Alexander Gail Sherman

Alexander Gail Sherman leads multi-million-dollar pro bono efforts to address society's intractable issues: violence, unemployment, crumbling urban infrastructure.

Since joining Civic Consulting Alliance in 2005, he has helped expand the nonprofit ten-fold, enabling hundreds of companies to invest more than $75 million in pro bono services in the things that matter most in Chicago.  Alexander aggregates companies' individual efforts to achieve greater impact, for example:

• Sweeping reforms to eliminate $1 billion in budget gaps, enabling the County to roll back the sales tax
• Operational efficiency for the Police Department to re-assign hundreds of officers to street patrol, plus a comprehensive plan to reduce violent crime
• $2 billion secured and invested for economic recovery, through a partnership of the city and 60 foundations
• Transit ridership increases leading the nation, thanks to an operational turnaround fueled by pro bono investment.

Alexander has always loved theater, museums, and civic affairs.  He serves on several boards, including:

• Free Spirit Media, an Emmy-winning showcase for youth
• Illinois Mentoring Partnership
• Romae Manus, a Latin poetry collective
• The Hypocrites, a theater where he has helped transfer hit shows to New York.

After graduating from Princeton University, Alexander earned a masters from Cambridge University for research on Aristotle's mathematics.  At The Field Museum, he spearheaded the world's first gallery guide for PalmPilots.  His financial model of Oxford University -- the first ever -- garnered front-page coverage and helped shape the public debate about funding higher education in the U.K.

Conferences and universities regularly invite Alexander to speak about innovations in the public sector and the burgeoning pro bono movement.  Recent engagements include Harvard's Kennedy School, Harris School at the University of Chicago, and the American Public Transit Association.