Red Shoe Society Leadership Team

Harris Sessions, Grant Thornton
Red Shoe Society President

Originally from Texas, Harris moved to the Chicagoland area in 2016. He attended Baylor University and received his BBA in Accounting. Harris is a partner at Grant Thornton LLP, where he specializes in audits of multi-national consumer product and professional service organizations. He has been involved with the Ronald McDonald House since 2016 and joined the Auxiliary Board in 2018. Before moving to Chicago, Harris and his family spent three years living abroad in Germany. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Millie, and their three children and hunting, fishing and camping in his free time.

Danny Wysocki, Aon
Red Shoe Society Chicago Secretary

Danny was raised in Downers Grove, IL and attended the University of Iowa earning a bachelor’s degree in economics. After, Danny attend University of Illinois at Chicago earning an MBA with a concentration in accounting and finance. He currently works at Aon as a manager for the Aon Operating Committee. He joined Red Shoe in 2018 and joined the board in 2019. He currently resides in Logan Square with his wife Kelly and his dog Leroy.

Julius Agnor, HDR
Corporate Partnership Co-Chair

Julius grew up in Omaha, NE, home to an INCREDIBLE zoo and the College World Series. Nebraska is also home to the Cornhuskers, where Julius obtained his undergraduate degree from University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He returned home to Omaha, to obtain his MBA before leaving home to move to Chicago in 2017. Julius is a Diversity and Inclusion Program Developer for HDR.

Nate Behe, Grant Thornton
Events Co-Chair

Born in upstate NY, Nate spent most of his formative years living abroad in Germany. He attended an American boarding school in the Black Forest until returning to the States to attend college at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Nate moved to Chicago in June 2019 to work at Grant Thornton’s headquarters, where he is currently an Audit Senior Manager.

Nate is married, with no kids but he does have two Dachshunds. He lives out in the suburbs near Itasca with his husband TJ. They LOVE concerts/festivals, enjoy biking and running and his drink of choice is either a nice glass of red wine or two-fingers of bourbon on craft-ice.

Laura Davidson, Aon
Family Enrichment Co-Chair

Laura was raised in Morton Grove, IL and attended the University of Illinois at Springfield earning double bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business Administration. She currently works at Aon as an Accounting Manager on US Controllership. She joined Red Shoe in 2019 and joined the board in 2020 to co-lead a new RSS task force, Corporate Partnership. She is excited to build relationships with organizations throughout Chicago and Northwest Indiana communities in order to raise more money and further support RMHC.

Lial Field, Grant Thornton
Membership Co-Chair

Lial was born and raised in St. Louis, MO where he attended St. Louis University and received his Bachelors and Masters in Accountancy. He moved to the Chicagoland area in 2019 with wife, Jessica, and two kids. He works at Grant Thornton LLP where he is a senior manager in the audit department. Before having kids, he lived in Singapore with his wife while working for the Grant Thornton Singapore office.

During his free time he enjoys traveling with his family and checking out restaurants and parks in the different Chicagoland suburbs and neighborhoods.

Lauren Goldberg, MarketerHire
RMHC-CNI Gala Committee

Lauren Goldberg was born in Naples, FL and had the honor of growing up in a military family which had her moving around most of her life. Lauren moved to Chicago from New York City in February 2020 and quickly became a member of the Red Shoe Society. Lauren served on the Board of Associates for the Ronald McDonald House New York since 2018 and is still currently an active member there as well. Lauren’s passion for the RMHC stems from her family having to stay at the New York house for many years while her little brother battled Neuroblastoma, so being involved with RMHC is a mission that is very near and dear to her heart. In her free time Lauren loves to dance, travel and snuggle with her dog on the sofa.

Holly Hagen, Thomson Memory Center
Events Co-Chair

Holly grew up in Northwest Indiana and has lived in the city of Chicago for 7 years. She is a pediatric neuropsychologist when she is not planning fabulous events for the Red Shoe Society. She has been on the board since 2014 and has developed a strong commitment to raising funds and awareness of the mission of the House. When she is not working or planning events, she is the self-proclaimed World’s Greatest Auntie and proud Crazy Cat Lady.

