Humanities Day 2024

Gerardo Gordillo was an art history major and is currently the Communications and Engagement Facilitator for Waukegan High School.

Gerardo Gordillo is a Communications and Engagement Facilitator at Waukegan High School and an outsider artist from Waukegan. Their work explores personhood, objectivity, and place. Gerardo is dedicated to building community and seeks out new opportunities to learn and share their experiences. They are excited about the potential for Waukegan's downtown area to flourish with businesses that reflect the city's unique character. Gerardo is also a passionate concert promoter, known for organizing cultural events in intimate settings, from their parents' backyard to a once-abandoned movie theater that is stuck in the '70s. They are a tireless advocate for the arts and have helped to foster a vibrant cultural scene in Waukegan.

Vernard Lockhart majored in philosophy at Lake Forest College and received a Masters in Public Administration and Public Policy from American University in Washington, DC.

Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mr. Lockhart's expertise is grounded in economic and workforce development, human capital management, public affairs and policy, and community equity. His experience includes human capital consulting for higher education institutions, non-profit management consulting, and strategic investment advisory for social enterprises, Fortune 500 companies, and government agencies. He holds a philosophy degree from Lake Forest College and obtained his Masters of Public Administration & Public Policy from American University in Washington D.C.

Mr. Lockhart is on the Board of Directors as Vice President of Public Affairs and Administration for the LEADIT Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) community-based nonprofit organization that provides holistic workforce and wellness programs for youth. He is the President and CEO of Lockhart Global Enterprises, LLC, a social enterprise that scales small to mid-sized minority-owned businesses and enterprises. Mr. Lockhart is Co-Founder of Lockhart Leadership Consulting, LLC, an educational leadership consultancy. He also serves as the Associate Director of Internship and Leadership Development at Northwestern Mutual in Deerfield, IL.

Mr. Lockhart resides in the western suburbs just outside Chicago and is a proud husband, father, and Forester.

Elizabeth Mescher (BFA '15 in sociology and anthropology and history with a minor in art history from Lake Forest College, MA '18 in Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute), currently serves as the Collection Manager for the department of Architecture and Design at The Art Institute of Chicago where she oversees over 250,000 artworks. Mescher credits her current position to the diverse experiences she gained at Lake Forest College, specifically the impact of the London and Florence study abroad program where she had the unique opportunity to visit museums and cultural heritage sites daily and developed a profound understanding of the preservation and care of art and artifacts. Her professional journey also includes contributions to various archaeological digs in Italy, Romania, and Chicago. Additionally, Mescher holds the role of co-chair for the Chicago Alliance for Response and is a member of the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists.

Nate Sousa is a copywriter working in the marketing technology industry. He specializes in making complicated tech sound simple. During his time at Lake Forest College, he was a resident assistant and General Manager of WMXM. In his spare time, he loves cooking, going to concerts, and watching his beloved Celtics. Nate was an English major with a with a writing emphasis and a transfer student from CLC.