At its July 2026 meeting, the PILI Board of Directors elected new officers for PILI’s next two fiscal years. Lisa McCraw was elected President, Mark O’Meara was elected Vice President, Elizabeth P. Lewis was elected Secretary, Kimberly Barton was elected Treasurer, and Kyle Petersen was elected Immediate Past President. Their terms began on September 1, 2026 and will conclude on August 31, 2027.
LISA J. MCCRAW, PRESIDENT
Lisa joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2013, and most recently served as Secretary. She maintains an active pro bono practice of her own, providing counsel to nonprofits in the Quad Cities on corporate governance and contract review. She has also participated in PILI’s Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee’s service projects, including the Volunteer Lawyer Project for tenants facing eviction and the Wills and Power of Attorney clinic for low-income seniors. Lisa most recently served as Assistant General Counsel of Litigation at Deere & Company and is based in Moline. During Lisa’s tenure as chair of Deere’s pro bono committee, the company was recognized for its significant pro bono legal work in the community with PILI’s Pro Bono Initiative Award in 2012.
MARK O’MEARA, VICE PRESIDENT
Mark is a partner with Chapman and Cutler LLP in the Banking and Financial Services Department and is also a member of the Commercial Lending Group. He joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2016, and most recently served as Treasurer. Mark has a focus on representing financial institutions through structuring and documenting secured and unsecured transactions, loan restructuring and workout transactions. He has experience in asset-based lending, project financing, cash-flow lending and more. Mark served in forming and counseling a social impact fund managed by Local Initiatives Support Corporation that provides project loans to acquire, preserve, and improve affordable housing in the Detroit metropolitan area. Mark represented a financial services company in the Pay for Success financing of a new social impact project that aims to address the underlying causes of asthma by providing in-home asthma care and environmental interventions to low-income New Yorkers.
ELIZABETH P. LEWIS, SECRETARY
Elizabeth serves as the Pro Bono and Community Service Partner at McDermott Will & Emery. She leads the Firm’s pro bono, community service and charitable giving initiatives to define the Firm’s programmatic mission, identify strategies for growth and launch pro bono and community service initiatives. Elizabeth also regularly works with nonprofit organizations on legal clinics, community service events and other opportunities for social impact. She also regularly represents individual and nonprofit clients on a wide variety of issues ranging from special education, school discipline, family law, tax exemption and a variety of other tax and business law issues. Elizabeth joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2015. She previously served on the Alumni Network Leadership Council, including as Chair. She is the first to join as an officer of the Board of Directors from the Alumni Network Leadership Council.
KIMBERLY BARTON, TREASURER
Kimberly Barton is currently a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in the Commercial Bank at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Kimberly practiced
at Chapman and Cutler LLP prior to joining JPMorgan Chase in 2016. She has a JD from the University of Iowa College of Law and a BBA in Finance, Investments and Banking, International Business and French form the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Kimberly has provided pro bono assistance to low-income housing developers and small businesses, asylum seekers and other immigrants, and victims of domestic violence. Kimberly currently serves on the Chicago Pro Bono Committee as well as the Legal Charitable Giving Committee at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
KYLE A. PETERSEN, IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Kyle is a partner in the Wage & Hour Litigation Group at Seyfarth Shaw where she dedicates much of her time to representing employers across the U.S. in court litigation
and administrative matters relating to wage and hour laws. Kyle is a PILI Alum, having served as a PILI Graduate Fellow after her graduation from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She joined the board in 2015 and most recently served as Vice President. Kyle is the first ever PILI Alumni to serve as President of the Board of Directors.
At Seyfarth Shaw, Kyle provides preventative counseling and works with employers to minimize their exposure to investigation and litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws. Kyle has also represented management against a number of discrimination and harassment claims pertaining to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and more. Kyle’s work has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Illinois Super Lawyers (2009-2013).