Mentor Profiles

David V. Brueggen received a B.B.A degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1968. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1969-1971, he earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1975. Mr. Brueggen worked for Arthur Andersen & Co thru 1982. He joined his current employer, Anson Industries Inc., in the fall of 1982 as Secretary-Treasurer. Currently, Mr. Brueggen is Senior Vice-President Finance and CFO. He is a CPA in the state of Illinois.

Harold S. Dahlstrand has over 30 years of experience in corporate management, human resource management and consulting. He spent over 20 years with Spiegel, Inc., most recently as Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO. For the last 5 years, he has focused on management consulting and executive coaching. He earned his BA from Luther College and his Masters in Human Resources from Loyola University.

Patricia DeAnda is an undergraduate and MBA alumna of the Center for Business and Economics at Elmhurst College. As the Deputy Director and Vice President of Finance and Operations for the Resurrection Project, she has acquired an extensive background in operations, finance, and human resources as well as their interface with compliance and accounting systems. She was formerly the Corporate Payroll Manager of Packaging Corporation of America.

David DeGroot is the Executive Vice President and CFO of Suburban Bank and Trust Company, a $580 million regional community bank with ten branches in the Chicago area. He has been with the bank since 1992, and is responsible for accounting operations, information technology, investments, asset/liability management, real estate, and finance. Prior to 1992, he worked for 2 other banking firms. He graduated from Calvin College in Business and earned an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Mr. DeGroot has also published a thesis on managing new banks.

Gerard Leahy is a Software Architect with IBM. His career has included positions in a number of different industries in ever increasing areas of responsibility, including: insurance (Metropolitan Life), brokerage( Smith Barney), healthcare (Caremark), textiles (Burlington) and almost fourteen years at United Airlines where he was responsible for the corporate databases, data architecture, and data analytics functions.   He completed his BA in Business in Ireland, his MBA at Elmhurst College, and serves on the Board of the CBE Graduate Alumni Association.

Brad Peterson is Executive Director in the Food and Agribusiness Group of Rabobank International. His responsibilities include managing a portfolio of loans to corporate food and agribusiness companies as well as generating new business through active marketing efforts. Mr. Peterson is a graduate of the University of Texas, Austin, and has received an MBA from Texas Christian University.

Catherine Ruffing is the grants manager at The Resurrection Project, a community development nonprofit located in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. She composes, submits, and tracks all foundation and corporate grants, manages the website, and coordinates management of special events and marketing materials. Prior to joining The Resurrection Project, Catherine worked as a community organizer in the inland deserts of Coachella, California with the Holy Cross Associates, a post-undergraduate volunteer program; she also managed programs and services at Rancho Housing Alliance, a community development corporation also located in Coachella, CA. Catherine holds a BA in English and Spanish from Indiana University and is a current graduate student at Loyola University Chicago pursuing her MA in Pastoral Counseling.

Russell Wilson is a Partner at Porte, Brown LLC, a Mid-Sized DuPage County CPA firm. He is a graduate of Elmhurst College and is the 1992 recipient of the Outstanding Senior Award from the Center for Business and Economics. Mr. Wilson is a registered CPA in the state of Illinois and is active with the Illinois CPA Society and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Please feel free to visit Porte Brown’s website (www.portebrown.com) to learn more about the firm.