Jesse Ruiz
Vice President
Jesse H. Ruiz was appointed as the Vice President of the Chicago Board of Education by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in May of 2011.
Mr. Ruiz also recently served on the U.S. Department of Education Equity and Excellence Commission. The two appointments are the latest in a career of involvement in public education for Mr. Ruiz.
Mr. Ruiz served as Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education from September 2004 to May 2011. The Illinois State Board of Education oversees the operation of the state's school system for 2.1 million students in grades Pre-K-12 and administers an $11 billion annual budget. He had also previously served on the Chicago Public Schools Desegregation Monitoring Commission.
Mr. Ruiz is a partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath's Corporate and Securities Group and co-chair of the firm's Diversity Committee. He concentrates his practice in mergers and acquisitions and the representation of public and middle market companies.
Mr. Ruiz is legal counsel to the 14 Illinois senators and representatives who formed the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation.
In August 2010, Mr. Ruiz was appointed to the ABA Presidential Advisory Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities by the President of the American Bar Association. He is past President of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and Past Chairman of the Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois. He is also Past Chairman of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms. He has taught corporate law at John Marshall Law School. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Commonwealth Edison Company, an Exelon company and on several other civic and charitable boards and committees.
In March 2007, El Valor, one of the country's leading nonprofits serving the Hispanic Community, awarded Mr. Ruiz their Education Excellence Award for his work to open doors for educational opportunities for everyone.
In September 2005, he was selected by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to receive his Education Award, honoring Mr. Ruiz's commitment to promoting leadership in the Hispanic community and the City of Chicago and as an individual who contributes to improving the quality of life of all Latinos in Illinois.
Previously, Mr. Ruiz was a management consultant with the international consulting firm of Booz Allen & Hamilton. Prior to attending law school, he worked for Inland Steel Company and Ryerson Coil Processing Company.
Mr. Ruiz received his JD from The University of Chicago Law School, where he served as an editor of the University of Chicago Law School Roundtable, and his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
