Home: Marengo, IL. Birthplace: Belvidere, IL. Profession: Attorney. Organization: Franks Gerkin Ponitz & Greeley PC. Title: Partner. Alma mater: University of Wisconsin. Languages spoken: English, Portuguese, conversational Spanish.
Hobbies: Fishing, traveling. Recent travel or adventure: Hiking in Colombia and coffee-picking. Recently viewed and recommended: The Diplomat. Recent unique acquisition: A sculpture by Fernando Botero.
Personality profile: Decisive and driven. What one word would your closest friend use to describe you? Dependable. How do you define an ideal business relationship? Everybody wins. What is your guilty pleasure? Ice cream out of the carton at night. What occupation, other than your own, do you most admire? Physicians, because they heal people. What is your favorite place (or way) to spend money? Traveling. What is at the top of your bucket list? Cambodia and Laos. How do you relieve stress? Taking long walks.
What was your first paying job? Bank proof processor. What was your favorite college course? Ethics of War. What was your favorite childhood toy or game? Monopoly. What movie have you repeatedly watched? Gladiator. What’s prominently featured on your home or office wall? Political cartoons. What’s the best advice you received growing up? Do it, because we think you did it anyway. What modern technology innovation do you most appreciate? Apple Watch.
What change would you like to see in the world?
For healthcare to be a right and not a privilege.
What widely held belief do you reject? That money always wins in politics. What mega-trend most concerns you? Nationalism and far right politics.
What title would you choose for the movie about your life? Long Shot. What actor would you choose to play you in the movie about your life? George Clooney. Who would you like to spend an evening with, in heaven? Winston Churchill. As a kid, what did you first want to be when you grew up? Second baseman for the White Sox. What advice would you give your younger self? Be bold, take chances.
Personal motto: Full speed ahead. Favorite quote: “It’s not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…” (President Theodore Roosevelt).
