiative, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the 1909 Burnham and Bennett Plan of Chicago. She also served as Executive Director of the Grant Park Cultural & Educational Community (GPCEC) and as the Director of Promotion for the Chicago Central Area Committee (CCAC).
As Program Coordinator for Navy Pier for the City of Chicago's Department of Public Works during Navy Pier's early years of redevelopment in the late 1970s, she was responsible for public programming, marketing, public relations and leasing of the facility, and worked with real estate research consultants hired by the city to create a development plan for the Pier. During the city's celebration of the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial, Ms. Aaron also served as Director of Art and Historical Exhibitions at Navy Pier for the Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry.
Andy Cross
Program Advisor
Andy, a Senior Planner at Lakota Group, has nearly twenty years of experience as a municipal planner, including positions at a suburb of the Twin Cities and Highland Park, Illinois. Working with Preservation Commissions, Architecture Review Commissions, Plan Commissions, and City Councils, he has shaped local policy and helped citizen planners and preservationists achieve local success. Recognizing the power of partnerships, Andy has helped the development community navigate the local regulatory environment to realize their vision while making a positive impact on the built environment and to the community as a whole.
Andy received his Master's degree in Urban Planning from UW-Milwaukee and is active in the American Planning Association’s Illinois Chapter. He also works with the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University as an Advisor, speaking in graduate courses and working with the Municipal Design Review Network (MDRN). Andy also works with Chaddick’s Plan Commissioner Training Program and has led training sessions for more than ten Plan Commissions around the Chicago region.
Ruth Wuorenma, JD
Senior Fellow
Ruth Wuorenma is a land use and development expert whose career has spanned national and international commercial real estate; market-rate and affordable housing; and various civic roles. She has extensive experience in entitlements; in site selection and development; and has a lifelong passion for community engagement that strengthens a shared sense of place. In 2003, Ruth created Neighborhood Capital Institute (NCI) to help entities – ones that own or control significant real estate and/or infrastructure – leverage those assets to foster capital investment, economic vitality, and an enhanced quality of life for residents and other stakeholders.
Ruth is a member of Illinois American Water’s governing board, of the Waukegan Economic Development Advisory Board, and of the Land Use Committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. She is an active member of the Urban Land Institute in Chicago and also in its national Public Development and Infrastructure Council. She and her husband are proud owners of “Happy Turtle Farms,” two farms in Michigan that focus on the preservation of small farms and wildlife habitats. Ruth graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned her JD from its College of Law.
Laurie B. Marston, AICP
Municipal Program Advisor
Laurie Marston has been a consultant since 1997 and provides planning, zoning, urban design, economic development, and consensus-building services to municipalities, developers, small businesses, and not-for-profits. She has organized and moderated 40 workshops for municipal planners at the Chaddick Institute as well as training workshops for Plan Commissions, Zoning Boards, and Appearance Commissions. Prior to consulting, she worked for 22 years in municipal planning, including nine years as Director of Community Development for the Village of Wilmette. The Wilmette Chamber of Commerce presented Ms. Marston an award in recognition of her service to the business community. She has an MA in Urban Studies from the University of Chicago.
Ms. Marston was a citizen volunteer on the Evanston Plan Commission and chaired the Minority, Women and Evanston Business Enterprise Commission. She has spoken at APA national conferences and moderated two symposiums for the Northwest Municipal Conference. She served on the board of Women in Planning Development for three years and was inducted into that group's Circle of Honor. A member of Lambda Alpha International, an honorary land economics organization, she is the Central Regional Vice President for the International Board of Governors. Ms. Marston was awarded the Distinguished Chapter Service Award for her work as Vice Chair of the committee that published " The Plan of Chicago @100: 15 Views of Burnham's Legacy for a New Century." Laurie retired in early 2021, but remains active in our region's urban planning scene.
Chris Kopp, AICP CTP
Senior Research Advisor
Chris Kopp manages HNTB’s Chicago transportation planningpractice, which provides project feasibility assessments and relatedservices to public transportation agencies across the country. His work integrates concepts across a wide range of disciplines, including travel market analysis, transportation system planning, financial and economic analysis, and urban design. He specializes in development of sophisticated financial analysis tools for capital
program planning, transit and intercity rail network design, integration of traditional transit with shared mobility services, and planning for autonomous vehicles. He draws upon this experience to support Chaddick Institute research on urban transportation and transportation network companies such as Lyft and Uber, and helps plan its Transportation Research Forum programs. Mr. Kopp has a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Architecture from University of Cincinnati.