Chris Hemzacek, Northwestern Mutual
Corporate Partnership Co-Chair

Born and raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Chris continues to invest his personal and professional life in the Chicagoland area today. He is a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual were he primarily serves medical professionals, growing families, and closely held businesses. For the last three years, he ranked in the Top #50 amongst his peer class. In 2019, Chris was named Top 5 Best Financial Advisors in the Silver Category, Advisor of the Year for the agency and received Top Company Honors. Chris qualified and was nominated to join the 263rd Fastrack Academy, an exclusive, career development school for the company’s top financial representatives and advisors. Chris graduated from the Eller School of Business at University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in marketing. He is a Registered Representative (Series 6, Series 63 and Series 7 securities licenses) with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Chris is a husband and father of two boys. Aside from support for Ronald McDonald House Charities and Red Shoe Society, Chris is an active supporter for other national and local charities such as Alex’s Lemonade Stand and is also an active member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

Emily Huebner, EY

Emily is originally from southern Illinois and raised on a family farm. While she loves her small-town roots, she made the move to Chicago in 2009 after graduating from the University of Illinois with her Bachelors and Masters in Accounting and beginning her career at Ernst & Young in Forensics, where she still resides and works as a Senior Manager today. She was introduced to the RMHC upon arrival to Chicago as her uncle served as Board Chair and immediately became passionate about the cause. When not helping with Red Shoe events, you will often find her traveling, at a workout class, or playing or attending a sporting event. Emily is very much enjoying becoming an aunt and spending lots of time with her new niece! Not being from Chicago, she wanted to grow her network with similar professionals who cared about helping keep families close. Emily is very close to her family and care deeply about the cause RMHC supports for this reason, as she wants to make sure the families have an affordable way to focus on recovery versus worrying about their finances.

Kristen Kempinski, March of Dimes
Membership Co-Chair

Kristen grew up in West Chester, PA just outside of Philadelphia. She attended Penn State University and graduated in 2015 with a B.A. in Communications and Public Relations. After college, she spent 2 years teaching English in Spain, and then returned home and moved to Baltimore where she started her professional career in digital marketing. In November 2020, Kristen moved to Chicago and joined Red Shoe Society in February of 2021. She now works as a development manager at March of Dimes and is excited to bring her fundraising knowledge and social energy to excite others about Red Shoe and raise more money to support the mission of RMHC.

Bridget Leiser, True Group Inc.
RMHC-CNI Gala Committee

Bridget was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, and attended The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising. She has been with her current company, True Group, Inc. for over 9 years and currently serves as the Director of People and Culture.

One of her favorite parts about this role is the opportunity it provides her to partner with RMHC-CNI. Bridget is able to plan events and giving opportunities in support of RMHC-CNI and introduce countless new volunteers to this outstanding organization. Bridget believes so strongly in the mission of RMHC-CNI and is proud to volunteer and serve on the Red Shoe Board.

In her free time, Bridget enjoys cooking, cheering on the Cubs with her fiancé Kevin, planning events and spending time with friends and family.

Matthew Nagel, Barry Callebaut Group

Matt was born and raised in Chicago’s southern suburbs and has spent the last 13 years in the food and beverage industry, working for Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer. He has worked in several roles within the company, including operations, finance, project management and global sales. From 2014 to 2017, Matt lived and worked in Brazil leading strategic business development.  In his current role as the Director of Sales, Matt leads a team that manages the central and west regions.

Supporting the Corporate Partnerships Committee, Matt became a member of the Red Shoe Society in 2021. Matt holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Accounting from Illinois State University. He and his wife and two young daughters live in the western suburbs of Chicago where they spend their free time traveling to warm beach destinations and enjoying boating and water sports.

Kristen Chin Sitko, Newly Weds Foods
Family Enrichment Co-Chair

Kristen was raised in Lemont, IL and holds and a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Purdue University and master’s degree in Food Science from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She is a Technical Sales Manager for Newly Weds® Foods, a leading global purveyor of customized coatings, seasonings, sauces, and functional ingredients. Kristen has been involved with RMHC through her company for many years but is excited to officially join the board and expand her role. Aside from work, Kristen is a big sports fan, enjoys the Chicago dining scene, and especially loves spending time with her husband, two little boys, and dog.

Miranda Wieczorek, Parkview Orthopedics
Communications Co-Chair

Miranda was born and raised in Orland Park, Illinois and attended Central Michigan University, where she was a gymnast for four years and received her Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. She currently works at Parkview Orthopedics as a physical therapy technician.

Miranda plans on attending school in the summer to receive her Masters in Medical Science and will continue on to medical school following graduation. Outside of school and work, she enjoys running, being a dog mom, and drinking lots of coffee!

In Memorium

Colleen Gleason

Colleen was raised in Crystal Lake, IL (but always knew she was a city girl at heart) and held a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She was Corporate Project Manager at G2 which she absolutely loved! Colleen had two heart transplants (one at the old Children’s Memorial Hospital at age three and one at Lurie Children’s at age 20) and her family stayed at the RMH near Lurie’s for her second transplant. While she was recovering, they were having as lovely a stay as possible.  She gave back to the organization that gave her family so much by joining the Red Shoe Society and becoming the co-chair of the Volunteer Events Committee. Aside from Red Shoe Society and work, Colleen loved eating her way through the city, reading anything she could get her hands on, and saying yes to way too many other activities across this amazing city!