College Leadership Summit

Tonika Johnson

Tonika Johnson is a photographer, social justice artist and life-long resident of Chicago’s south side Englewood neighborhood. Her art explores urban segregation and celebrates the nuanced richness of the Black community, countering media depictions of Chicago’s violence. Tonika’s work reveals injustices and inequities, past and present, evidenced in the built environment and enshrined in real estate and land use practices, including historic preservation. Her Folded Map Project™ brings residents who live at similar addresses but miles apart on Chicago’s racially segregated South and North sides together in conversation about the city’s racial and economic divides. Tonika’s artistic contributions have gained citywide recognition in the last seven years, including being named a 2017 Chicagoan of the Year by Chicago Magazine, being exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Rootwork Gallery in Pilsen, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Harold Washington Library Center and at Loyola University’s Museum of Art. She is a 2019 Field Foundation “Leader for a New Chicago” and a Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Cultural Advisory Council member. In 2022, Tonika is the co-founder of the Englewood Arts Collective and Resident Association of Greater Englewood, and she now serves as the Creative Executive Officer of the Folded Map Project™ nonprofit organization. Visit her www.tonikaj.com to learn more.

Henry Cervantes 

Henry Cervantes serves as Manager for The Peace Exchange, a program of Holy Family Ministries which engages youth in leadership training and international travel to study nonviolent social movements. He has trained youth activists from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America. Cervantes has taught courses on nonviolent social change at the Cook County Jail as well as at Stateville Prison.  Due to his work for peace and social change, he is one of 40 Human Rights Defenders featured in the Take A Stand Center at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

Micah Ariel-Rohr

Micah Ariel-Rohr is the Assistant Director of Campus Affairs at the Jewish United Fund in Chicago. In his current role, Micah works closely with students, teachers, and other stakeholders in k-12 schools and on college campuses to address issues of campus climate and antisemitism, as well as facilitating programs that foster the development of Jewish identity and meaningful relationships both inside and outside of the Jewish community.

Prior to JUF, Micah was the Assistant Director at the University of Wisconsin Hillel Foundation and a social studies teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. A native of Cleveland, Micah earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Leadership and Development as well as a master’s degree in education from DePaul University in Chicago.

Emily White

Emily White is the Asst. Vice President Campus Affairs, Executive Director, JUF’s Israel Education Center (IEC).  She oversees the IEC’s programming and activities for high school and college students across Illinois structured around constructive engagement with Israel.  With an eye toward political trends, Emily strives to create and provide resources for the Jewish community that integrate a global perspective with Jewish values and deep understanding of Israel.  While an undergraduate student at the University of Montana, she was co-founder and President of the university’s Hillel.  Emily earned a BA from DePaul in Art Media and Design, as well as an MSW with a certificate in Jewish Communal Leadership from the University of Michigan.

Chicago Votes

Chicago Votes believes in the potential of our generation to use organizing and advocacy to change politics as usual. They utilize these tools to develop the next generation of young leaders in Chicago, bring together young, driven Chicagoans who are ready to get their hands dirty and learn the grassroots basics of our democracy. We’re committed to educating, training, and empowering the next generation of Chicagoans and have designed our programs to act as springboards for young leaders to enter the life of political and public service.