Erik Cempel, PE, PMPTransportation Policy Advisor
Erik Cempel assists local, national, and international organizations both plan and implement transportation infrastructure and policy through his own consulting firm, Cempel International Transportation Consulting. Erik previously served as Amtrak's Program Manager for the implementation of the $1 billion Chicago Union Station Master Plan. Before his time at Amtrak, and for most of his career, he was a Principal of Cambridge Systematics, where he led transportation studies around the world and was regional manager for the central United States. Erik also worked for two years as a researcher at the Korea Transport Institute and regularly shares his transportation and global experience as a guest lecturer at DePaul University. Erik graduated with a Master's degree in Transportation Systems from Cornell University with a minor in Urban Planning.
Deborah Carter McCoy, MPA
Sustainability and Communications Advisor
Deborah Carter McCoy’s expertise lies where the natural, built and human environments intersect. With experience in sustainability, transportation and major infrastructure projects, Ms. Carter McCoy has successfully led communications with documented benefits in creativity, reach and voice. She is director of strategic communications for Environmental Initiative, Midwest Row Crop Collaborative and Sustainable Growth Coalition. She created and led campaigns, long-term planning projects, and social media strategy, including an award-winning campaign for Union Depot in St. Paul, Minn. An award-winning web content developer, she is leading her third organizational website redesign. Exposure during early childhood to her parent’s civic engagement shaped her lifelong passion for volunteering and acting for equity. She actively supports Chaddick’s student-learning activities and Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul Transportation Research Forum chapter events.
Patrick Steffes
Urban Program Advisor, and Community Fellow
Patrick is an expert on Chicago's cityscape and development history who has collaborated with the Chaddick Institute since the “Terminal Town" festival of events in 2014. Patrick holds a Bachelor's in Communications and a Bachelor's in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 2014, he has been an Editor for Forgotten Chicago, an organization researching and exploring Chicagoland's overlooked built environment and infrastructure. Patrick spent four years on the Editorial Advisory Board of
Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America, a book published by the Chicago Art Deco Society in 2018. Known by many for his insightful Forgotten Chicago tours, he has also collaborated on programs with the Society for Industrial Archeology, AIA Chicago, Preservation Chicago, and other organizations.
School of Public Service Faculty Advisors
Nicholas Kachiroubas, PhD
Faculty Advisor & Associate Teaching Professor in DePaul's Graduate School of Public Service
Nkachiro@depaul.edu
Dr. Nick Kachiroubas joined DePaul University’s School of Public Service in the summer of 2012. He received a PhD in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee; a MA in Organizational Leadership from Lewis University in Romeoville; and a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Springfield. His professional interests include Leadership and the Presidency, specifically focusing on the relationship between the President of the United States and his Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Staff; Leadership in Congress, specifically leadership pertaining to the Speaker of the House; Leadership and Parliamentary Discourse; and Leadership Development of university students and young professionals.
He served a six-year term as a trustee on the McHenry County College Board of Trustees, where upon completion he was named Trustee Emeritus. Currently, he currently serving as the City Clerk of the City of Crystal Lake, Illinois. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Dr. Kachiroubas worked for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Illinois State Senate, Illinois House of Representatives, and the Office of the Illinois Lieutenant Governor. He also has served on numerous nonprofit boards of directors: currently, he serves on the Centegra Health System Foundation Board, and he is Chairman of the America’s Cardboard Cup Regatta Foundation. In his free time, he loves to sail.
Kenneth Rose, PhD
Research FellowKenneth Rose is an independent consultant based in Chicago, a lecturer at DePaul University, and a Senior Fellow with the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University. Dr. Rose has worked for more than thirty years on the structure, economics, and regulation of the U.S. electric supply industry, including electricity wholesale and retail markets and environmental regulation of electricity production. Dr. Rose was a Senior Institute Economist at The National Regulatory Research Institute at Ohio State University and a lecturer for the School of Public Policy and Management and the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. He also previously worked at Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Rose received his BS, MA, and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
2022-2023 CHADDICK SCHOLARS
Each year, the Chaddick Institute awards the Chaddick Scholar distinction to a small group of graduate students who make exemplary contributions to our programs and complete a series of requirements to expand their expertise on urban-development topics. Our most recent class:
Janson Busby | Sustainable Urban Development
Akshara Das | International Public Service
Caleb Haydock | Public Policy
Esther Lwakabamba | Public Policy
Namatama Kapika | Nonprofit Management
Mayra Shuja | Sustainable Urban Development
Rachel Weckbacher | Public Policy
For listings of Scholars from earlier years, please refer to the "Get Involved" section of our website. You can also find bios and photos of some of our Chaddick Scholar Alumni here.
Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development
DePaul University
14 E. Jackson, Ste 1600
Chicago, IL 60604
(P) 312-362-5731
chaddick@depaul.edu